We think of curriculum as everything that is taught—learning goals, textbooks, science kits, activities, and labs. Ideally, curriculum is designed to teach state standards and both are aligned to the state assessment system. Curriculum should be revised when state standards are revised and textbooks should be selected based on the degree of alignment to the state standards. The point of curriculum is to lead students to mastery of state standards. We can help ensure that curriculum serves this role by:
- Facilitating curriculum selection with a process that provides outside expertise to local teams;
- Reviewing and summarizing pertinent research related to curriculum;
- Determining the degree of alignment between the curriculum and state standards;
- Determining the degree of alignment between the curriculum and textbooks;
- Facilitating the development of units or lessons to fill identified gaps.