This content rubric in the PA ECC-DHH draws directly from The K-12 ASL Content Standards (the ASL Standards) from the Gallaudet University Research Center and can be incorporated into any curriculum. The ASL Standards state expected grade-level goals for students, who are learning ASL as a complete language. The purpose of the ASL Standards is to guide ASL instruction so that deaf and hard of hearing children can learn about and study ASL as a first language in the same way hearing children in the United States learn about English as part of their academic studies. As with teachers, who teach English to students who are English Language Learners, teachers of deaf students are expected to align instructional plans and assessments to gauge student progress towards achieving grade-level ASL competencies. The established benchmarks will help ASL teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in interacting with individuals in postsecondary programs and in the workforce in the future. Users of this rubric should refer to the K-12 ASL Content Standards for more details. This rubric addresses two of the five K-12 ASL Anchor Standards that regard the structure and function of language. Teachers should refer directly to the K-12 ASL Content Standards when they address instruction in the remaining three Anchor Standards which focus on application of language. In the rubric below skills are captured in grade bands and assume that students are entering kindergarten with the skills needed to begin learning ASL as an academic subject. This is based on the assumption that they have had exposure to ASL at birth or soon thereafter. The earliest purpose of using ASL is to make language visible for the child who is deaf or hard of hearing and to immerse that child in a language-rich environment, with which to build additional skills. The ASL Standards are comparable to the scope and pace of language development as that of typical hearing peers. As with the acquisition of any first language, the structures and usage of that language are typically mastered by the 4th grade, which would also be the expectation for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The subskills in the rubric are listed according to a hierarchy of development. Students, including those identified later, may have learning gaps that require subskills from earlier stages to be addressed. Assessment of these subskills may be completed informally or formally. See the ECC-DHH Assessment section for suggestions.