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The Texas State Board of Education recently released this state adopted list of materials for Career & Technology Education (CTE) and Languages Other than English (LOTE) courses. As part of the Texas state adoption process, panels of educators review the alignment of each material to the relevant state standards for the course and develop a detailed evaluation report showing the citations in the panel verified to be aligned to each state standard. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) does not publish the state panel reports on the Agency’s website, though they are available through a public information request. Learning List has reviewed materials for these CTE courses.  For each of those materials, the state panel evaluation report will be posted along with Learning List’s Spec Sheet and Editorial Review on LearningList.com . For state-adopted materials for the remaining CTE courses and for LOTE materials, Learning List will make the state evaluation reports available to subscribers upon request . Requests may be made using the Chat, Contact Us or Request a Review features of our site. We hope that making these state evaluation reports available will help not only Texas subscribers but also subscribers in other states who may want to evaluate CTE and LOTE materials.  An explanation of how to read (and understand) a state evaluation reports is provided below. How to Read a State Panel Evaluation Report The first page of the report provides the state's calculation of the material’s alignment percentages to the TEKS and the English Language Proficiency Standards.  At the bottom of the page, there may be Reviewer’s Comments about the material. The “meat and potatoes” of the alignment report is contained in section (b) Knowledge and Skills, in a table like the one below that begins on pg. 2 or pg. 3 of the report. The first three columns of the table contain a TEKS statement, Student Expectation (SE) and Breakout. Materials submitted for state adoption are reviewed for alignment to the Breakouts of each SE. Note: SEs are generally compound and complex sentences. To facilitate the review of the alignment of each material, at the inception of each state adoption process, TEA staff breaks down each SE into its component parts, called “Breakouts.” The state panels review each material for alignment to the Breakouts. Each Breakout is listed on a separate row of the table. The four middle columns of the table identify the citations (e.g., the pages, lessons, videos) in the material that the state panel reviewed for alignment to each Breakout. The last two columns (furthest right) show whether (Yes/No) any of the citations reviewed were aligned to the Breakout and whether the material is aligned to that SE (which is only shown on the row of the first Breakout of the SE). The material must be aligned to all of the Breakouts of a SE in order for the material to be considered “aligned” to the SE. The Comments column may contain state reviewers’ comments about any citation that they found not to be aligned to the Breakout.   Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material, and thousands of other widely used Pk-12 resources.

Learning List has reviewed print materials for Bedford, Freeman & Worth's (BFW) Rogawski's Calculus for AP*: Early Transcendentals, 2nd Edition. This is a comprehensive product to support instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC courses. Content is available in print and digital formats and includes additional online resources. Instruction addresses conceptual understanding and skills and the application of calculus in a variety of real-world settings. Core content is presented in 12 chapters. The first chapter is a review of key pre-calculus concepts, such as graphing and linear, quadratic, trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions. Subsequent chapters follow a logical progression, beginning with the concepts of limits and differentiation (chapters 1-4) and progressing to integrals and the techniques and applications of integration (chapters 5-8). Final chapters (i.e., 9-12), address differential equations; infinite series; parametric equations, polar coordinates, and vector functions; and differentiation in several variables. Instruction closely tracks the College Board's big ideas, essential knowledge, and learning objectives for AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC. The use of technology to support problem solving is integrated throughout the content. Each chapter includes 20 multiple-choice questions and four multi-part free-response questions that reflect the format and rigor of the AP exam. Additional learning resources are provided in the course's accompanying study guide and companion website. About BFW* BFW believes that what happens in the classroom matters, and that a good class, a good teacher, and good content have the power to change the world-one student and one idea at a time. BFW products have long been best-sellers for AP courses. Now, in response to the needs of teachers across the country, BFW offers materials for Common Core, elective courses, and on-level programs aligned to NGSS. Information in this section is provided by or adapted from BFW .   Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material, and thousands of other widely used Pk-12 resources.

