Elizabeth's+Curr.+Audit

** Part 1: Evaluating Board of Education Policy ** This week’s assignment has three parts. In Part 1, you will locate and report on your school district’s policies related to curriculum and instruction. Because each school district sets up its Web site in its own way, this will require you to explore the site to find the relevant information. ** Directions: ** Go to your school district’s Web site. Locate and access the policies of the local Board of Trustees. Look specifically at policies related to curriculum and instruction. Link to HISD School Board Policies: [] · Read and study the policies. · Answer the following questions about your district’s policies.
 * Week 3 Assignment: Application Assignment Policies, Audits, and Practices **

** Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees policy contains provisions regarding curriculum and instruction at the elementary (grades 1-5), middle school (grades 6-8), and high school (grades 9-12) levels. State requirements (as cited in Texas Education Code) and local policy are detailed in separate sections. Specific policy sections address curriculum and instruction provisions for innovative and magnet programs, charter schools, programs for English language learners (including bilingual education programs), special education programs, and compensatory/accelerated services for students with documented academic deficits in core subjects (such as reading and mathematics). HISD board policy also contains local provisions for selection of instructional materials as well as local procedures for regular curriculum planning and review. Finally, HISD board policy reiterates state mandated guidelines for planning and decision making regarding district and campus improvement plans; these plans are to be reviewed and revised annually with the aim of assessing all factors (chiefly, curriculum and instruction) that impact student performance. Detailed local procedures for reporting and review of data to the board for planning which affects curriculum and instruction are found in the section titled Educational Philosophy (AE (LOCAL)-X). ** HISD board policy includes sections (labeled “LEGAL”) that cover state curriculum and instruction requirements, with specific Texas Education Code and Texas Administrative Code citations. Sections describing district provisions for curriculum and instruction (labeled “LOCAL”) specify policies that address local needs while operating within the state requirements. Local policies largely serve as addendums to state policy sections. The most detailed local curriculum and instruction policies may be found in the following sections: Educational Philosophy (AE (LOCAL)-X), Instructional Goals and Objectives (EA (LOCAL)-X), and Special Programs: Bilingual Education/ESL (EHBE (LOCAL)-X). Based on my knowledge of state law and the TEA learning system, I would judge HISD board policy to be reasonably comprehensive, with specific requirements regarding curriculum and instruction and allowances for flexibility. The section titled Educational Philosophy (AE (LOCAL)-X) establishes policy focus “on educational outcomes rather than on the fine details of the educational process” (Focus on Performance, Not Compliance) and a decentralized control structure which places decision making regarding curriculum and instruction primarily in the hands of campus leaders: “Decisions should be made in the schools; accordingly, principals shall be the leaders of that decision-making process” (Decentralization). This section defines the Board’s role in supporting campus-based decision-making “by establishing clear goals, high standards, and effective systems of evaluation, while at the same time giving schools maximum freedom to develop and implement the methods that best achieve those goals.” District goals for student performance given here include assessments (TAKS, PSAT, AP exams, etc.), statistical sources, and other measureable indicators along with target results and timeframes for achievement of these results. In addition, a specific method and schedule for administrative reporting of progress toward each of the district goals is described. Sub-goal “b” under Goal 3 (Increase Management Efficiency) establishes regular program evaluations (at least five per year), the results of which “shall be utilized to make adjustments and/or eliminate various programs and services” (Programs and Services Will Be Evaluated for Effectiveness). Sub-goal “c” directs administration to compile a yearly report recommending (among other strategies) “quality research-based professional development” for faculty (Enhance Teacher Quality).
 * Does school district policy contain provisions for curriculum and instruction? Explain.
 * Based on what you have learned about state law and the TEA learning system, is your district’s policy comprehensive enough? Does it make specific requirements about curriculum and instruction, or is it vague and general? Cite specific policy to strengthen your argument.

