Current information about CURATE reviews, Curriculum Guides, and other resources to support local curricular materials decision-making.
CURATE reviews are conducted by panels of Massachusetts educators and provide information about the quality and alignment of comprehensive core instructional materials to Massachusetts standards and priorities. Reviews generally take place in the fall and spring and are followed by quality review and an opportunity for publisher response before final reports are published.
The instructional materials listed below are scheduled for CURATE review during the 2026–27 school year. Review schedules are established based on DESE priorities, available review capacity, and opportunities to provide Massachusetts districts with current information about core instructional materials.
Important Notice — Scheduled for Re-evaluation: Programs denoted with an asterisk (*) have a Current Report and are scheduled for re-evaluation in Fall 2026. The existing CURATE designation will remain in effect until the new evaluation is completed and published. The new evaluation may result in a change to the program's CURATE designation. Once the new report is published, the previous report will be Archived.
Tentative review areas are subject to change based on review capacity. Additional information, including programs selected for review, will be posted as schedules are confirmed.
In some disciplines—including Arts, Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, Digital Literacy and Computer Science, History and Social Science, and World Languages—the marketplace for comprehensive core curricular materials is limited. DESE provides Curriculum Guides to give schools and districts information and evidence to support informed, local decisions about available curricular materials.
Depending on the discipline and available curriculum marketplace, a Curriculum Guide may serve one or more of the following purposes:
Landscape Analysis: Identify available core and supplemental instructional materials from local and national sources.
Standards Alignment: Evaluate the extent to which materials align with the depth, rigor, and progression of the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.
Gateway Review: Determine whether comprehensive core materials meet established quality expectations to qualify for a full CURATE review. CURATE reviews are primarily conducted in content areas where a sufficiently robust marketplace of comprehensive core curricular materials exists.
Inclusion in a Curriculum Guide is not equivalent to a CURATE designation of Meets Expectations. Materials included in a guide may vary in their alignment with Massachusetts standards and priorities and may require substantive adaptation and supplementation to meet local instructional needs and fully address the expectations of the applicable Massachusetts curriculum framework.
Curriculum Guides, like CURATE reports, are one source of evidence to support local curriculum decision-making. Districts should consider the information provided alongside other evidence and considerations relevant to their local context as they investigate, select, and implement curricular materials.
The Curriculum Guides support Curriculum Matters: IMplement MA, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)'s initiative to strengthen curriculum implementation across Massachusetts and advance universal access to high-quality Tier 1 instruction for all students.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE partnered with the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and Massachusetts arts educators to examine available curricular materials across five arts disciplines: dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. The resulting Arts Curriculum Guide , published in April 2026, provides information about core materials and other promising options to support districts in investigating and selecting arts curricular materials. The guide includes evidence about alignment to the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework (2019), cultural responsiveness, and teacher usability.
For questions about the Arts Curriculum Guide, email Dawn.M.Benski@mass.gov .
To support implementation of the 2023 Comprehensive Health and Physical Education (CHPE) Curriculum Framework, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE partnered with the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy and Lighthouse Wellness and Health Education Consulting to examine available curricular materials. The resulting Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Curriculum Guide provides information about available CHPE materials and their alignment with the Massachusetts curriculum framework. First published in 2024, the guide was most recently updated in July 2025.
For questions about the CHPE Curriculum Guide, email Beth.Williams-Breault@mass.gov .
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE partnered with STEM Learning Design to examine available Digital Literacy and Computer Science materials. The resulting Digital Literacy and Computer Science Curriculum Guide wasfirst published in 2022 and most recently updated in June 2025.
CURATE reviews of comprehensive core Digital Literacy and Computer Science DLCS materials for Grades K–12 began in school year 2022–23 and are currently paused until a sufficiently robust curriculum marketplace exists in this subject area.
For questions about the DLCS Guide, email Anne.F.DeMallie@mass.gov .
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE partnered with the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy to examine available History and Social Science curricular materials, including Civics. The resulting History, Social Science, and Civics Curricular Materials Guide, first published in 2024, includes core and supplemental materials for Grades K–5 and 8–12, including materials addressing Massachusetts priorities such as the student-led civics project and genocide education. An updated edition of the guide is scheduled for publication in winter 2026.
Grades 6 and 7 are not included in the Guide because Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE provides Investigating History , a free, comprehensive core curriculum for those grade levels.
CURATE reviews of comprehensive core History and Social Science H/SS materials for Grades 9–12 began in school year 2024–25 and are currently paused until a sufficiently robust curriculum marketplace exists in this subject area.
For questions about the H/SS Guide, please email HistoryCivicsDESE@mass.gov .
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE first published the High-Quality Next Generation ESL Instructional Materials Reports (HQIM-NGESL) in 2025. Developed through reviews by panels of Massachusetts educators and education leaders, the reports provide information about ESL instructional materials, including their support for a full year of dedicated ESL instruction, alignment with the 2020 WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, and quality as measured by the High-Quality Next Generation ESL Instructional Materials Reports HQIM-NGESL rubric.
For questions about NGESL-HQIM reports, email el@doe.mass.edu
Last Updated: August 26, 2026