This post is the second in the series, “Three Critical Trends in Instructional Materials.” An increasing number of districts are forgoing comprehensive textbooks in favor of building their own resources. In fact, a California superintendent told us that he had put aside $7 million to pay his teachers to develop their own materials. Administrators in favor of building their own resources say the exercise will engender greater buy-in among teachers and produce better resources for students.  Others question whether the skills that make a person a great teacher are the same skills necessary to design instructional materials. As one person suggested, “I’m a good driver, but I couldn’t build a car.” Having reviewed almost 2500 resources, Learning List staff have seen and learned much about instructional materials. If your district is considering or developing instructional resources, we share the following observations to help inform your methodology: Focus – Materials should focus on the major work of the grade.  Distracting content should be limited and the materials should include multiple citations (e.g., pages, lessons, videos) aligned to each priority standard. For example, if you’re in a Common Core state, do you have multiple citations for teachers to use to teach each Major, Supporting, and Additional standard or each of the Critical Areas of Focus? If you are in Texas, do you have at least a few citations addressing each Readiness, Supporting and Process standard? Coherence – Citations should build and reinforce (within and across grades and subjects) a deeper understanding of concepts and skills articulated in the standards and their application in the real world. Does your material contain real world examples and activities to engage your students and show the relevance of the content and skills they are learning? Rigor – The citations should be grade-level appropriate and rigorous , as opposed to difficult. Horizontal and Vertical Alignment - Citations should be verified to be aligned to the standards. Alignment is a unique skill set.  Very accomplished teachers are not necessarily adept at doing alignment work.  Moreover, alignment is an inherently subjective endeavor. In order to ensure that the material your district is developing is aligned to the standards: (1) have at least two teachers, who are good at aligning material to standards, review the alignment of each citation incorporated in the material, and (2) have a method of reconciling differences of opinion among those teachers. Adaptions/Instructional Resources – The material your teachers develop must be “accessible” to all students and teachers.  Consider whether/how the material will help teachers differentiate instruction for students with differing abilities. Consider also whether all teachers have the skills and knowledge to use the materials you are creating effectively.  For example, will professional development be necessary? Does the material have content supports and notes to help all teachers present the content in a similar way? Maintenance –Teachers will quickly get frustrated if links in the material do not work and will lose faith in the material. It is imperative to the success of your Build Your Own initiative to have a regular maintenance schedule to ensure that the embedded links are working. Building your own materials will be a time consuming and painstaking process. But, if done well, it is likely to produce resources that your teachers will use and that will prepare your students with the knowledge and skills the standards require them to learn.  Hopefully, the observations provided above will help you build an efficient and effective "Build Your Own" methodology.

Learning List has reviewed  Trunity Integrated Concepts in Biology (ICB). ICB is a comprehensive product that supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) Biology courses. Content is available in digital format. Instruction is organized around ICB’s “5 Big Ideas” of biology: information, evolution, cells, emergent properties, and homeostasis. Each Big Idea is examined across a 5-level “Hierarchy”: molecules, cells, organisms, populations, and ecological systems. Each chapter begins with a short overview of content, a table that locates content in terms of the biology Big Ideas and Hierarchy, a list of learning objectives, and questions that frame the titles for each chapter section (e.g., “What is the difference between stem cells and cancer cells?”). Chapter sections begin with a set of statements that summarize the (1) context (e.g., “Populations of cells perform different tasks within multicellular organisms.”), (2) major themes (e.g., “Cell structure relates to function…”), and (3) “Bottom line” (e.g., “Multicellular organisms contain various systems, each with populations of cells that perform specific functions.”) of what students will learn. Most chapters include one or more Bio-Math Explorations (BMEs) and Ethical, Legal, Social Implications (ELSIs) features. BMEs develop quantitative reasoning, modeling, and data analysis skills in the context of biology. ELSIs are case studies and articles that ask students to consider the real-world ethical, legal, and social implications of biology. For example, a chapter titled “Evolutionary History” includes an ELSI addressing “Eugenics Yesterday and Today.” About Trunity* The Trunity eLearning Platform, using cloud-based technology, seamlessly integrates content creation, digital textbooks, and courseware solutions. The award-winning textbook content featured on the platform is delivered in a single, robust, interactive digital learning environment, simplifying access, course creation, and delivery. For students, the textbooks featured on the Trunity eLearning Platform create a captivating educational experience, incorporating dynamic and interactive rich media content within a social and collaborative learning environment. The powerful learning platform allows teachers to quickly and easily customize premium Trunity course content, organize course flow, and manage the course learning environment. *Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Trunity * Subscribe to Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material.

