Over the past twenty years, the American public education system has shifted directions of teaching policy to focus more on standards-based education. Laturnau (2001) states, “Standards-based education (SBI) is at the forefront of education reform because it presents a way to ensure that all students are exposed to challenging curricula and prepared to contribute positively to a world increasingly complex." During the Clinton administration in 1994, there was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that began this strong move toward SBI. The SBI idea was then advanced under the Bush administration through the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. Shepard, Hannaway, and Baker (2009) write “In a recent survey of policy makers, standards have been recognized as the central framework guiding state education policy.” The idea of ​​standards-based education is one that requires states not to exclude any particular student and also includes guidelines for evaluating the educators the American people trust to teach our future generations to make sure that no child be left behind and that every student succeeds academically. The standards for English learners can be used as a guide to differentiate instruction by incorporating activities for English language learners (ELLs) and manipulating lesson plans to include ELL learning components equivalent to components for English learners. On the Arizona Department of Education website (www.azed.gov), they do a great job breaking down the standards for each academic area by grade levels. For example... If I were a kindergarten teacher interested in educating my students in the art of dance, I would download... half the paper... they didn't care how each teacher taught or what instruments they taught SBI. As long as their students achieved their academic goals and remained focused on achieving promotion to the next grade, that was all that mattered to them at the end of the workday. Works CitedLaturnau, J. (2001). Standards-based instruction for English language learners. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from: http://www.prel.org/products/pc_/standards-based.htmShepard, L. & Hannaway, J. & Baker, E. (2009). Standards, assessments and accountability: Education policy white paper. National Academy of Education. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from: http://www.naeducation.org/Standards_Assessments_Accountability_White_Paper.pdf Web Linkswww.azed.govwww.smilemakers.comwww.pbs.orgwww.thirteen.orgwww.teachingtips.com