Curriculum at a Crossroads: Evidence and What Works

It could be the best program in the world.
If it doesn’t get used properly, it’s not going to work…

– Janine Walker-Caffrey, Ed.D., EPS Learning

This GLR Learning Tuesdays webinar, moderated by Amanda Alexander, Ph.D., explored the crossroads between research, standards, and curriculum, bringing together leading voices from research, practice, and publishing. Steven Ross, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University grounded the conversation in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and its tiers of evidence. He broke down misconceptions as he clarified that “by far, [Tier 3] is the most misunderstood tier of all of them,” and he explained that “when you check the description of what a Tier 3 study involves, it’s kind of vague.” 

Teresa Eliopoulos of EdReports highlighted the organization’s role in evaluating curriculum quality and alignment. “Publishers were responding to broad scale shifts in standards and states and districts were wondering if the claims these publishers were making were indeed accurate,” she explained. EdReports, she noted, relies on educators to conduct reviews: “We work with teams of educators…who are really in the field working with students every day, and it’s those educators who evaluate the instructional materials.” Yet, implementation remains a challenge, as “only 35% of ELA, 51% of math and 6% of science teachers have reported using [high-quality instructional materials] regularly.” 

Janine Walker-Caffrey, Ed.D., of EPS Learning brought the perspective of a curriculum provider focused on striving readers. For her, evidence of effectiveness must go hand in hand with usability. She said, “It’s critical for us to understand the efficacy of our products, and it’s even more important for us to understand what makes those products usable for educators.” She connected this to implementation science, stressing that “it could be the best program in the world. If it doesn’t get used properly, it’s not going to work.” Her “aspirin” analogy underscored the point that proven solutions must still be delivered in accessible, practical forms for educators. 

State and district leaders closed the conversation with reflections from the field. David Pinder, Ed.D., of the Juvenile Services Education Program in Maryland reiterated what the speakers shared, saying: “Too often districts implement initiatives without research-based efficacy….We often tried to tie something to what we did without truly testing the impact of that.” Shawn Stover, Ed.D., of Rockingham County Schools in North Carolina reminded participants that “you have to see an adoption process as the first step of implementation as well.” Bren Elliott, Ed.D., of the School District of Philadelphia stressed that “educator voice is critically important. But we also need to think about our students, our families, other stakeholders.” Taken together, their insights reinforced the central theme of the webinar: evidence, alignment, and adoption matter — but, as Steven Ross concluded, “Implementation, from a research perspective, is everything.” 

If you were able to attend the session, we would love to hear your feedback! We appreciate your help in filling out the following form as we seek to learn and understand the perspectives, ideas, critiques and recommendations that better inform our key audiences.