Core Practice 35

Aligning Curriculum, Instruction, and

Assessment for Student Achievement
The EL Education model ensures that curriculum, instruction, and assessment are tightly aligned to high standards
for student achievement, including required district frameworks. School leaders facilitate a collaborative process
for curriculum mapping. They support the creation of assessment plans for all curriculum units that identify
formative and summative assessments associated with standards-based learning targets. School leaders ensure
that teachers have the resources they need to provide the materials, accommodations, interventions, extensions,
and other supports needed to ensure all students can and do access the curriculum. They carefully monitor
implementation of agreed-upon curriculum, instruction, and assessment through frequent classroom visits and
feedback to teachers.

Special Notes and Considerations: “School leaders” in this section refers to district leaders, principals, instructional
coaches and guides, and teachers in leadership roles. “Administrative leaders” refers specifically to principals or
leaders in district, executive, or supervisory roles.”

A. Adopting Comprehensive Standards and a. Leaders create schoolwide systems for archiving,
Challenging Curricula revising, and sharing curricular plans.

1. School leaders adopt academic standards based on state
standards and college and career readiness indicators.
2. School leaders adopt or support teachers to design
curricula aligned with standards that challenge, engage,
and empower all students (see Core Practice 1: Choosing,
Adapting, and Enhancing Curricula).
b. Leaders facilitate collaborative planning between
teachers working on interdisciplinary or
multidisciplinary curricula.
c. Leaders create structures for new teachers to learn
an already-designed curriculum from experienced
teachers.

a. In choosing or designing curricula, leaders consider the
challenges and assets of their particular students. They
ensure that curricula are accessible to and challenging
for all students.
b. Leaders work with teachers and students to identify
Habits of Character and Habits of Scholarship aligned
with college readiness.
3. School leaders create timelines and transition plans
that allow time and provide resources for supportive
professional learning when adopting new standards or new
curricula.
4. School leaders schedule time and establish a process for
creating and annually reviewing curriculum maps, which
act as the foundation for all planning, instruction, and
assessment.  (See Core Practice 2: Mapping Knowledge,
Skills, and Habits of Character).
2. School leaders provide professional learning support for
teachers to create instructional plans, including expedition
overviews, project plans, and lesson plans.
a. Leaders work with EL Education coaches to assess
needs and create structures for curriculum planning
and revision. *
b. Leaders work with EL Education coaches to assess
needs and design professional learning on instructional
planning and delivery, assessment, and creating a
positive classroom culture. *
3. School leaders purchase or acquire high-quality
instructional materials and resources that enable faculty to
implement curricula.
4. School leaders support teachers in understanding the
design of a curriculum in order to ensure readiness to teach
it. Support for teachers includes the following:

B. Supporting Planning, Instruction, and
Assessment
1. School leaders provide dedicated time and guidance for
teachers to create instructional plans, including expedition
overviews, project plans, and lesson plans.
a. Assessing teachers’ need for professional learning to
support understanding and implementation of a new
curriculum (including how it connects to what they
already know/do, and what specifically is new/different,
and why).

82  DRAFT FOR COMMENT  |  MAY, 2017   | Core Practices | Leadership

 b. Providing professional learning to unpack a new 8. School leaders oversee the creation or selection of high-
curriculum so that teachers understand its design, quality interim assessments that are aligned with required
purpose, and methodology. standards and the school curricula.

c. Providing time and support for teachers to learn new

C. Ensuring Accountability
content or instructional methods.
1. School leaders support and hold teachers accountable for
d. Providing ongoing support, feedback, and collaborative
implementing agreed-upon curricula and assessments.
coaching as teachers implement a new curriculum.
a. School leaders regularly review learning targets,
5.  School leaders review teachers’ plans, provide feedback
classroom assessments, student achievement data,
as appropriate, and/or create opportunities for colleagues
and other indicators of practice to assess whether
to review and critique each other’s plans for challenge,
curriculum and instruction is aligned with standards
engagement, and impact.
and is increasing student achievement.
6. School leaders provide professional learning and planning
b. School leaders celebrate examples of strong curriculum
time for teachers to develop strategic assessment plans
design and lesson planning and share these examples
aligned with standards and curriculum maps.
with others to replicate successful practice.
7. School leaders purchase or acquire high-quality
assessment tools aligned to required standards and
standardized assessments.

* The level of involvement of EL Education coaches—from off-site consultation to ongoing on-site professional
learning—may depend on the school’s level of partnership with EL Education.

 | Core Practices | Leadership  DRAFT FOR COMMENT  |  MAY, 2017  83