The standards document includes academic standards for family and consumer sciences at four grade levels (third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth) with the emphasis on what students will know and be able to do in the following areas:

• 11.1. Financial and Resource Management
• 11.2. Balancing Family, Work, and Community Responsibility
• 11.3. Food Science and Nutrition
• 11.4. Child Development

The family and consumer sciences discipline is composed of strong subject matter concentrations that form a framework for learning based on these tenets:

• Families are the fundamental unit of society.
• An understanding of individual and family development helps create strong families whose members are lifelong learners.
• Meeting individual and family needs inside and outside the home are shared responsibilities.
• Individual, family, and community well-being is strengthened through an awareness of diversity.
• The use of diverse modes of inquiry strengthens intellectual development.
• The content learned in family and consumer sciences classes enhances and supports the mastery of academic standards.
• Standards-based learning within family and consumer sciences classrooms can best be demonstrated through performance-based assessment.

The academic standards for family and consumer sciences are written to empower individuals and families to manage the challenges of living and working in a diverse, global society. These academic standards address the functioning of families and their interrelationships with work, community, and society. The focus is on the recurring, practical problems of individuals and families.  Comprehensive classroom experiences allow students to develop the knowledge and skills needed to identify, create, and evaluate goals and alternative solutions to significant problems of everyday life. Students are taught to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions as they make choices about personal, family, and work responsibilities.