The section titled Instructional Goals and Objectives (EA (LOCAL)-X) first outlines HISD’s 21st Century High School Learning Community initiative, a plan for restructuring high schools to “optimize the performance of all students, assuring them a seamless transition into higher education and the 21st century workforce.” Though few HISD high schools (to my knowledge) have yet achieved the structure recommended here, this outline includes some specific, research-based expectations to guide on-going planning and organization of high schools. Among the specific recommendations are smaller campus size (ideally, 300 students), and a data management system allowing teachers to track student needs and implement timely interventions (Personalization). A few other recommendations, such as the establishment of relationships with higher education and businesses that will “help align secondary and higher education curricula and. . . ease the transition between high school and the work force” (Coherency), would benefit from more concrete provisions. Following the 21st Century High School Learning Community initiative outline, the Instructional Goals and Objectives section delineates HISD policy regarding curriculum and instruction. Although the curriculum content (which reflects state mandates, with additions to suit local populations), the curriculum philosophy (curriculum will be collaboratively designed to “provide congruency among the written, the taught, and the assessed”), and responsibility for curriculum (to be shared by district administration, the principal, and the teacher) are rather general, the provisions for curriculum development offer more detail. Here, budgeting is tied to curriculum priorities, curriculum development will follow a five-year plan, and the status of curriculum development will be reported to the board annually. Furthermore, district curriculum teams will develop curriculum frameworks/guides and assessment instruments that will be made available to district personnel and all stakeholders.

The section titled Special Programs: Bilingual Education/ESL (EHBE (LOCAL)-X) goes beyond the state provisions for English language learners. This section identifies guidelines for selecting staff and volunteer members for Language Proficiency Assessment Committees and sets local goals and options for multilingual programs (for example, non-LEP students will have the option to participate in dual-language programs in order to develop dual-language literacy). Primarily, this section establishes the district’s objective to increase LEP students’ proficiency in English while respecting and enriching first language proficiency as well. However, curriculum will also be designed with the aim of increasing general linguistic diversity. To support a multi-lingual curriculum, policy in this section addresses HISD’s intention to actively recruit multi-lingual teachers and provide them with appropriate training and instructional materials for their unique task. To promote dual-language proficiency for all students, HISD “will provide program offerings and opportunities that encourage all students to acquire two languages to compete in a global marketplace,” and the district will “report to the Board on the feasibility of establishing dual-language magnets at the elementary and middle school levels at convenient locations throughout the city.”

** Refer back to your suggested improvements for local provisions in the TEA learning system from your Analysis Assignment. Did any of your suggestions relate to board policy? Review the Week 1 article, “Develop Statewide Curriculum Guides and Increase Local Accountability of Curriculum Management.” **

At the time I made my recommendations for TEA learning system improvements, I knew little about the role of board policy in directing the functioning of school districts. Therefore, none of my recommendations specify board policy changes. However, a number of my suggestions address ways that districts might optimize the freedoms and powers available to them under TEA governance. For example, in much the same way that they produce district-wide curriculum guides, districts (as well as individual campuses) might produce instructional materials for enrichment courses (texts, and supplementary materials such as software). Doing so would expand options for such materials beyond those adopted by the State Board of Education (which are provided to districts at no cost); districts could recover the production costs by offering their materials for sale to other schools and districts. In order to guarantee consistency and quality of in-house produced instructional materials, procedures and guidelines must be included in local board policy. Another of my suggestions regards the role of school districts in expanding instruction in languages other than English to the middle and elementary grades. If additions to state-mandated curriculum are to be implemented uniformly among campuses, local board policy must (as I have discovered in my examination of HISD policy) stipulate these additions and address staffing and professional development to support them. Since measurement enables districts to monitor progress and plan for more effective instruction, I also suggested that districts diversify their student assessment methods in order to get a more complete view of student achievement. Board policy must identify and sanction these student assessment methods—portfolios, projects, participation in state or national competitions, and community work—if they are to be recognized and used uniformly among campuses; in addition, methods of reporting student results gathered from these alternative assessments must be established in board policy.

