Course Standards

2026-2027 Academic Year

DRAFT CMS until August 14, 2026.

← Back to Future CMS (2026-2027)

AP41 Horticulture I - Introduction to Plants

Course Type: Developed

Course Outcomes:

Connect career exploration to essential employability skills required for success in an agriculture career.
Understand how a plant functions and what influences its ability to function.
Facilitate the optimum conditions for plant growth.
Produce common horticulture crops in garden, greenhouse, and nursery environments.
Use plant taxonomy and identifying characteristics to identify common horticulture crops in North Carolina.

Standard/Objective Number	Standard/Objective	Course Weight	RBT Designation
1.00	Apply leadership and durable employability skills.	7%	C3 Apply Procedural
1.01	Explain FFA opportunities available to students.	2%	B2 Understand Conceptual
1.02	Implement durable employability skills.	2%	C3 Apply Procedural
1.03	Execute proper meeting management.	3%	C3 Apply Procedural
2.00	Apply work-based and experiential learning in horticulture.	8%	C3 Apply Procedural
2.01	Understand careers in the horticulture industry.	2%	B2 Understand Conceptual
2.02	Implement a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE).	6%	C3 Apply Procedural
3.00	Understand plant biology and growth factors.	8%	B2 Understand Conceptual
3.01	Explain plant parts and their functions.	4%	B2 Understand Conceptual
3.02	Explain factors that influence plant growth and development.	4%	B2 Understand Conceptual
4.00	Apply knowledge of environmental conditions for plant growth.	24%	C3 Apply Procedural
4.01	Apply the process to identify environmental conditions needed for plant growth.	6%	C3 Apply Procedural
4.02	Apply the process to identify optimum soil and media for plant growth.	6%	C3 Apply Procedural
4.03	Apply the process to identify essential nutrients needed for plant growth.	6%	C3 Apply Procedural
4.04	Apply the process to identify integrated pest management practices.	6%	C3 Apply Procedural
5.00	Apply knowledge of common plants grown in North Carolina.	18%	C3 Apply Procedural
5.01	Understand plant taxonomy.	6%	B2 Understand Conceptual
5.02	Apply the process to identify common plants grown in North Carolina using plant identification practices.	12%	C3 Apply Procedural
6.00	Apply common plant propagation techniques.	16%	C3 Apply Procedural
6.01	Execute sexual plant propagation methods.	8%	C3 Apply Procedural
6.02	Execute asexual plant propagation methods.	8%	C3 Apply Procedural
7.00	Apply plant production in horticulture.	19%	C3 Apply Procedural
7.01	Compare garden, greenhouse, and nursery production practices.	7%	B2 Understand Conceptual
7.02	Execute plant production practices.	12%	C3 Apply Procedural

Essential standards (highlighted in gray below) are big, powerful ideas that are necessary and essential for students to know to be successful in a course. Essential standards identify the appropriate verb and cognitive process intended for the student to accomplish. Essential standards provide value throughout a student's career, in other courses, and translate to the next level of education or world of work.

Objectives/Indicators (rows not highlighted in gray below) provide another level of detail for each Essential Standard.

Adapted or Adopted Course includes essential standards and, in many cases, specific objectives/indicators aligned with business and industry standards and/or criteria for credentials or certifications. The course standards are designed using the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT). If the POL is a CTE State Assessment, the course is written at the level of the ESSENTIAL STANDARD and assesses the intended outcome of the sum of its objectives/indicators.

Career and Technical Education conducts all activities and procedures without regard to race, color, creed, national origin, gender, or disability. The responsibility to adhere to safety standards and best professional practices is the duty of the practitioners, teachers, students, and/or others who apply the contents of this document.

This blueprint has been reviewed by business and industry representatives for technical content and appropriateness for the industry.

Column information

Standard/Objective Number: The essential standard is denoted by the digits before the dot; objectives/indicators are indicated by the final 2 digits.
Standard/Objective: Essential standard and specific objective/indicator statements per essential standard. Each essential standard statement or specific objective/indicator begins with an action verb and makes a complete sentence when combined with The learner will be able to... Outcome behavior in each essential standard or objective/indicator statement is denoted by the verb plus its object.
Course Weight: Shows the relative importance of each essential standard or objective/indicator. Course weight is used to help determine the percentage of total class time that is spent on each objective/indicator.
RBT Designation: Classification of outcome behavior in essential standards and indicator statements in Dimensions according to the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy:
Cognitive Process Dimension: 1 Remember, 2 Understand, 3 Apply, 4 Analyze, 5 Evaluate, 6 Create.
Knowledge Dimension: A Factual Knowledge, B Conceptual Knowledge, C Procedural Knowledge.