Alignment
Reading & Literacy
There's a Design Flaw With Many Reading Tests. Here's One State's Fix
Louisiana is piloting a test measuring knowledge of the texts and curriculum kids have been exposed to, not random passages.
Science
Aligned Science Curriculum, Better Scores? Research Finds a Connection
A WestEd evaluation of the Amplify Science curriculum found it raised student performance on NGSS-aligned assessment questions.
Assessment
Teachers Say Those Ubiquitous, Every-Few-Months Tests Don't Always Capture What's Taught
The vast majority of schools use them, but not all teachers think they accurately measure student progress.
Assessment
Q&A
Picking an Interim Assessment? Do This First, Say School Leaders
Two district leaders explain how they evaluate interim assessments—and why having access to external reviews would be "huge."
Curriculum
Why Connecting Tutoring to Curriculum Could Make it More Effective
Tutoring is most effective when it's explicitly designed to help students understand new concepts in districts' scope and sequence for teaching content.
Curriculum
More Teachers Say Their Curriculum Aligns to Standards. But It Still Falls Short
About one in four teachers said they spent $300 or more of their own money on instructional materials last school year.
Curriculum
4 Ways States Are Exerting More Control Over Classroom Materials
States have limited power over what materials teachers use—but some are wielding influence anyway.
Curriculum
Teachers' Use of Standards-Aligned Curricula Slowed During the Pandemic
More math teachers are using standards-aligned materials than English/language arts teachers, according to RAND survey results.
Curriculum
Opinion
The Overlooked Support Teachers Are Missing: A Coherent Curriculum
Here’s the research on how districts can improve instructional systems—which was already a challenge in the best of times.
Curriculum
Leader To Learn From
Championing a Knowledge-Building Curriculum, One Classroom at a Time
Curriculum matters, but so does how teachers make use of it. Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jana Beth Francis helps teachers in Daviess County Public Schools, Ky., unpack a new core English/language arts curriculum and use it to build students’ content expertise year after year. She is recognized as a 2020 Leader To Learn From.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Hidden Mistake School Leaders Should Avoid This Year
The most common assumption that leaders make is one they don’t even realize they’re making, warns chief academic officer Jared Myracle.
Assessment
Video
Deep Dive Discussion: Assessment and Testing
In this half-hour discussion, Education Week veteran reporter Catherine Gewertz facilitates a conversation with school and district-level leaders around testing.
Among the issues tackled: the pressure to reduce testing, federal accountability around testing, and alignment.
Catherine Gewertz is a reporter covering assessment and pathways from the middle grades to high school and beyond. Since joining Education Week in 1999, she has been the lead common-core reporter and has covered urban schools.
Curriculum
For Educators, Curriculum Choices Multiply, Evolve
How is a district to choose in a curriculum landscape that includes open educational resources, digital 'playlists,' teacher-designed lessons, and old-fashioned textbooks?
Standards & Accountability
States Still Working to Align Tests to Standards, New Map Shows
Research by C-SAIL, a new group that's tracking standards implementation and testing, finds that some states are still working to fully implement standards in the classroom, and some have yet to reach that goal.