After studying the TEA learning system and the Curriculum Management Audit standards and process, I fully support the Legislative Budget Board’s recommendation that the Texas Legislature require all districts to adopt a curriculum management board policy that includes provisions for “curriculum review, revision, alignment efforts, written curriculum guides, and related professional development according to a schedule in annual District Improvement Plans and Campus Improvement Plans.” HISD board policy addresses each of these recommended elements fairly well but should continue striving for increased specificity in written policy to strengthen curriculum quality, consistency, and implementation across the district. As the Legislative Budget Board also points out, many districts and schools currently fail to produce yearly District and Campus Improvement Plans, simply reissue the same documents, or produce plans that lack curriculum-related objectives and goals. My examination of the CIP for Lyons Elementary in HISD certainly confirms one of these weaknesses: this document neglected to include specific TAKS-related learning objectives within the content areas identified as needing additional attention and resources. Therefore, written directives for curriculum management must be included in the board policy of all districts. 
 * If given the opportunity, how would you change board policy to strengthen curriculum and instruction in your school district? **

My examination of Houston Independent School District Board policy reveals that a fairly well defined curriculum management plan is currently in place. Written policy addresses all but one of the areas in the Legislative Budget Board’s recommendation. The district curriculum development plan detailed in the policy section titled Instructional Goals and Objectives (EA (LOCAL)-X) includes (among others) provisions for vertical alignment among and horizontal articulation across all grade levels, staff training for curriculum delivery and monitoring of that delivery, a diversity of board-adopted materials aligned to the curriculum, and regularly scheduled review and revision of curriculum. However, the HISD board policy does not tie the curriculum review schedule to annual District and Campus Improvement Plans, as the Legislative Budget Board recommends. Making curriculum review part of the regular district and campus improvement planning process will link that review with specific district and campus achievement goals, thus ensuring that curriculum remains relevant to students’ learning needs. Another change I might make in HISD board policy concerns the level of detail with which special program curricula are described. The most specific information regarding actual course offerings is simply a reiteration of the Texas mandated enrichment and foundation curricula for the various grade levels. Although curricula for special programs— special education and magnet campuses, for example—are addressed, guidelines and procedures for selection and design of courses within these programs are not explicit. The only special program curriculum treated in sufficient detail is Bilingual Education/ESL. This program should serve as a model for revising policy regarding curricula in all other special programs within HISD.

**Part 2: Curriculum Management Audit** In Part 2 of the assignment, you will describe the five standards of the Curriculum Management Audit. **Directions:** Review the Week 3 lecture and readings about Curriculum Management Audits.

