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Center for Instructional Support
CUrriculum RAtings by TEachers (CURATE)

Our Process

Interested in a CURATE Review?

If you are a publisher seeking to have your product reviewed by CURATE, please submit your official bid through our COMMBUYS system, the official procurement record system for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To learn more about COMMBUYS, please visit COMMBUYS.

For SY23-24, CURATE will be reviewing:

  • K–12 English language arts (ELA),
  • K–12 Digital Literacy and Computer Science (DLCS),
  • K–8 Mathematics,
  • K–5 and 9–12 STE, and
  • K–5, Grade 8, and 9–12 History and Social Science (HSS)

All content areas and grade bands are subject to change based upon internal DESE priorities and capacity. CURATE accepts all submissions from publishers on a rolling basis via COMMBUYS above.

History and Social Science (HSS) Update:

CURATE panels only review core materials that have been found by an independent, teacher-led gateway evaluator to be partially or fully aligned to college- and career-ready standards, typically EdReports.

For History and Social Science (HSS), which is outside the scope of EdReports reviews, DESE contracted with the Rennie Center in 2023 to conduct this gateway evaluation.

Based on the findings in this gateway evaluation, CURATE panels in SY24-25 are anticipated for Grades K–5, Grade 8, and/or Grades 9–12 HSS core curricular materials. (Grades 6 and 7 were not included in this review in part because DESE's Investigating History curriculum provides a free, high-quality, comprehensive option for these grade levels.)

The report provides information on core materials for Grades K–5, Grade 8, and Grades 9–12, specifies which products met baseline expectations for quality and qualify for a CURATE review, and provides information on highlighted supplemental resources, including those focused on priority areas such as culturally and linguistically sustaining instruction, the student-led civics project, and genocide.

For more information on the Rennie Center's HSS curriculum review as a gateway into CURATE, please contact the Rennie Center at abuzaid@renniecenter.org .

For questions about the CURATE Project and other content areas beyond HSS, please contact DESE-CURATE@mass.gov .

CUrriculum RAtings by TEachers (CURATE) 1. PUBLISHER REQUESTS REVIEW CURATE begins when a publisher submits their curricular materials to DESE for review. The submission includes responses to specific prompts related to program features and design, efforts to represent diversity, sample materials, and any available evidence of quality. 2. DESE GATHERS EVIDENCE CURATE relies on three main sources of evidence: 1. A comprehensive review of the materials' alignment to college- and career-ready standards, usually from EdReports. 2. Feedback from Massachusetts educators who use the materials, usually in the form of survey data and focus group transcripts. 3. Information submitted directly by the publisher, including sample materials. 3. CURATE FELLOWS DELIBERATE CURATE Fellows are current Massachusetts teachers. They review the available evidence independently and then come together as a panel to reach consensus using the CURATE rubric (http://www.doe.mass.edu/instruction/curate/resources.html). Fellows document the specific evidence they use to rate each indicator of the rubric. This step often involves requesting additional information from publishers and teachers using the materials. 4. DRAFT REPORT IS ASSEMBLED Developing a draft CURATE report is a group effort between CURATE Fellows, DESE, and the Rennie Center. The Rennie Center compiles fellows' evidence into the report template. DESE reviews for consistency and completeness. Fellows then review to make sure the draft accurately reflects their conversations and conclusions. 5. PUBLISHER RESPONDS Once the CURATE Fellows sign off on the draft report, DESE shares it with the publisher. This step serves two purposes: (1) it ensures that factual inaccuracies about the materials are addressed before the report is publicly released and (2) it gives publishers time to prepare a written response to the report that is included with it upon release. 6. CURATE REPORT FINALIZED After the publisher responds, DESE sometimes needs to reconvene the CURATE panel to determine whether changes to the report are necessary. Once the CURATE Fellows confirm the report is final, it is released on the DESE website (http://www.doe.mass.edu/instruction/curate/) to help districts make great decisions about curricular materials. BY TEACHERS, FOR STUDENTS LEARN MORE ABOUT HIGH-QUALITY CURRICULAR MATERIALS Go to www.doe.mass.edu/candi/curate/

Last Updated: March 4, 2024

 
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