The goal of the Kansas Guide to Learning is to provide improved service to the field in the area of research-based instructional practices in a variety of content areas and create an environment of increased student engagement in the learning process with greater support for teachers in changing instructional practices. The original guides for English Language Arts were completed in the fall of 2012. In Fall 2017, the guides were updated to include contextual information and data from surveys and meetings conducted across the state.

During the Summer of 2018, it was decided that the format of the Literacy Guide should be altered to improve the document's readability. The document was not only altered to follow a vertical layout, but it was also divided into four separate documents: Introduction, Birth to Age 5, Kindergarten through Grade 5, and Grades 6 through 12. While the content did not change, there were a few additions. In both the K-5 and 6-12 document, grade level considerations were added to each element of the Literacy Guide to demonstrate its usefulness and application at all grade levels.