Demonstrate your knowledge of the Curriculum Management Audit process by completing the following table. Title** ||= **How a School District or School Demonstrates the Standard** **How a School District or School Demonstrates the Standard** ||= **My Suggestion for Improvement** **My Suggestions for Improvement** || //Control// || According to Fenwick English (1988), a school district meets this standard when its written policies establish its control of “resources, programs, and personnel.” Criteria for control include: a centrally defined curriculum, a district philosophy of curriculum, school board adoption of the curriculum, and accountability through roles and responsibilities. Design and delivery of curriculum should be well integrated to enable rational progress toward continual improvement of student achievement. || HISD’s centrally defined, board adopted curriculum consists primarily of the state mandated foundation and enrichment curricula. I suggest updating board policies to include more detail regarding selection and design of local curricular additions. **While procedures for curriculum design are in place, HISD policy should devote equal attention to curriculum delivery on individual campuses. ** || Board policy should include provisions for written curriculum in all subject areas, periodic curriculum review, local board adoption of texts and resources, and time for learning. A comprehensive curriculum management plan to direct the design, delivery, and evaluation of district curriculum must be in place. Existing curriculum documents must also meet audit criteria for quality teaching and learning. Auditors evaluate curriculum documents (teachers’ editions of texts and curriculum guides) using a 15 point scale along five criteria to determine their effectiveness as curriculum management tools. ||  || HISD board policy meets this standard by having clear district goal statements followed by a monitoring system to track and document progress toward each goal. Provisions for vertically aligned and horizontally coordinated curriculum are in place. Detailed procedures for textbook and instructional materials selection are also included. According to English (1989), a school system meeting this standard provides a focused, coherent definition of curriculum that is more than the sum of its parts. Such a curriculum program is the result of a systematic identification of student achievement deficiencies compared with state standards The written policy of a school or district meeting the connectivity standard should include provisions for vertically consistent curriculum within grade levels and horizontally coordinated curriculum from one grade level to the next. Written policy must also address the delivery of curriculum to students (instruction) as well as professional development in and monitoring of curriculum delivery. Equity is achieved when students have equal access to the school’s or district’s programs, services, and opportunities; schools and districts must also monitor differences in achievement among the various subgroups of students. || Again, HISD board policy includes provisions for each of these features except one.  Though the curriculum philosophy states the district’s aim to provide equal access to resources and learning opportunities for all students, this objective does not appear as an explicit campus goal with provisions for measurement and tracking. How will equity of student access be established without such documentation? I therefore recommend that HISD design and implement a method of regularly assessing equity **.** || An effective school system assessment program must be based on the relationship among the written, taught, and tested curriculum. Districts and schools must use assessment data to set goals and establish action plans for their improvement plans; after all, the purpose of evaluation is feedback for continual improvement. To meet the assessment standard, a district or school must use the results of system-designed and/or adopted assessments to adjust, improve, or terminate ineffective practices and programs. Specific indicators that the assessment standard has been met include the following: 1) a formative and summative assessment system linked to a clear rationale in school board policy; 2) a method of determining the effectiveness of programs in achieving desirable student outcomes; 3) a data base to collect program information and compare their strengths and weaknesses. || <span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; msofareastfontfamily: SimSunmso-bidi-language;">HISD board policy uses student data from a variety of assessments (primarily TAKS) to evaluate progress toward specific district goals. District policy also includes provisions for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of programs and services. However, these provisions do not specify data sources for evaluating program effectiveness. I recommend that HISD formalize assessment procedures for specific types of programs and services, with examples of appropriate data sources. These assessment procedures will serve as templates that may be modified as new programs and services arise. No specific data base or data bases are identified for data collection. Details regarding such data collection tools should be included in HISD board policy. || // Although HISD board policy describes a plan to monitor expenditures for all resources (instructional materials, personnel, facilities, etc) devoted to instruction, no plan for acting upon these findings is provided. HISD must design interventions to adjust expenditures when they are not found to effectively support instruction. // // HISD board policy describes a similar plan to monitor the status of facilities according to district standards, but no provisions are included for facility up-grades based on reported findings. Such an action plan for maintaining facilities must be designed and included in HISD board policy. // HISD’s decentralized structure allows campuses, under the leadership of an effective principal, to control their own budgets, delivery of curriculum, teaching methodologies, and personnel. Since no provisions are in place for district intervention in instances of campus failure to manage budgets and resources effectively, HISD must devise such intervention measures and include them in its board policy ||
 * = Standard **Standard** ||= **Standard Title** **Standard
 * <span style="color: windowtext; display: block; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">One ||
 * Two || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidifontsize: 11.0pt; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: SimSun; msofareastlanguage: ZH-CN;">//Direction// || || A school or district meeting the direction standard has clear, valid learning objectives for students to guide all functions within the system. Criteria include clear, board-adoption goals and objectives; documented short- and long-term planning; and demonstrated local control.
 * // The only suggestion I might add regards monitoring of curriculum delivery. HISD board policy must include directives for monitoring the effectiveness of curriculum delivery on individual campuses //** ||
 * Three || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">//Connectivity and Equity// ||
 * Four || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">//Assessment// ||
 * Five || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">//Productivity// || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">According to Carolyn Downey (2001), the productivity standard requires written policies supporting a curriculum-driven budget, resources tied to curriculum priorities, and an environment that supports curriculum delivery. Specifically, auditors look at the level of congruence among curriculum objectives, student outcomes, and financial costs. Policies must show planning to achieve this congruence, with interventions in place that have maintained results without increasing costs. Site visits must reveal well-kept facilities that are conducive to instruction. Overall, the budgets of the district and its individual campuses must be goal-driven, allocating human and material resources to address learning priorities. ||
 * How can curriculum management auditing improve curriculum and instruction in a school or school district? **