Today, the Texas State Board of Education adopted materials for CTE Courses.  Other than the materials submitted by Red & Black, the materials on this list were adopted. Learning List has reviewed materials for  80 CTE courses including : the courses within each strand that have the  largest statewide enrollment ; the courses for which publishers have submitted the highest number of products for state adoption; and the 17 CTE courses which are eligible for math or science credit . Having reviewed many CTE materials, we provide these observations which we hope will be useful during your local selection process: Very few products we reviewed are specific to Texas or include direct references to the TEKS in teacher and/or student materials. Even some products that include Texas in their titles (e.g., Pearson’s “Texas Manufacturing Welding”) do not include references to the TEKS. This is likely due to the fact that many CTE products, while suitable for high school instruction, are designed to meet the needs of community college students and students in career and technical schools. However, some products contain supplemental resources, such as lesson plans and correlation documents, to help Texas teachers plan TEKS-aligned instruction. Similarly, CTE products designed for post-secondary learning environments tend to have fewer supports for struggling readers, such as active reading strategies, checks for understanding, and margin notes with study tips and learning strategies, which may create challenges for their use in high school classrooms. Nearly all of the products we reviewed addressed employment skills to some degree. Products include profiles of careers related to content, portfolio building activities, and lessons addressing job searches and skills for success in the workplace (e.g., collaboration, communication). Some products are state-adopted for multiple For example, Cengage Learning’s “Personal Financial Literacy” and Goodheart-Willcox’s “Foundations of Financial Literacy” are state-adopted for both Money Matters (Subchapter F: Finance) and Dollars and Sense (Subchapter J: Human Services). There is considerable overlap in content for some publishers’ submissions. For example, CEV Multimedia’s products are state-adopted for a wide range of CTE courses. CEV provides module-based online instruction, and in many cases, the same modules appear in multiple courses. For example, each of the modules that make up CEV’s “Medical Terminology” also appear in CEV’s “Principles of Health Science” (Subchapter H: Health Science). In such cases, districts will want to be careful not to pay twice for the very same content. Generally speaking, we saw few supports for English language learners across CTE products. And, when we did see supports, they were minimal such as a Spanish language glossary. For each state-adopted material in the courses listed above, Learning List has developed a Spec Sheet and Editorial Review to accompany the state’s alignment report. Here is a comparative summary of our reviews of the Money Matters  and  Anatomy and Physiology  materials.  Subscribers may also request reviews of off-list materials for those courses.   Subscribe to  Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material, and thousands of other widely used Pk-12 resources.

Learning List has reviewed McGraw Hill’s Mader Biology (Mader & Windelspecht), 12 th Edition. This comprehensive resource supports instruction in high school Advanced Placement (AP) Biology courses. Resources are available in print and eBook formats with additional online components. Instruction is inquiry-based and focuses on developing students’ understanding of biology concepts as well as critical thinking and communication skills. Mader Biology integrates the College Board’s “Big Ideas” and Science Practices for AP Biology. The text begins with a preface (i.e., chapter 1) titled “A View of Life” that introduces students to the study of biology, the AP Big Ideas for the course, the AP science practice skills, and the scientific method. Chapters begin with a set of essential questions that frame content and reference the relevant essential knowledge statements in the course framework (e.g., “How have humans manipulated plants to better serve our needs? 1.C.2.b”) and a “Following the Big Ideas” feature that highlights the Big Idea addressed by content. Additional online resources for Mader Biology include SmartBook adaptive reading materials, OnBOARD interactive learning tools, and ScoreBOARD adaptive review resources. SmartBook adaptive reading materials highlight important information in the text and present practice questions at key points in the reading. ONBoard for AP Biology provides self-paced modules that support introduction to and/or the review of content. SCOREBoard for AP Biology is an adaptive test preparation program that provides self-study resources to help students prepare for AP exams. About McGraw Hill Education* At McGraw-Hill Education, we believe that our contribution to unlocking a brighter future lies within the application of our deep understanding of how learning happens and how the mind develops. It exists where the science of learning meets the art of teaching. Our mission is to accelerate learning through intuitive, engaging, efficient and effective experiences – grounded in research. Educators have been and always will be at the core of the learning experience. The solutions we develop help educators impart their knowledge to students more efficiently. We believe that harnessing technology can enhance learning inside and outside of the classroom and deepen the connections between students and teachers to empower greater success. By partnering with educators around the globe, our learning engineers, content developers and pedagogical experts are developing increasingly open learning ecosystems that are proven to improve pass rates, elevate grades and increase engagement for each individual learner while improving outcomes for all. Information in this section is provided by or adapted from McGraw Hill Education . Subscribe to Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material.

