What kinds of knowledge, skills, and dispositions are needed in order to prepare social studies teachers for twenty-first century learners? Answering this question is the core pursuit of the latest revision of the "National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers." For several decades, the National Council for the Social Studies has published standards that assist in the review and accreditation of social studies teacher education programs. Each revision has recalibrated how the field answers the question of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Since 2004, the stance of the field has been that social studies teacher education programs should focus on interdisciplinary, thematic, and subject-specific content knowledge, and that candidates should be able to create meaningful learning experiences that shape the democratic dispositions of students. This article is a brief introduction to the development of this latest revision of the standards, the structure of the standards, and the possible uses for the standards. The revised standards for the preparation of social studies teachers address the purposes of social studies education in a democratic society and the kinds of knowledge, skills, and dispositions teachers need to accomplish these objectives.