All school personnel who plan, design, review, and revise curriculum do so with the best intentions for student achievement. But good intentions alone are not enough to guarantee alignment of local with state learning goals and suitability of instructional methods for all learners’ needs. The effectiveness of curriculum depends on clear district-adopted objectives and an intricate system of data analysis, program evaluation, and resource management. Curriculum management auditing provides an objective analysis guided by well-defined standards which can reveal otherwise hidden weaknesses within the various components of a school system. Modeled after the financial audit, the Curriculum Management Audit assesses school systems as “rational” organizations driven by external goals and objectives (which are understood to be state mandated). According to Virginia Vertiz (2001), a curriculum audit does not tell school systems what to teach, but rather prompts them to question how they determine the appropriateness of curriculum for their students.

Whether performed by a disinterested third party or by school personnel, the Curriculum Management Audit identifies both strengths and weaknesses within a school system; auditors offer recommendations, rather than judgments, to promote positive, voluntary change. Primarily, auditors look for congruence among a school system’s written, taught, and tested curriculum. Misalignment among these elements indicates that a school system would benefit from devising and adopting in written policy a detailed curriculum development plan. When curriculum development is not centrally governed and directed, it may become fragmented and inconsistent across classrooms and campuses.

Another problem area for many school systems is inadequate or inappropriate use of data to drive decisions about curriculum, instruction, and resource management. When the curriculum in not producing desirable learning results in all students, auditors determine whether school systems are collecting, disaggregating, and interpreting data to reveal targets for change. Curriculum and instruction must be flexible and responsive to shifting student achievement trends. Perhaps auditors might recommend a database for regular collection and comparison of data. Once student needs are identified, resources can be allocated more cost-effectively.

Finally, school systems must understand that curriculum is not static but dynamic (even the TEKS are not set in stone). A Curriculum Management Audit may expose formerly strong curriculum as irrelevant to learners’ needs five years later. Such an audit can help school systems see the need for regularly scheduled review and revision of curriculum as well as update or replacement of instructional materials and methods.


 * Would you recommend that a Curriculum Management Audit be conducted at your campus? Why or why not? **

Every campus can benefit from a Curriculum Management Audit. While externally directed audits are most appropriate at the district level, internally directed audits conducted by committees of campus personnel trained in the Curriculum Management Audit process can help schools identify areas needing improvement. When increased objectivity is desired, campuses may even audit each other. In answering this question more specifically, I will consider how such an audit might benefit Lyons Elementary in HISD, the campus for which I prepared my staff development agenda. First, despite consistently high TAKS scores (Lyons has been rated exemplary nearly every year since it opened in 1993), close analysis of AEIS data show significant (though not dramatic) reading and mathematics achievement deficits among special education students, limited English proficiency students, and students who have previously failed one or more TAKS content areas tests. A Curriculum Management Audit may reveal the sources of these inequalities and offer suggestions for improvement. Perhaps instruction could be more equitably delivered to these students by tailoring instructional methods to their needs and learning styles. Or, maybe resources (time, materials, or personnel) might be redistributed to accelerate learning for these groups. Aside from these noted achievement discrepancies, the continued success of Lyons students, particularly in mathematics, is not certain. National and local data show that mathematics achievement rates decline as students advance beyond the elementary grades. A Curriculum Management Audit would allow Lyons to fine-tune the functioning of its campus learning system. Once state-mandated learning goals and district curriculum are efficiently optimized for all students, additional time and resources might be devoted to mathematics enrichment programs and mathematics instruction for gifted students. Increasing the availability of such programs will raise the number of students who will be prepared for the rigors of higher mathematics in high school and post-secondary education.