We recently gave a presentation about three trends we are seeing in instructional materials. This blog post discusses the first: trends we are seeing in RtI materials. The goal of Response to Intervention (RtI) is to bridge the gap between the breakdown in a student’s understanding of concepts or skill development and current grade level expectations. We have observed that while RtI materials do a good job of spiraling instruction back to lower grades where the student’s knowledge deficit began, the materials do not always bring the student up to the current grade level. Another observation is that materials designed for RtI typically do not address all grade level standards.   Teachers must know which standards a material does not address so that they do not inadvertently use that material to reteach those standards. Our next observation:  “adaptive” does not necessarily mean “aligned.” Some RtI materials are “adaptive,” meaning that the material customizes instruction with built-in flexibility to permit students to take various routes to, and the amounts of time for, individualized learning (Wang & Lindvall, 1984). The path of learning is prescribed according to the students' learning needs, as indicated by their responses to questions, tasks and experiences most often determined in a diagnostic assessment. We commonly find that lessons listed in RtI materials (i.e., the lessons that make up students’ customized learning pathways) are not aligned to the standards they intend to teach.  Students cannot learn what they’re not taught. If an adaptive RtI material is not aligned to the standards a student is struggling with, the material will not help the student learn the knowledge and/or skills he or she is lacking. The bottom line: When using an adaptive RtI material, don’t set and forget . If you want that material to effectively remediate your students’ learning gaps, you must ensure that the lessons in each student’s pathway are aligned to the standards the student is struggling with. Lastly, “adaptive” does not mean that the material has adaptions for each of the special student populations.  Here, for example is the section of our Spec Sheet for a popular adaptive RtI material showing that this product does not have leveled readers. We hope these observations, as well as our prior blog post on the same topic; will help you use your RtI materials most effectively to remediate your students learning gaps.

One of the topics we are often asked to present at conferences is how to align a material to state standards. Before you begin the hard work of aligning instructional materials, you must ensure that teachers understand the knowledge and skills each Student Expectation requires students to learn. Each Student Expectation contains three parts, which we call the "Three Cs of the Standard": the content, context and cognitive demand. The Content of the Expectation states what students are required to learn . The content is typically the noun(s) of the Student Expectation. The Context of the Expectation is where/when the learning should be taking place. In the Common Core State Standards, the context may be articulated in the Expectation itself, or the Cluster or Domain may articulate the context for the Expectation. In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the context may be articulated in the Student Expectation or in the Knowledge and Skills Statement. In ELA, for example, the context of an Expectation is a particular genre. In social studies, the context for an Expectation is often the time period or type of history (e.g., US history, World history, Texas history, etc.). For science, the context is where the learning should be taking place (e.g., in the laboratory, in field investigations, on the Earth's surface). The Cognitive Demand is what the Expectation requires students to be able to do . The cognitive demand is typically the verb(s) of the Student Expectation. To determine whether a citation (i.e., a page, unit, lesson) in the material is aligned to a Student Expectation, you have to make sure that the citation addresses all three Cs of the Student Expectation. This may be more difficult than it sounds, because Student Expectations are often both compound and complex sentences. Thus, an Expectation typically contains several nouns and several verbs. If a single citation does not address all of the nouns and verbs contained in an Expectation, teachers must be aware of the citation's deficit or else their students may not learn all of the knowledge and skills the Expectation requires. Teachers can adjust their instruction to make up for the material's deficit or assign multiple citations that align to different portions of the Expectation to ensure that students are exposed the entire Expectation. If you would like to learn more about standards alignment, consider our two-hour, online professional development course, What Alignment Means, Why It Matters, and How to Do It!

