New Curriculum Review: STEMscopes Science Texas

STEMscopes Texas Science

Looking for a new comprehensive science curriculum for grade K-12?Consider Accelerate Learning’s STEMscopes Texas (STEMscopes).  STEMscopes supports student learning with phenomena, hands-on experiences, and virtual simulations. The curriculum uses the 5E instructional model, with intervention and acceleration added, to support inquiry-based instruction. Scopes (lessons) are based on TEKS-aligned topics and span multiple days of instruction. Each Scope seamlessly integrates phenomena, scientific practices …

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New Curriculum Review: Amplify Texas Elementary Literacy Program

Amplify Education Texas Elementary Literacy Curriculum Review

Are you looking for new ELA materials for K-5? Take a look at Learning List’s review of Amplify Texas Elementary Literacy Program. Amplify’s Texas Elementary Literacy Program is a comprehensive program that supports English language arts instruction for Pre-kindergarten-grade 8. Learning List recently reviewed the materials for K-5 which the Texas Education Agency has made available to Texas school districts …

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Creating An Effective High-Dose Tutoring Program

Woman tutor and young boy student sitting at a table and high fiving.

While states and districts have engaged in numerous strategies to address Covid-related learning losses, the strategy getting the most attention and investment is high-dose tutoring. According to a February 2023 report published by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), states have spent $700 million of ESSER reserve funds to expand tutoring opportunities, including $470 million on large-scale, high-dose …

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Buying Instructional Materials? How to Avoid Making a (Multi-)Million Dollar Mistake

Caveat Emptor … a Latin phrase meaning, “Buyer Beware.” For centuries buyers have been held to a standard of due diligence; do your homework before you buy or suffer the consequences. Purchasing instructional materials is the single largest annual purchase a school district typically makes. To put it in context: school districts spend more on instructional materials annually than you …

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Will Districts Succumb to State Pressure Over the Adoption/Use of Instructional Materials?

If you have perceived an increase in state control over the adoption of instructional materials, you are not alone. This blog explains the reason for the shift away from districts’ control over the selection and use of instructional materials. In a recent EdWeek article, education leaders who shaped the standards movement argue “that states should be doing more ‘quality control’ when it …

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When Selecting K-12 Supplemental Materials, Does the Alignment % Matter?

Image of a supplemental material for mathematics

When purchasing supplemental materials, how much weight should you give to the alignment percentage? In this blog, we explore the differences between comprehensive and supplemental materials when it comes to assessing alignment. Educators in every district are working hard this year to close students’ Covid-19-related learning gaps. Consequently, many campuses and districts are selecting supplemental materials. This blog discusses important differences between supplemental and …

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K-12 Curriculum Reviews: What Sets Learning List Apart?

Learning List's Curriculum Review Service 10-Year Anniversary Image with gold baloons

Does the following scenario sound familiar? The state’s math standards recently changed, and your district purchased new instructional materials for mathematics. Teachers use the materials for a few months, but when students struggle to master the content, the teachers grow skeptical about the material’s quality. Increasingly, they turn to lesson resources they have developed themselves or borrowed from their colleagues. …

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Selecting Supplemental Materials? Here’s a Process to Help You Pick the Best Materials for Your Students

Supplemental materials on a laptop

In the first two blogs in this series, we offered guidance for planning an instructional materials adoption and customizing a rubric to reflect your district’s priorities. Generally, districts would use that information when selecting core materials. Supplemental materials are most commonly selected at the campus level, and campus leaders typically rely on word of mouth (Wang et. al., 2019) when …

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Customizing an Instructional Materials Rubric To Reflect Your District’s Priorities

Rubric rating scale - interval example

This is the second blog in the series about effective strategies for reviewing and selecting instructional materials. Our first blog discussed planning a successful adoption, which included distributing and aggregating the results of a needs assessment. Now it is time to develop a rubric for the adoption. Developing a rubric from scratch can be daunting. More often, educators look for …

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Are Teachers’ Doubts About The Alignment of Their K-12 Materials Correct?

Standards alignment percentage of supplemental materials

According to the 2021 Survey Results of the RAND Corporation’s American Instructional Resources Surveys, over 90% of the teachers surveyed consider standards alignment an important characteristic in their district-provided instructional materials (question 34). Yet, only between 36-41% of the surveyed teachers (depending on the content area) perceive that their district-purchased materials help their students master their state’s math, English language …

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