National Standards and Assessment Tools

Health education standards can help educators to identify the specific information and skills young people need to learn by each grade. Analysis tools are designed to assist educators in assessing whether individual programs meet the curricula or standards of the school district.

The National Sexuality Education Standards were developed by FoSE to address the inconsistent implementation of sexuality education nationwide and the limited time allocated to teaching the topic.

National Health Education Standards (NHES) are written expectations for what students should know and be able to do by grades 2, 5, 8, and 12 to promote personal, family, and community health. The standards provide a framework for curriculum development and selection, instruction, and student assessment in health education.

Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) can help school districts, schools, and others conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of health education curricula based on the National Health Education Standards and CDC’s Characteristics of Effective Health Education Curricula.

CDC's School Health Education Resources (SHER) provides access to the school health education offerings available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten–12th Grade

The Guidelines, developed by a national task force of experts in the fields of adolescent development, health care, and education, provide a framework of the key concepts topics, and messages that all sexuality education programs would ideally include.