Teaching and Learning: Curriculum

The Broad Prize Framework for School District Excellence

Curriculum Requirements

The district has a rigorous, relevant, written curriculum.
The district curriculum is effectively aligned to state content standards.
The district has standards-aligned instructional materials needed to implement the curriculum.

Best Practice Curriculum Documents

Aligning Curriculum to Standards – Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Miami-Dade County Public Schools offers schools several tools to ensure the alignment of the school curriculum with the district’s academic goals and the state standards.

1 – Instructional Focus Calendar - Reading - Grade 6 Describes scope-and-sequence for sixth grade reading program at Ruben Dario Middle School. Also known as a “pacing guide” or “planning guide” in other districts.
What to Notice The document is laid out chronologically, with one row for every two weeks. Not only does it specify core reading texts, but it also describes remediation and reinforcement strategies, as well as additional resources. Cluster assessments are the final column. Notice that the resources are very specific, including page numbers, so that teachers have easy access to what they need.	Questions to Ask How did the school select Bridges as its core reading text? Was this a district-wide decision? What were the criteria? What kinds of instructional support do teachers receive? Are there school-based coaches? Or does the district have instructional support staff who are available to work with teachers? Did the school develop this alignment document? Or does the district publish this?
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2 – Curriculum Placing Guide - Language Arts/Reading - Grade 1 Describes scope-and-sequence for first grade language arts/reading program.
What to Notice This document is narrower than the sixth grade pacing guide above. In the overview, the document describes what the first grade teacher is responsible for. The core of the document outlines all of the content standards that a teacher must cover, organized by “strand.” And these standards are linked directly to the state standards by number.	Questions to Ask How are these standards mapped to the district benchmark assessments? Is there a separate document which maps these standards to resources and potential lessons? What kinds of instructional support do teachers receive in the implementation of this pacing guide?
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Aligning Curriculum to Standards – New York City Department of Education

These tools show how The New York City Department of Education approaches the challenge of aligning schools’ curricula with the state standards. The goal is to align the curriculum both at the macro level—via pacing guides that map out all the content that needs to be covered—and at the micro level, via lesson planning tools that reflect state standards.

1 – Pacing Guide - Math - Grade 5 Lays out scope-and-sequence of math content for fifth-graders. Often called a “pacing guide” in other districts.
What to Notice In New York City, the planning guides are colored-coded for easy visual identification—fifth grade is blue. On the first page, the district emphasizes a number of recurring themes that tie the content together and can help a teacher create the desired “math workshop” environment. The guide itself links the school calendar to content in the district’s off-the-shelf curriculum, which is aligned to the state standards. A section for notes allows a teacher to use the document as an interactive tool.	Questions to Ask How did the district develop the planning guide? Who was involved and how long did it take? How widely is the guide distributed? Are teachers given any training in how to use it? What kinds of feedback from teachers has the district collected? Do teachers find the document useful? Do teachers across the district use the guide in a consistent manner? Do teacher have the flexibility to deviate from the scope and sequence? If so, under what circumstances? How was the mathematics curriculum selected? How does the curriculum’s focus on the creation of a “math workshop” mesh with the state standards? How often are these scope and sequence guides reviewed?
> Document Coming Soon

2 – Lesson Design Questions Offers questions that can help refine and improve lesson plans. For use by principals, coaches and other instructional leaders.
What to Notice Coaches and administrators can use these questions to improve the rigor of teachers’ lesson-planning process. Notice that the document ties individual lesson plans to the overall structure of the curriculum and the lessons that have come before. The document specifically encourages teachers to consider students’ previous knowledge and difficulties with prior content.	Questions to Ask How did the district develop this tool? How widespread is its use? Do coaches and administrators feel that it has been helpful?
> Document Coming Soon

3 – Lesson Plan - Art Places specific art activity in the context of New York City and New York State standards.
What to Notice The lesson plan template begins with an overview and purpose, including a direct link to the New York State standards and New York City’s Blueprint Art Strands. The tool provides teachers with a sequential plan that moves from objective setting through closure. Materials and other resources are listed.	Questions to Ask Is this template used solely in art classes, or also in other subjects? How widely is it used? How was the tool developed? Who was involved in the process? Has the tool been revised to reflect feedback from classroom teachers?
> Document Coming Soon

Faithfully Implementing Curriculum – Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Miami-Dade County Public Schools has made an extraordinary effort to upgrade its curriculum and ensure faithful implementation across all district schools. Curriculum tools and pacing guides are made available online to all principals and teachers, and district staff are tasked with visiting schools to assess curriculum implementation and instructional practices.

