"We're looking for high-quality curricular materials aligned to Massachusetts standards. Do you have any advice?"

It's an important question, and one we heard frequently. The CURATE project is the Department's response. We convene panels of Massachusetts teachers to review and rate evidence on the quality and alignment of specific core curricular materials, then publish their findings in user-friendly reports for educators across the Commonwealth to consult and make informed local decisions about curricula.

Defining Core Materials

CURATE panels review only comprehensive core curricular materials that have already been found by an independent, transparent, third-party, educator-driven evaluation process to be partially or fully aligned to college- and career-ready standards. Core curricular materials are typically comprehensive print or digital materials that cover all the knowledge, skills, and practices of the college- and career-ready standards for the content area. They are designed for use as the standalone primary instructional materials for core instruction through which all students access grade-level standards during a year or semester of study, to support coherent sequence and progression of grade-appropriate knowledge, skills, and practices.

Defining Quality

High-quality curricular materials exhibit a coherent sequence of lessons that target learning of grade-appropriate skills and knowledge through instructional strategies that are well supported by research and other characteristics, such as engaging content and inclusive design. Some factors in quality are nonnegotiable, while others vary by context: for example, compatibility with a school's technology infrastructure or cultural relevance to its student population. CURATE-reviewed products are high quality if they are rated the following:

• Standards Alignment: Meets expectations in all criteria (or N/A for Foundational Skills, when applicable) and
• Classroom Application: Meets/Partially meets expectations in all criteria

ELA/Literacy, mathematics, and science curricular materials reviewed by EdReports are high quality if they receive a rating of "Green" / "Meets Expectations" in both Gateway 1 and Gateway 2 of Alignment.

Aligned to the DESE Educational Vision, high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) provide a strong foundation for all students, particularly students from historically underserved groups and communities, to have access to content, texts, tasks, and practices that enable them to excel at grade level (or beyond) and support teachers to do what they do best: make learning real-world, relevant, and interactive for their students while also providing data-informed, individualized supports through evidence-based practices that are inclusive and culturally and linguistically sustaining, to cultivate deeper learning.

Curriculum Ratings by Teachers (CURATE)

Contact Us

For questions about CURATE, please email DESE-CURATE@mass.gov

Last Updated: September 5, 2024