U.S.

World Geography Proficiency Scales

revised Feb 2019

WG Standard 1.1: (Physical Environment)

Students will describe the significant forces that influence the physical environment,
such as plate tectonics, erosion, climate, and natural disasters, and explain how the
effects of physical processes vary across regions of the world.

Advanced:​ Students will be able to create and evaluate management plans for how to
navigate with various natural disasters and conditions in the world with their
understanding of the significant forces that influence the physical environment
Proficient:​ Students will describe the significant forces that influence the physical
environment, such as plate tectonics, erosion, climate, and natural disasters, and explain
how the effects of physical processes vary across regions of the world through written
response or discussion with peers
Emerging: ​Students can classify some of the significant forces that influence the
environment and provide a basic, but limited, explanation of their effects
Beginning:​ Students can identify the significant forces that influence the environment with
assistance from a teacher/peer

WG Standard 2.1: (Population Patterns)

Students will evaluate the impact of population distribution patterns at various scales
by analyzing and comparing demographic characteristics such as gender, age,
ethnicity, and population density using maps, population pyramids, and other
geographic data.

Advanced: ​Students can explain current demographic trends and and make suggestions
for the future, both globally and locally (sustainability, affordable housing, environment,
economics) utilizing geographic tools
Proficient: ​Students will evaluate the impact of population distribution patterns at various
scales by analyzing and comparing demographic characteristics such as gender, age,
ethnicity, and population density using maps, population pyramids, and other geographic
data by citing specific evidence in the pyramids
Emerging: ​Students can explain demographic trends based on the shapes of population
pyramids
Beginning: ​Students can list demographic trends utilizing population pyramids with the
assistance of a teacher or peers
WG Standard 2.2/3: (Migration)
Students will explain push and pull factors causing voluntary and involuntary
migration and the consequences created by the movement of people. (ex. Mass
urbanization, immigration, and the movement of refugees.​)

Advanced:​ Students will propose policy solutions based on current examples of refugees,
internally displaced persons (IDP), and other migrants across the world. Students will
make predictions for how migration might impact the host and exodus regions (UN
standards, countries’ obligations to protect their own sovereignty, etc.)
Proficient: ​Students will explain push and pull factors causing voluntary and involuntary
migration and the consequences created by the movement of people. (ex. Mass
urbanization, immigration, and the movement of refugees.)
Emerging: ​Students will be able to categorize push and pull factors for differing types of
migration across the world without much assistance
Beginning: ​Students will identify push and pull factors for differing types of migration
across the world with assistance from a teacher/peer

WG Standard 3.1/3: (Elements of Culture and Place)

Students understand the 7 elements of culture and their impacts on global patterns
and relations. ​Students will identify how culture influences sense of place, point of view
and perspective, and the relative value placed upon people and places

Advanced: ​Students can apply all 7 Elements of Culture to their own culture in an
exploration of at least one other culture outside of the US through a comparison on
perspectives, sense of place, and value placed upon people and places
Proficient: ​Students understand the 7 Elements of Culture and their impacts on global
patterns and relations by applying them to their own culture’s sense of place, perspective
and value placed on people and places
Emerging: ​Students can categorize all 7 Elements of Culture and describe how they
connect to various perspectives sense of place and value in their own culture
Beginning: ​Students can list all 7 Elements of Culture with assistance and identify differing
perspectives, sense of place, and value on people and places in various cultures

WG Standard 3.5: (Religion, Ethnicity)

Students will explain how the basic tenets of world religions affect the daily lives of
people.

Advanced:​ Students will investigate how belief and ethnicity drive global events (for good
and ill) through an extended research project.
Proficient: ​Students will explain how the basic tenets of world religions affect the daily
lives of people. ​Students will be exposed to religion, language, ethnicity and other cultural
characteristics.
Emerging: ​Students will compare the basic tenets of world religions with a venn diagram
or other comparison tools
Beginning: ​Students will list the tenets of the five major world religions (Christianity,
Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism)

WG Standard 3.4/6: (Diffusion, Globalization of Culture)

Students will identify the causes, methods, and effects for the diffusion and distribution
of cultural characteristics among different places and regions. Students will cite
examples of how globalization creates challenges and opportunities for different
cultures.

Advanced: ​Students will write a thesis on the cultural sustainability of folk cultures and
how they interact with diffusion and globalization while emphasizing the causes, methods,
and effects of diffusion and the opportunities and challenges of globalization
Proficient: ​Students will explain the causes, methods, and effects for the diffusion and
distribution of cultural characteristics among different places and regions. Students will
cite examples of how globalization creates challenges and opportunities for different
cultures.
Emerging: ​Students are able to place examples of diffusion into proper categories.
Students know the difference between local and global cultural characteristics.
Beginning: ​Students are able to identify the 4 methods of cultural diffusion​. ​Students can
define globalization.

WG Standard 4: (Political Structures)

Students will describe and explain why and how people organize into a range of
political structures at different scales and how human characteristics play into those
political boundaries.

Advanced: ​Propose and evaluate solutions about a current issue (boundaries,

land/resource, ethnic/national sovereignty, independence, climate change) in a Model
UN-type setting through a position paper and oral presentation
Proficient: ​Students will describe and explain why and how people organize into a range of
political structures at different scales and how human characteristics play into those
political boundaries. Students can explain the framework of the United Nations.
Emerging: ​Students will be able to define the different government types and categorize
positions of a spectrum of political ideologies.
Beginning: ​Students will be able to identify the different government types and political
ideologies among different countries
WG Standard 5: (Development, sustainability, human rights)
Students will be able to analyze the costs and benefits to sustainable economic
development in the terms of human rights, interdependence between countries, and
other factors.

Advanced: ​Students will be able to address questions of interdependence, sustainability,

human rights, poverty, access to education, gender equality, environmental changes,
impact on indigenous populations by choosing a product they consume regularly and
tracing its connections to all of the above and presenting their findings
Proficient:​ Students will be able to analyze the costs and benefits to ​sustainable​ economic
development in the terms of ​human rights,​ ​interdependence​ between countries, and other
factors
Emerging: ​Students will be able to understand the relationship between ​sustainability​ and
human rights​.
Beginning:​ Students can define ​developed​ and ​developing​ economies and can cite examples
of costs and benefits for ​sustainable​ economic development

At what point are humans more valuable than environmental sustainability?

Is there such a thing as ethical consumption?