1 – Overview of Competency-Based Curriculum Description of Miami-Dade's approach to curriculum and instruction.
What to Notice Miami-Dade developed an online curriculum aligned with Florida’s Sunshine State Standards. This “competency-based curriculum” (CBC) is designed to provide additional rigor and specificity to the state standards. The CBC can be accessed online at: http://www2.dadeschools.net/students/cbc/index.asp Notice that each subject area offers an overview that describes the district’s philosophy and goals in that area. Each competency reflects the synthesis of several different curriculum objectives.	Questions to Ask How is a competency-based curriculum (CBC) different from what the district used before? What was the process to develop the CBC? How are updates to the CBC communicated district-wide? How did the district train all of its teachers to use the new curriculum and to access the online tools? Does the district offer pacing guidelines to assist in the implementation of the CBC? If so, how are they developed? How does the district measure the success of its online curriculum tools? Do district staff use software to monitor the usage of the tools? Did the district set measurable goals for the use of the tools?
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2 – Process to Monitor Curriculum Implementation Guide for tracking implementation of district curriculum in schools.
What to Notice This document summarizes the district’s approach to curriculum implementation and provides several tools for district staff or school principals to use in the assessment of curriculum implementation and instruction. The district creates instructional review teams that conduct site visits focused on assessing the status of curriculum implementation at a given school. The document contains instructional review tools, a classroom checklist sample and sample implementation checklists.	Questions to Ask How frequently are schools visited by the instructional review team? What factors determine whether a school or classroom is visited? What is the typical end goal of an instructional review, and who is the “customer” for the report? What authority does the team have to implement or recommend changes? Does the district store the data from the review forms in any central database? Have any of the metrics or checklists been correlated with student achievement data? How has the district responded to district-wide trends in these reviews?
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Selecting and Implementing Curricula – Long Beach Unified School District

In an effort to encourage effective decision-making at the district level, Long Beach Unified School District developed rigorous tools for the evaluation and comparison of different instructional materials that are under consideration for use by its school. In addition, the district has established an interactive process for the implementation of new curricula, ensuring that teachers' questions are answered quickly.

1 – Middle School Instructional Materials Score Sheet Provides a framework for the evaluation of candidate materials by district reviewers.
What to Notice The layout of this tool is visually clear and reflects the content: A cover scoring page provides an overview of the criteria, and the following four pages provide a rigorous rubric which communicates––implicitly and explicitly––what the district is looking for.	Questions to Ask How was the scoring sheet developed? Who reviews new instructional materials? What kind of training do they recieve? Who collects and analyzes the score sheets? How are the results disseminated and used? What is the final decision making process, and who is the decision maker? How often does the district undergo this kind of review? How were the five finalists determined?
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2 – Curriculum Standards Evaluation Form - Science Allows a reviewer to rate different science curricula based on their alignment with state and district content standards.
What to Notice At this point in the process, the district has determined the five finalists for its eighth-grade science curriculum. This three-page form gives reviewers the opportunity to evaluate each of the five options in the context of their alignment with the state and district standards. Notice how specific the tool is —Reviewers are looking for specific vocabulary words and concepts in the reviewed materials.	Questions to Ask How was the evaluation form developed? Who is responsible for completing the form? How many reviewers are involved in the process? What kind of training do they receive in how to use the tool? Who is responsible for collecting the forms and disseminating results? What is the process for making curriculum decisions? How often does the district undergo this kind of review? How were the five finalists determined?
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3 – Teacher Survey Instruments and Results Assesses teachers’ understanding of new instructional materials and curricula and ensures that teachers have answers to all the questions they have posed.
What to Notice When implementing a curriculum, Long Beach puts considerable effort into evaluating how well teachers have absorbed the material. These documents reflect the district’s thoughtful approach to teacher training and curriculum implementation: Pre- and post- survey data, showing that training was successful in increasing teachers’ understanding of the target material. A schedule for teacher focus groups, in which the district probed teacher attitudes and concerns about the literacy program. A hard-copy survey of teacher attitudes about Open Court, the district’s literacy program. A series of frequently asked questions to be published to help teachers deal with common concerns about the Open Court curriculum.	Questions to Ask What kinds of training were offered in between the pre- and post-survey data? Who conducted the teacher focus groups? How did the district creating a trusting environment in which teachers would feel free to share their concerns openly? Who was responsible for developing the teacher survey? How were the results compiled and disseminated? How were the Frequently Asked Questions identified? Where were the answers published? Were they posted online?
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