Crosswalk Highlights
The learning standards crosswalk between the Decision Education (DE) K–12 Learning Standards and the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards identified significant alignment, with both sets of standards emphasizing:
- Analyzing multiple perspectives
- Evaluating sources
- Thinking critically about information reliability
In today’s rapidly evolving information landscape—particularly with the emergence of AI—these skills are more essential than ever.
Several DE standards, including those focused on evaluating evidence and updating beliefs, are foundational to effectively studying, interpreting, and engaging with history and other social studies disciplines.
Please note: developing crosswalks for academic learning standards is a subjective process. These crosswalks are not intended as an all-inclusive list, but as a launchpad for further exploration and identification of opportunities for integrating Decision Education into today’s classrooms.
Explore the Crosswalk’s Key Similarities
Below, find the crosswalk’s main areas of alignment, along with the specific standards within each content area.
Key Areas of Social Studies Alignment:
The C3 Framework for Social Studies identifies core disciplines—civics, economics, geography, and history—that students must master to succeed as engaged and informed citizens. The C3 Framework employs an inquiry-based approach structured around Four Dimensions aligned closely with DE standards, as they promote critical thinking, evidence-based reasoning, and evaluative skills:
- Developing questions and planning inquiries
- Applying disciplinary tools and concepts
- Evaluating sources and using evidence
- Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
Key Areas of Decision Education Alignment:
Structuring Decisions (SD) overlaps naturally in many ways with the C3 framework at all grade levels, as it provides a roadmap for understanding and analyzing historical and present-day decisions. The most aligned DE standards include:
- SD.1: Identify and frame what a decision is and is not about.
- SD.2: Clarify the values and objectives of the decision-maker in a given decision.
- SD.3: Generate and develop significantly different and criterion-aligned decision options.
- SD.4: Gather and analyze information from multiple sources to evaluate decision options.
- SD.5: Make predictions about the outcomes of each decision option.
Recognizing and Resisting Cognitive Biases (CB) aligns with the C3 Framework as it relates to our natural inclination to use mental shortcuts instead of critically evaluating evidence, narratives, media content, and other information. The most aligned DE standards include:
- CB.6: Recognize and actively resist the availability heuristic.
- CB.7: Recognize and actively resist the anchoring effect.
- CB.8: Recognize and actively resist the tendency to ignore measures of likelihoods and relevant data when making judgments.
- CB.9: Recognize and actively resist confirmation bias.
- CB.10: Recognize and actively resist the tendency to overemphasize or overextend personal attributes when making judgments.
Valuing and Applying Rationality (VAR) overlaps with the C3 framework as it encourages students to adopt a truth-seeking mindset that encourages habits and skills such as considering other perspectives and applying evidence-based reasoning to decisions and problems in historical and present-day contexts. The most aligned DE standards include:
- VAR.2: Recognize, practice, and demonstrate intellectual humility
- VAR.3: Recognize, practice, and demonstrate active open-mindedness.
- VAR.4: Recognize, practice, and demonstrate a truth-seeking mindset.
- VAR.8: Apply scientific reasoning to problem solving and decision-making.
Thinking Probabilistically (TP) aligns with the C3 framework by providing tools to assess uncertainty, weigh decision options and outcomes, and make informed judgments, often in cases with incomplete or conflicting information. The most aligned DE standards include:
- TP.3: Use probabilistic thinking to evaluate evidence and truth claims, and to update beliefs.
- TP.4: Use probabilistic thinking when making predictions and evaluating real-world contexts.