 * Are there ideas from the Curriculum Management Audit process that you might include in the staff development you are planning? Explain. **

The Curriculum Management Audit involves looking at the way an educational system is organized to analyze data, monitor and adjust progress toward goals, and use resources toward achieving those goals. Using this process to assess a campus or district is certainly a complex endeavor requiring weeks to complete. However, applying the same standards—control, direction, connectivity and equity, assessment, and productivity—to a small-scale system, such as a single classroom or grade-level department, could reasonably be incorporated into a staff development session. In grade-level teams, teachers might answer a series of questions tied to the five standards of the Curriculum Management Audit process and then share their results. First, teachers would reflect on questions relating to teaching and learning in their classrooms; each question would correspond to one of the five standards of the Curriculum Management Audit. For standard one (control), teachers might list their classroom policies for managing resources and making decisions about instruction. Teachers may address standard two (direction) by identifying the goals and objectives that guide their short- and long-term planning (these might be goals set by the district, the campus, or the individual teacher). For standard three (connectivity and equity), teachers would describe how they differentiate instruction to reach all learners. Standard four (assessment) would require teachers to explain how (through formal or informal measurements) they know the instruction they provide is working. Finally, teachers would address standard five (productivity) by reflecting on the level of balance they perceive between costs (time, effort, and material resources) and results (student learning). Once teachers finish recording their reflections on each of the five standards, they will collaborate to identify common trends and create a composite assessment of organizational effectiveness for instruction in a particular subject at their grade level. Though the results are not derived from actual data, this informal auditing process will reveal possible areas of weakness in their daily teaching practice. Teachers may then share ideas about ways to remedy these weaknesses.

