What determines when an instructional material is characterized as a comprehensive or a supplemental material? Generally, a comprehensive or core material addresses all, or nearly all, of the standards for a particular grade and subject area, and a supplemental product focuses on a particular set of standards. However, sometimes we find that materials designed for supplemental instruction (e.g., test preparation resources) address nearly all of the standards for a given course. This prompted us to examine our thinking about what the labels “comprehensive” and “supplemental” mean in terms of instructional materials.
States’ Definitions of Comprehensive and Supplemental Materials
To clarify our understanding, we examined how some states and districts define these terms. For example, California defines comprehensive, or “basic”, instructional materials to be “instructional materials that are designed for use by pupils as a principal learning resource and that meet in organization and content the basic requirements of the intended course (Educ. Code § 60010(a)). In California, supplementary materials are materials designed to serve one or more of the specific purposes listed in the statute, including providing more complete coverage of a subject in a course, addressing diverse learning needs, and supporting the use of technology in the classroom (Educ. Code § 60010(I)).
Similarly, the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) defines core instructional material as “the comprehensive print or digital educational material, including basal material, which constitutes the necessary instructional components of a full academic course of study in those subjects for which the department has adopted content standards and benchmarks” (NMAC, Title 6, Part 2, 6.75.2.7(C)). A supplementary instructional material is a supporting material used to reinforce, enrich, or enhance instruction driven by core instructional material (Title 6, Part 2, 6.75.2.7(W)).
Comprehensive Materials
Both definitions of comprehensive materials clarify that a comprehensive material is one that supports instruction for a course’s full curriculum and is provided for all students. Such materials would include broad, deep discussions of content; remediation and enrichment activities; formative and summative assessments; as well as teacher resources. Although neither definition specifies that a comprehensive resource must address 100% of the standards for a course, it seems reasonable that a “principal learning resource” or a “primary source of instruction” would need to be highly aligned to standards. Comprehensive materials typically address all or nearly all of the standards for a particular grade or subject area.
Supplemental Materials
Both definitions of supplemental materials indicate that supplemental resources are not designed to be the sole or the primary instructional resource for a course. Instead, supplementary materials complement, enrich, or extend the content of comprehensive resources. As such, supplemental materials typically do not address all standards and, based on our reviews, vary significantly in the percentage of standards to which they are aligned. Some supplemental products focus on a narrow set of standards, while others, such as test preparation resources, provide a brief review of all standards.
The rigor of supplemental materials also varies, depending on the material’s purpose. For example, a supplemental material designed for skills practice may provide less challenging content than one designed to support project-based learning or interdisciplinary connections. Finally, supplemental materials generally have fewer components, such as assessments, monitoring tools, and teacher resources, than core materials and vary significantly in the components they offer.
Therefore, teachers should use their comprehensive material as their primary resource for instruction. Supplemental resources should be used in a complementary fashion, such as to fill in gaps when the core resource is not aligned to specific standards, to engage students, to help differentiate instruction, to provide skills practice, or to extend learning. Even if a supplemental material is aligned to all of the standards being taught, teachers should not use it as the primary resource for the course because it will likely not provide the depth or breadth of instruction (explanations, examples, practice) that a core material would provide.
For more information about selecting and using instructional materials most effectively to support student learning, see our Learning List’s Insights white papers.