Three Ways School and District Leaders Can Use Instructional Materials Data to Improve Decision Making

School leaders regularly use data from benchmark assessments, walkthroughs, and accountability to guide campus decisions. However, instructional materials data is an often-overlooked source of information for administrators to factor into their decision making.  

Embedded assessments, student tasks, writing samples, discussion protocols, pacing guides, and teacher implementation data provide administrators with valuable insights into instruction, curriculum effectiveness, and student learning opportunities.

By intentionally analyzing instructional materials data, school and district leaders can use these insights to support professional learning, strengthen curriculum implementation, and evaluate instructional effectiveness.

1. Use Instructional Materials Data to Identify Professional Learning Needs

Data from instructional materials can help leaders determine what professional learning teachers need next. Student responses, curriculum-embedded assessments, writing samples, discussion tasks, and lesson-based checks for understanding often reveal patterns in student learning that point to specific areas where teachers may need support.

According to Learning Forward, educators should “examine student data to establish student learning goals and use student and educator data to understand educators’ discipline-specific, pedagogical, or curriculum implementation needs.”

For example, if student work shows that students are struggling to explain evidence, compare texts, or complete the writing tasks embedded within a unit, leaders can design professional learning focused on the instructional practices that support those skills. 

The goal is not to judge the quality of professional learning already provided. Instead, leaders can use evidence generated through the curriculum to plan professional learning that is timely, relevant, and directly connected to classroom practice.

2. Analyze Student Work, Lesson Plans, and Implementation Patterns to Evaluate Fidelity of Curriculum Implementation

A report by the National Association of Elementary School Principals titled The Impact of Fidelity of Implementation in Effective Standards-Based Instruction, defines fidelity of implementation as “the delivery of instruction in the way in which it was designed to be delivered.” 

Student work, lesson plans, pacing data, and implementation patterns provide administrators with important evidence about whether instructional materials are being implemented consistently and with fidelity across classrooms and grade levels. 

Reviewing these data sources allows leaders to examine whether teachers are consistently using the curriculum’s core instructional components and maintaining the rigor embedded within the materials.

This process is not about evaluating individual teachers in isolation. Instead, it helps leaders identify schoolwide implementation trends, determine where additional support may be needed, and ensure students have equitable access to grade-level instruction across classrooms.

For example, leaders might examine whether teachers are consistently using the curriculum’s: 

• Text-dependent questions

• Formative assessments

• Discussion protocols

• Writing tasks as designed

• Recommended pacing structures 

Implementation data may also reveal that important components of the curriculum are routinely skipped, shortened, or delayed across classrooms or grade levels. These trends can help leaders identify opportunities for coaching, collaborative planning, or additional implementation support to strengthen instructional consistency.

3. Use Student Performance and Teacher Feedback to Evaluate the Quality and Effectiveness of Instructional Materials 

High-quality instructional materials should lead to meaningful student learning, strong classroom engagement, and consistent access to grade-level content. 

To determine whether instructional materials are truly effective, school leaders should examine multiple forms of evidence, including: 

• Curriculum-embedded assessment results 

• Student work samples

• Classroom performance trends

• Teacher feedback

Collectively, these data points can help leaders determine whether instructional materials are aligned to standards, appropriately rigorous, and producing evidence of student learning over time. 

Examining these data sources across classrooms or grade levels can also reveal important patterns related to task design, scaffolding, pacing, usability, student engagement, and the level of thinking students are being asked to demonstrate. These insights can help leaders make more informed decisions about curriculum adjustments, implementation support, and future instructional materials adoptions.

Literacy expert Linda Diamond explains in Understanding Assessment: Testing Wisely that “A curriculum-embedded assessment is designed to answer the following question: Are my students learning what the program is teaching?” 

This reinforces the importance of using multiple sources of instructional materials data to evaluate whether curriculum resources are producing the intended outcomes for students.

Why Instructional Materials Data Matters

Instructional materials generate valuable evidence about teaching, learning, and curriculum implementation. By incorporating instructional materials data into campus and district decision-making, leaders can strengthen instructional coherence, better support teachers, and improve students’ access to high-quality learning experiences.