In Part 3 of the assignment, you will select the teacher edition of a textbook or a curriculum guide for the content area that you are covering in your planned staff development session. You will use a modified version of the 15-point scale developed by researcher Fenwick W. English to evaluate the document. **Directions:** Carefully review the teacher’s edition or curriculum guide. Rate the guide by typing the score for each criterion in the table. 0 = No mention 1 = Vague mention 2 = Basic information 3 = Clear, specific, well-delineated information Total the score, and answer the questions related to the table. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 18pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">**//5//** |||| TE or Guide Title: <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> Points ** || clear and specific? <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> The Horizontal Planning Guide identifies specific objectives (TEKS) and outlines the sequence in which they will be covered during the school year. <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> The TEKS/TAKS Correlations document states each TEKS learning goal, matches it with a TAKS tested objective, and directs teachers to questions from TAKS released tests that evaluate mastery of the specific objective. <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> Instructional strategies are suggested; when not described in detail, the teacher is directed to additional resources. Approximate lesson time suggestions are given for each objective and activity. || and assessments aligned? <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> Throughout each school year, the district administers TAKS released tests from previous years to measure student progress. The Horizontal Alignment Planning Guide matches each math objective with specific test items on specific TAKS released tests. <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> The same information may be found in the TEKS/TAKS Correlations document. The Horizontal Alignment Planning Guide also lists appropriate assessments from supplementary textbook materials as well as district created or approved assessments. Specific objectives covered on each assessment are identified. || provide specific prerequisite skills? <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">The Vertical Alignment Matrices show specific skills (TEKS) that scaffold learning from one grade level to the next || curriculum match resources and objectives? <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| The Horizontal Planning Guide includes a list of resource materials (texts, software, and websites) for each nine-week grading period. Though these resources appear alongside the sequence of taught objectives, specific objectives (TEKS) are not individually linked to each resource. || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || implementation in the classroom? <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">The Horizontal Planning Guide not only describes activities and lists resources with similar activities, it also gives concrete examples of problem solving techniques and question stems that teachers may modify and extend for classroom use. || **What is the value in evaluating teacher’s editions and/or curriculum guides? How can such evaluations improve instruction?** Teachers must evaluate teacher’s editions of texts and curriculum guides for two reasons. First, systematic examination of these curriculum documents provides an opportunity for teachers to become thoroughly familiar with the organization and contents of these resources. In my experience, I have found that some teachers, feeling overwhelmed by the apparent heft and complexity of some of these materials, fail to develop a habit of using district provided curriculum sources for daily lesson planning. Collaboratively examining these documents allows more experience teachers to explain to newer ones how to go about finding information and using these resources to enhance and guide instruction. Next, evaluation of teacher’s editions of texts and curriculum guides establishes their level of effectiveness as curriculum management tools. If these curriculum documents satisfy the five criteria described in the activity above, teachers can use them with confidence that these materials provide clear direction for instruction. When curriculum materials fall short, teachers of the same subject or grade-level may work together to find or create supplementary materials to compensate for deficiencies. Teachers may even present their findings to their campus and district leaders so curriculum guides can be revised and better texts (with more thorough teacher’s editions) may be selected by the school board. Such evaluations will improve instruction in several ways. As mentioned previously, increased familiarity will promote regular and effective use of curriculum documents. And, as has also been pointed out, evaluations by those who use the curriculum documents from day to day will result in practical suggestions for improvement and drive the review and revision process. Continual updating of curriculum materials keeps them relevant to learning goals. Finally, participation in structured evaluation will promote higher levels of critical thinking among teachers about what they teach and how they teach it. **Would this activity meet the specified criteria for the learner-center staff development session you are planning? How do you plan to incorporate the activity into your staff development agenda? Explain** This activity definitely meets the criteria for learner-centered staff development. According to the article “Learner-Centered Staff Development” available at the //eToos4Education// website, participants learn most effectively “through professional development embedded in the daily work of teachers.” Curriculum documents—teacher’s editions and curriculum guides—serve (or should serve) to direct teachers in planning and daily instruction. Participants will most certainly bring the knowledge they gain through this activity back to their classrooms. Another criterion identified in this same article states that learner-centered staff development is that which is “considered central to continuous school improvement.” Identifying short-comings in curriculum documents is the first step toward improvement in the direction of teaching and learning; to ensure continuous improvement, such evaluation activities must become routine for staff development. Most importantly, by engaging teachers in critical thought processes, this activity addresses cognitive and metacognitive factors for learning, one of the categories under which the American Psychological Association organizes its 14 learner-centered psychological principles. Teachers, like all other learners, are more inclined to internalize, value, and accept responsibility for discoveries they have made and solutions they have devised through their own thought processes. This activity might be an appropriate follow-up for analysis of student achievement data and identification of objectives needing more intense focus within the content area. Once participants delineate achievement levels among various sub-groups within their content area and grade-level and pin-point the specific objectives to be addressed, participants could evaluate a teacher’s edition text or a curriculum guide to find teaching strategies and classroom activities suggested for these problem objectives. Teachers could work in teams to locate this information and report their findings to their group members. For objectives having few or weak connections with teaching strategies or activities in the curriculum document under review, teachers might devise a plan to supplement these weaknesses; they may also make formal recommendations to the appropriate curriculum review committee on their campus or at the district level.
 * Part 3: Auditing a TE or Curriculum Guide**
 * Content Area: <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: SimSun; msofareastlanguage: ZH-CN;"> **//Mathematics//** |||||| Grade Level: <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">//Mathematics Grade 5: TEKS/TAKS Correlations; Mathematics Grade 5: Horizontal Alignment Planning Guide; Mathematics Pre-K – Grade 5: Vertical Alignment Matrix; and Mathematics Grades 5 – 8, Algebra I: Vertical Alignment Matrix// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">*These components function together as a single curriculum guide. The Vertical Alignment Matrix for Grades 5 – 8, Algebra I serves to connect foundation learning in elementary grades with a higher levels. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 9pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA; msofareastfontfamily: SimSun; msofareastlanguage: ZH-CN; msospacerun: yes;"> ** ||
 * **Criteria** |||||||||||| <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; text-align: center;">**
 * <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> |||| 0 <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">  ||  1 <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">  ||||  2 <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">  ||  3 <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">  ||
 * Are objectives
 * Are the curriculum
 * Does the curriculum
 * Does the
 * Does the curriculum provide examples for
 * <span style="color: windowtext; display: block; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-align: right;"> |||| Total Score <span style="color: windowtext; font-family: 'Arial Narrow','sans-serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> || **14** ||

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