Research

Minority of Teachers Use Learning Standards-Aligned Curriculum

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 07/15/19

An independent nonprofit that evaluates K-12 curriculum recently published its first annual report. The big reveal from EdReports: In four years of reviewing more than 90 percent of the materials in the "known" math and English language arts market, just 27 percent of math and 49 percent of ELA offerings aligned with learning standards. Furthermore, the data showed that just 15 percent of curriculum regularly used by ELA teachers and 23 percent of that used by math teachers have aligned with the standards.

By the end of 2018, EdReports had published 491 reviews. Those reviews were undertaken by a group of 432 educator-reviewers, who assess the materials and develop the evidence that make up the organization's reports, according to Executive Director, Eric Hirsch, in his preface to the annual report. By the end of last year, the reports had been used by 524 districts representing 7.8 million students in their curriculum decision-making

Over the next year, Hirsch said, EdReports will continue working to persuade more teachers to turn to "high-quality" better-aligned materials and expand its coverage of science curriculum.

"I am quite proud of the work that my colleagues have done through EdReports. It’s awesome to know that publishers are improving their products and states are using our reviews for adoptions," said Amanda Lannigan, a math reviewer and high school math teacher in Michigan, in the report. "This work is going to impact so many different teachers and students and to be at the forefront of that change is something really special."

The annual report is openly available on the EdReports website. EdReports' reviews are also freely available.