Additional Curriculum Review Resources

Resources from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and other sites to support assessment of the quality of curricular materials, related processes, and implementation.

What Is Curriculum?

Curricular materials are resources teachers use to facilitate sequences of learning experiences (e.g., lesson and unit plans, texts); also called adopted or written curriculum, or instructional materials.
A curriculum is a sequence of student learning experiences teachers facilitate using curricular materials as a foundation (not a script!); also called enacted or taught curriculum.

Quick Reference Guides (QRGs)

The Next Generation ESL (NGESL) Tools and Resources

Tools and resources for instruction that includes a guide and rubric to support educator teams to engage in a process to determine whether a given set of instructional materials can be considered high quality for ESL instruction.

Resources from Other Sites

Explore other sites and resources designed to support curriculum.

Achieve the Core: collection of resources supporting the use of standards-aligned materials
Council of the Great City Schools: framework for high-quality curriculum at the district level
EdReports: comprehensive reviews of dozens of ELA/literacy, mathematics, and science programs
English Learners Success Forum: focused on making materials work for English learners
EQuIP (Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products): rubrics and much more
Evidence for ESSA: searchable, curated collection of research on math and reading products
Professional Learning Partner Guide (PLPG): an online, vetted list of organizations that provide effective professional development (PD) services aligned to high-quality instructional materials in ELA, mathematics, and science.
Rubric for K–5 reading materials: from the federal government's Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
What Works Clearinghouse: also from IES, curated research on education products and topics
WIDA Prime: a tool to assist educators and publishers in analyzing their materials for the presence of key components of the WIDA Standards

Last Updated: September 4, 2024