Curriculum Matters

Decades of research show that expectations shape outcomes.

• Low expectations hinder performance. When teachers underestimate student capability, student achievement declines (Gentrup et al., 2020).

• This challenge exists in Massachusetts. Nearly one-third of Massachusetts teachers indicated expectations were "too challenging" for the majority of their students (American Instructional Resources Survey , RAND 2020, 2022, 2024, & 2025).

• Yet students rise to the challenge. The Opportunity Myth (The New Teacher Project TNTP, 2018) shows that when students—including historically underperforming groups—receive consistent access to grade-level assignments, they meet those expectations.

High-quality instructional materials help teachers operationalize high expectations by providing clear sequencing, scaffolds, and instructional guidance that support all students in meeting rigorous academic standards.

A wide range of instructional approaches are strongly supported by research but difficult to implement consistently without structured materials. High-quality instructional materials embed these practices directly into lessons, making them equitable and scalable.

Examples include:

• Foundational reading skill instruction (explicit instruction; Foorman et al., 2016).

• Anchoring science units in real phenomena to drive inquiry and coherence (Banilower et al., 2008).

• Interleaving math problem types to promote strategy selection and deeper learning (Rohrer et al., 2020).

When materials encode these practices, teachers are more likely to use them, and students are more likely to benefit.

High-quality instructional materials are most effective when paired with aligned professional learning.

• In a randomized control trial, Jackson & Makarin (2018) found that teachers given high-quality lessons plus curriculum-specific support improved student learning.

• Hill et al. (2020) demonstrated a 10-percentile-point gain in Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics STEM achievement when new curricular materials were combined with strong professional development.

• Kane et al. (2016) identified positive relationships between student outcomes and the amount of PD, frequency of observations and feedback, and teacher commitment to implementing high-quality instructional materials.

The evidence is clear: curriculum-specific professional learning strengthens teacher practice and magnifies the impact of high-quality instructional materials.

Though high-quality instructional materials implementation requires coordination, multiple studies show its feasibility and impact when supported at the system level.

• District Cases: Seaford (Delaware DE), Tulsa (Oklahoma OK), Fort Dodge (Iowa IA), Orange County (Florida FL), and Pasco County (Florida FL) as well as 53 districts in Massachusetts have demonstrated improvements through districtwide High-Quality Instructional Materials HQIM adoption (McCartney & Gurney, 2023; Miller & Partelow, 2019; Zaidi et al, 2025).

• State Leadership: Louisiana and Tennessee, both of which made High-Quality Instructional Materials HQIM central to statewide strategies, saw strong gains on NAEP reading assessments from 2017 to 2024.

These examples confirm that high-quality instructional materials can be implemented at scale with measurable positive effects on teaching quality and student achievement.

• Banilower, E., Cohen, K., Pasley, J., & Weiss, I. (2008). Effective science instruction: What does research tell us? RMC Research Corp., Center on Instruction.

• Foorman, B., Beyler, N., Borradaile, K., Coyne, M., Denton, C. A., Dimino, J., Furgeson, J., Hayes, L., Henke, J., Justice, L., Keating, B., Lewis, W., Sattar, S., Streke, A., Wagner, R., & Wissel, S. (2016). Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade (NCEE 2016-4008) . National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

• Gentrup, S., Lorenz, G., Kristen, C., & Kogan, I. (2020). Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom: Teacher expectations, teacher feedback and student achievement. Learning and Instruction, 66, Article 101296.

• Hill, H. C., Lynch, K., Gonzalez, K. E., & Pollard, C. (2020). Professional development that improves Science, Technology Engineering, and Mathematics STEM outcomes. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(5), 50–56.

• Jackson, K., & Makarin, A. (2018). Can online off-the-shelf lessons improve student outcomes? Evidence from a field experiment. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy , 10(3), 226–254.

• Kane, T. J., Owens, A. M., Marinell, W. H., Thal, D. R. C., & Staiger, D. O. (2016). Teaching higher: Educators' perspectives on Common Core implementation . Harvard University Center for Education Policy Research.

• McCarty, G., Gurny, M., (2023) Staying the Course, Toward Strong High-Quality Instructional Materials HQIM Implementation in Delaware . Center for Public Research and Leadership.

• Miller, A. F., & Partelow, L., (2019) Successful Implementation of High-Quality Instructional Materials, 5 Case Studies . Center for American Progress.

• The New Teacher Project TNTP. (2018). The opportunity myth: What students can show us about how school is letting them down-and how to fix it .

• Rohrer, D., Dedrick, R. F., Hartwig, M. K., & Cheung, C.-N. (2020). A randomized controlled trial of interleaved mathematics practice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(1), 40–52.

• Zaidi, S., Schiavo, N., Wang, A., Hoyle, C., Bekele, A., DeLisi, J., (2025). An Evaluation of the High-Quality Instructional Materials Implementation Grant Program . Prepared by Educational Development Center, Inc for Massachusetts.