"Why are we learning this? I'll never use this in real life!"

The Standards by Design tool was created to help educators in career and technical education as well as traditional academics to more efficiently and effectively provide instruction to their students. Often the skills being taught in a career-tech classroom are practical applications of the concepts being taught across the hall in the academic classroom. With that in mind, educators from across Ohio, from both career-tech and academics, examined the teaching standards and competencies of all career pathways and academic subjects to highlight these similarities. The results were then compiled in a searchable database for all to use. The Standards by Design tool is the result of those efforts.


There are a variety of ways this tool can be used to facilitate instruction. A student may ask, “Why are we learning this? I’ll never use this in real life!” The Standards by Design tool was created to answer just this question. It can be used to uncover new ideas for lesson plans or to build a unit of instruction to be delivered concurrently in multiple courses. It can be used to foster collaboration among faculty. It can be used to help leverage precious instruction time to deliver simultaneous credit. Click here to try the updated standards by Design tool.


Standards by Design Live Demonstration


Search for Connections

You can go to the Standards by Design website and register as a user so you can save your results.

We have also developed a user guide to help you get started .


girl doing a robotics activity

About Us

This tool was developed by Career-Tech and academic teachers from across the state of Ohio. 

Please direct questions to Kris Vigneron at

kristopher.vigneron@education.ohio.gov
or (614) 644-7388.

Last Modified: 4/9/2024 10:50:03 AM