Making the Standards Work for You: Using VEX as a Cross-Curricular Supplemental Resource

Educational standards guide so many aspects of a teacher's instructional decisions—from selecting lessons and pacing content to planning assessments and supporting students across subject areas. With so many standards to navigate, it can be challenging to find engaging resources that also meet those expectations. VEX has developed detailed standards alignments for every VEX platform to help teachers make the most of robotics and computer science in their classrooms while ensuring they meet instructional goals.

Standards Alignment Across the VEX Continuum

Whether you're teaching early learners with VEX 123, building foundational STEM habits with VEX GO, exploring AI with VEX AIM, or preparing high school students for real-world automation careers with VEX CTE Workcell, every platform includes standards alignment documentation to support teachers. These alignments are mapped to U.S. national standards, including:

And for educators around the globe, VEX also provides alignments to international standards such as:

Standards alignments are freely available at standards.vex.com and are updated regularly to reflect evolving educational guidelines.

Empowering Flexible and Cross-Curricular Teaching

Having detailed standards alignment unlocks more than just compliance—it opens the door to creative, cross-curricular teaching. Many educators use VEX as a supplemental resource to reinforce core subject skills, while also bringing STEM to life. For example:

A math teacher might integrate VEXcode VR into a unit on coordinate planes, asking students to write programs that move a virtual robot using X and Y values from the Location Sensor, like in the CS Level 1 Blocks course.

A top-down view of the Number Grid Map playground, with two axis indicators marking the fifth spaces' location. The VR Robot starts at -900 X and -900 Y, while the fifth space is at -100 X and -900 Y.

Notebook page with a table in it to chart Gear Train and Distance pulled. The first row reads 1:1 with a sketch of a 24T gear train; the second row reads 3:1 with a sketch of a 36T to 12T gear train; and the third row reads 1:3 with a sketch of a 12T to 36T gear train.

A literacy teacher could pair VEX GO with creative writing activities, by asking students to build a scene from their stories and placing it on a float to have a storytime parade in the Novel Diorama Activity.
A science teacher using VEX IQ could reinforce NGSS physical science concepts like force and motion through the Tug of War STEM Lab with experiments about center of gravity and gear trains.

With standards-aligned materials at their fingertips, teachers can confidently adapt VEX resources to enrich their existing curriculum, rather than feeling like they have to start from scratch.

Support for Planning and Implementation

Standards alignment also makes it easier to advocate for using VEX resources in your school or district. When you can show that a STEM activity aligns with priority standards across multiple content areas, it becomes a compelling case for classroom time, funding, or interdisciplinary collaboration.

Each alignment document clearly outlines which standards are addressed, how they are met, and which lesson or activity provides that connection. This makes lesson planning easier and provides a shared language for collaboration between teachers of different subjects or grade levels.

By offering robust and transparent standards alignment across all platforms and major educational frameworks, VEX empowers teachers to integrate STEM meaningfully into their classrooms. Whether you're introducing young learners to the basics of robotics or guiding older students through advanced problem-solving challenges, you can trust that VEX resources support your instructional goals.

Looking for specific guidance on how VEX curricular resources align to your state or local standards? Reach out in the VEX PD+ Professional Learning Community.

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