Learning List has reviewed Wiley Publishing’s Calculus, 11 th Edition. This comprehensive calculus product supports instruction in Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC courses. Resources are available in print and eBook formats and additional online instructional materials are available from Wiley. Content is presented in 15 chapters that address limits and continuity; derivatives, including graphing and applications; differentiation; integrals, including applications and the principles of evaluating integrals; modeling with differential equations; infinite series; parametric and polar curves; conic sections; vector-valued functions; partial derivatives; multiple integrals; and topics in vector calculus. Appendices include a review of trigonometry and summaries of functions, including families of functions and inverse functions. Additional “Web Appendices” are available online and address additional topics, such as the use of technology (e.g., graphing calculators), selected proofs, and differential equations. Online resources available at WileyPLUS facilitate teacher-led instruction and student self-study. These include ORION adaptive practice tools, video tutorials, animations, and printable study guides and solutions manuals for each chapter. ORION adaptive software provides a diagnostic assessment that evaluates students’ understanding of chapter content by each objective. Animations and videos demonstrate key concepts (e.g., graphing a piecewise function) with voiceover narration. Study guides summarize and review learning objectives, vocabulary, and key ideas from each chapter and each chapter section. Solutions manuals provide answers to odd-numbered exercises. About Wiley Publishing* Wiley’s mission is to help teachers teach and students learn. Wiley maximizes the value of its content by publishing it in all media, notably through WileyPLUS, the online solution which has been used by nearly 1 million students in about 20 nations worldwide. Available in virtually all our disciplines, WileyPLUS courses contain the full online version of the text, plus all of the integrated teaching and learning resources instructors and students need to solve the problems inherent to their courses. Using WileyPLUS, instructors automate the assigning and grading of homework, and build highly visual presentations to engage students. Students complete assignments online with instant feedback as they are working, link directly to specific portions of their online text, and track their own progress in a personal gradebook. Students using WileyPLUS have consistently reported better understanding of material, better performance in class, and greater interest in learning. Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Wiley Publishing .   Subscribe to Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material.

Learning List has reviewed the standards alignment of thousands materials. After reviewing a material's alignment, we calculate the percentage of standards to which the material is aligned. When you log into  LearningList.com , you will see the alignment percentage for each product. Be aware that an alignment percentage of 100%, does NOT mean that  every citation (e.g., page, lesson, video) listed in the publisher’s correlation was found to be aligned to the relevant standard. Rather, 100% alignment means that Learning List's subject matter experts found at least one aligned citation for each standard.  In other words, 100% aligned means that every standard was fully addressed at  least once  in the material.*  Learning List's subject matter experts review multiple citations for alignment to each standard.** As this table reflects, typically one or two of the citations reviewed are found to be aligned to the standard; several others are found not to be aligned. In order to be sure that students will learn  all  the knowledge and skills the standards require, teachers must know which citations are aligned to the standards and which are not. Our detailed alignment reports show (1) which citations (from the publisher’s correlation) were reviewed for alignment to each standard, (2) which of those were found to be aligned to the standard, and (3) which were found to not to be aligned. Moreover, a reviewer’s comment accompanies each non-aligned citation to explain precisely which part of the standard the citation failed to address. These alignment reports make it easier for teachers to assign citations that have been  verified  to be aligned to each standard. If teachers want to assign a non-aligned citation, the reviewer's comment explains how they should  adjust their instruction to make up for the material’s deficit(s). Preparing your students for success requires you to be a critical consumer of the instructional materials you are using. The alignment percentage of a material alone does not tell the whole story. Even when a material has an alignment percentage of 100%, there are likely citations in the publisher's correlation that are  not aligned  to the standards. The alignment reports on LearningList.com provide the  critical  information you need to use your instructional materials effectively  in your instruction. *Learning List recognizes that a single "aligned" citation may not be instructionally sufficient to help students "master" the standard.  Some level of repetition is typically required for students to understand, internalize, and master content and skills. That is the reason Learning List reviews  multiple  citations for alignment to each standard. **If the publisher's correlation lists  fewer than three  citations as aligned to a standard, Learning List's subject matter experts review all of the citations listed. If the publisher's correlation cites  more than three citations for a standard, Learning List subject matter experts review up to eight citations looking for at least three citations that are aligned to the standard. If teachers want to use a citation that Learning List has not been reviewed, they should check the alignment of the citation themselves. However, Learning List's alignment report serves as a guide as to how likely it is that any additional citation would be aligned to that standard.

