What to teach in New York

The subjects New York requires

• Grades 1-6: arithmetic, reading, spelling, writing, English language, geography, U.S. history, science, health, music, visual arts, physical education (and bilingual education/ESL where needed)
• Grades 7-8 (over both years): English 2 units, history & geography 2, science 2, math 2, art 1/2, music 1/2; plus regular PE, health, practical arts, library skills
• Once in grades 1-8: U.S. history, New York State history, U.S. and NY Constitutions
• Grades 9-12 (over 4 years): English 4 units, social studies 4 (incl. American history 1, participation in government 1/2, economics 1/2), math 2, science 2, art and/or music 1, health 1/2, PE 2, electives 3
• All grades: patriotism and citizenship; alcohol, drug and tobacco misuse; highway and bicycle safety; fire and arson prevention

Quoted from the statute or regulation cited on the law page. Requirements for Grades K–5 are listed where the state sets them, but this site teaches Grades 6–12, so only those are matched below.

Courses that cover them

New York's list touches all four subjects taught here. Each course below is a full year.

Mathematics

English

Science

Social studies

Each is planned as a 36-week year of about 180 sessions, five a week — the year 20 of the 21 course guides set out explicitly. How long a session runs is yours to set.

Does this meet the hours?

Substantial equivalent of 180 days per year; 900 hours/year (grades 1-6) or 990 hours/year (grades 7-12). A unit = 6,480 minutes (about 108 hours) per year.

Each course here plans a 36-week year of about 180 sessions, five a week — the year 20 of the 21 course guides set out explicitly. The length of a session is left to you, because a Grade 6 session and a Grade 12 one are not the same thing.

At 45 minutes a session — an assumption, not a rule — that is about 135 hours a course, so four courses come to roughly 540 hours. Against New York's 990 hours that leaves about 450 hours to account for: independent reading, the subjects below that this site does not teach, projects and field trips. Longer sessions close the gap quickly — at 60 minutes the same four courses come to 720 hours. Work it with your own session length rather than ours.

The four high school years

New York reviews the work each year, so the high school record matters twice: once for the annual assessment and again for whoever reads the transcript afterwards. A full sequence of these courses looks like this.

Four subjects across four years is 16 full-year courses. Credits, grades and the diploma itself are New York's business, not this site's — what New York says about diplomas and transcripts.

What this site does not teach

New York requires 6 subjects that these courses do not cover: health, physical education, art, music, a world language, computing or practical arts. Saying so plainly is more use than a page implying full coverage. Families commonly meet these through sport clubs, instrument or art lessons, a language app or tutor, and documented family activity — all of which count where the state asks for a log rather than a transcript.

Evidence for the annual review

New York asks for testing or evaluation, so the year has to leave a paper trail. These courses produce four things that serve as evidence, without any extra work:

• Printable lessons. Every lesson has a print view holding the full teaching text, worked examples and practice — dated pages for a portfolio.
• Exams with answer keys and marking criteria. Each course has a midterm, a final and a sample exam, each question carrying response criteria an evaluator can read.
• A 36-week pacing table. The parent guide for each course lists the week-by-week assignments, which is the planning document most evaluators ask to see.
• Exit tickets and checkpoints. Short written responses through each lesson, showing work over time rather than one test score.

Every year, filed with the 4th quarterly report. Option 1: a standardized test from the 100.10(h) list (Iowa Test of Basic Skills, California Achievement Test, Stanford Achievement Test, Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, Metropolitan Achievement Test, a State Education Department test, or another approved test), given at a public school, at a registered nonpublic school, or by a NYS-certified teacher or other qualified person with the superintendent's consent (a parent only with superintendent consent); adequate = composite above the 33rd percentile on national norms or one year of academic growth over a prior test. Option 2: a written narrative by a NYS-certified teacher, a home-instruction peer review panel, or another person approved by the superintendent who interviews the child and reviews a portfolio - allowed every year in grades 1-3 and no more than every other year in grades 4-8; grades 9-12 must use a standardized test. An inadequate assessment puts the program on probation for up to two school years with a remediation plan. NYSED's 2026 regulatory agenda lists a planned change to the approved assessment list (no rule proposed yet).

Deadline: With the fourth quarterly report (on the date set in the IHIP)