Edmentum’s Courseware for Texas Algebra I, Texas Geometry, Texas Algebra II, and Texas Math Models with Applications is an online program that supports instruction in self-paced, remediation, initial credit, and credit recovery programs. Instruction is provided online and includes some downloadable materials.  Courseware  also provides comprehensive instruction in each of the core subjects, as well as in other content areas (e.g., world languages, College Board approved AP courses). Courses are made up of units that are broken into a set of short lessons. Most lessons are structured as a tutorial followed by application activities and a mastery test. The tutorial provides direct instruction and guided practice in an interactive slide show format. Application activities include a brief review of tutorial content followed by sets of practice problems with corrective feedback. Mastery tests are short, ten-question tests over lesson content. Students must pass the test with a score of 80% or better. If a student scores below 80%, they may repeat the tutorial and retake the mastery test. Each unit ends with a Discussion, a printable “Unit Activity,” and a post-test. Discussion questions are open-ended (e.g., “Do you know any real-life applications of variables?). Students respond to the question and view their classmate’s responses using the course’s chat features. Unit Activities require students to synthesize their learning to solve multi-step, real-world problems (e.g., calculating the amount of time it will take a skydiver to reach the ground). Post-tests are made up of a variety of question types, including multiple choice, multiple response (i.e., select all that apply), sequencing, matched pairs, fill-in-the-blank, number line, and “hot spot” items, where students select the correct image on a visual element. About Edmentum* Edmentum’s Courseware is a standards-based online learning program grounded in a tradition of solid research, sound pedagogy, and applied innovation. Edmentum develops rigorous, relevant curriculum that challenges your students with a 21st century approach - engaging them with interactive, media-rich content. Whether your students are falling behind, at grade level, or advanced, accommodate their unique needs in an environment in which they will thrive. Courseware can be used in a lab setting, a blended model in which online courses supplement the traditional classroom, or through a completely virtual experience. Information in this section is provided by or adapted from Edmentum . Subscribe to Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material.

ELASuper Teacher Worksheets (STW) is a supplemental resource that provides printable worksheets, flashcards, and learning games across content areas for grades K-5. Resources are accessed online and must be printed for student use. Learning List recently reviewed STW English language arts and reading (ELAR) materials. STW addresses the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and supports reinforcement, remediation, and re-teaching of specific skills (e.g., common and proper nouns, sight words, descriptive writing). Content is organized by subject (e.g., phonics and early literacy, reading and writing, grammar) and topic (e.g., cause and effect, punctuation). Each resource includes a clear title, a short overview, and the grade level(s) for which it is appropriate (e.g., K-2). Worksheets and other activities allow students to practice concepts and improve fluency and skills through repeated practice and games. Reading worksheets are available for fictional stories and informational articles, and some worksheets are available in English and Spanish. STW also provides resources that support the development of print and cursive handwriting skills. Many worksheets are available at no cost at www.superteacherworksheets.com ; membership is required for full access to STW materials. About Super Teacher Worksheets* STW is the largest and most popular website created and managed by T.P.W. Websites. TPW’s mission is to provide high-quality, affordable teaching resources on the Internet for teachers, parents, and homeschoolers. STW features thousands of educational printables to help students learn and review essential reading, writing, math, science, and social studies concepts. This information is provided by or adapted from TPW Websites .   Subscribe to Learning List  for access to the spec sheet, full editorial review and detailed alignment report for this material.