Running head: OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A CURRICULAR PLAN 

Out of Alignment: Creating a Curricular Plan for Student Success in a Suburban School District

Michael S. Nelson

University of Idaho

A Project Submitted as a Justification for Doctoral Candidacy in the College of Education

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 2

Abstract

School districts today are not judged solely on the quality of their infrastructure, teachers, nor
students. Challenges appear around our country with each school being put on notice that it must
continually improve to maintain status. Teachers are faced with extensive changes in
expectations, standards, and student desire. School districts are forced to choose between
making considerable cuts that affect either the human element, or the robust programs based on
student needs. In many instances, school districts have decided not to purchase necessary
curricular items including textbooks, materials, nor provide professional development. Instead,
they have attempted to maintain focus on instruction, hoping that they can cope with outdated
resources.

Action research will be utilized in this project to provide a roadmap for school districts which
may lack sufficient plans or directives in curriculum guides, maps, and assessments.
Specifically, potent professional development, reflective practice and efficiency will be explored
as these are identified fortes of this research practice (Arhar, Holly & Kasten, 2001). In addition,
this paper will address the need for a professional collaborative framework to improve
instruction at all grades.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Purpose Statement
3. Definition of Terms
4. Background
a. Background to the Problem
b. The Coeur d'Alene School District
5. Purpose of Research
a. How people view curricula
b. Guides vs. Curriculum
6. Implementation Plan
7. Significance Statement
8. Research Questions
9. Methodology
a. Research Method
b. Limitations
c. Delimitations
10. Timeline of events
11. Evaluation Plan
12. Conclusion / Statement of Final Product
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 3

Introduction

All vehicles manufactured today, regardless of the price point, are similar in structure. All

vehicles have tires, an engine, windows and doors, although a different color of paint

differentiates and allows the vehicle to be identified by an owner.

Underneath this fashioning, however, lies the core of the car. Interrelated parts control

structures which allow the vehicle to move, provide comfort, safety and durability. One of the

most important systems on any vehicle is alignment, which focuses the effort of all elements to

move towards a particular goal. If any one part involved in the alignment is not in sync,

noticeable wear and a lack of instructional continuity will emerge.

Analogously, a curriculum for any course taught in the United States has similar parts

that must be aligned so learning can move forward. A lack of stability and direction in the

curriculum may not be immediately obvious to teachers, students, and community patrons. A

disconnect becomes more evident over time until deterioration can be found on some elements of

curriculum, such as compliance with state and federal standards. Soon after, without restoration,

the system will fail to operate effectively, thereby negatively affecting instruction and ultimately

student learning.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this project is to identify a best practice for curricular alignment in school

districts that do not have a written curriculum guide for all taught courses. In addition,

recommendations will be made for a process of vertical and horizontal alignment that integrates

current district, state and/or federal standards. Following that, this investigation will also

consider ways to encourage input and commitment from the stakeholders for a written
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 4

curriculum, namely the school and district employees, but also from the students who will be

taught in the new design or have taken the course previously.

Definition of Terms

1. Standards - what students should know and be able to do (Squires, 2009). These are usually

developed and distributed by state and federal organizations and aligned with assessments

mandated to students for graduation or advancement.

2. Curriculum - the goals for instruction; teachers independently decide how to achieve those

goals (Squires, 2009). Additionally, curriculum has been defined by Kerr

(1968) as "All the learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried

on in groups or individually, inside or outside the school." (p. 16)

3. Alignment - an agreement or match between two categories. If standards contain 'number

concepts' in mathematics and the curriculum contains 'number concepts,' alignment between

standards and curriculum occurs (Squires, 2009).

4. Curriculum Guide - a practical guide designed to aid teachers in planning and developing a

teaching plan for specific subject areas (University of California-Riverside, 1969). The guide

breaks the curriculum into components / units, identifies the goals for instruction, identifies

assessable components. Some components include: content, units, skills and thinking

processes and assessments (ASCD, 1999).

5. Curriculum Mapping - a visual method for projecting yearly plans in all grade levels as well

as monthly plans for the classroom based on a calendar sequence from month to month. This

process allows educators to see the reliance of their instruction on other content areas and

grade levels (Jacobs, 2009).

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 5

6. Scope-and-Sequence - a listing of concepts and activities to be taught in succession over an

academic term. These topics are usually copied from the curriculum guide / map (Callison,

2002).

7. Propositions - the identified elements within a curriculum that should be assessed according

to the values of the school district and standards.

8. Cues - the activities that may be used to demonstrate competency of the propositions, such as

a prescribed online activity or benchmark assessment.

Background to the Problem

What a curriculum entails is difficult to define. The first Latin meaning of curriculum

was “a running,” “a race,” “a course,” with secondary meanings of a “race-course,” “a career”

(Egan, 1978). Over the last century, curriculum has evolved to refer to the concepts that are

studied, or the content, such as the learning of present tense or food vocabulary in a Spanish

course. Typically in paper form, these documents are utilized by teaching staff to guide the daily,

weekly, and monthly units or lessons. They are essential to meeting specific student benchmarks

for today's students no matter their ethnicity, socioeconomic status or lifestyle. In fact, Haycock

(2003) surmises that standards themselves do not make a significant difference unless paired

with rigor and aligned with those expectations. She points out, "Certainly a well-designed

curriculum, aligned with standards, identifies a high-performing school. The documentation of

such curriculum provides a trust that students want to see and parents today expect." (p. 3) She

added, "If paired with the academic learning requirements (standards) and research-based

teaching strategies / materials, all those involved with the instruction of pupils knows what is

expected and that student achievement is paramount." (p. 3)

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 6

Today, teachers predominantly use a textbook as the basic learning instrument. More

teachers than not go through textbook lessons mechanically: they take the book that is assigned

to the course and teach what is in it (Sewall, 2009), expecting that the standards of the district /

and state are included. Above the district level, states identify their own state standards as the

curriculum and ensure that all purchased materials align with the standards adopted by the

legislature. This practice also provides a framework for classroom instruction to teachers while

providing limited flexibility for breadth and depth in the instructional time provided (Idaho State

Department of Education, 2008). Squires refines the definition of curriculum as "the district's

written plan incorporating aspects of time use, content and process aligned to standards and

assessments that establish a focus for instruction, assessment, staff development and

management so student achievement improves." (p. 143). Within this framework, teams of

educators then prepare curriculum guides to recognize the instructional practices of the district

and their compliance with state and national standards. Teachers can then employ this document

in their lesson planning, creation of assignments, and design of examinations throughout the

academic term. From the work in individual classrooms, principals and district coordinators are

held responsible for ensuring that all students meet the aforementioned state and federal

standards.

Goodlad (1984) contends that curriculum is widely understood to be the 'Bible' for

classroom instruction whether it takes the form of a curriculum guide, scope-and-sequence,

simple chart or a detailed lesson plan. As teachers are provided with copies of a district

curricular document, however, a unique dynamic occurs. According to English (2000):

When the door is shut and nobody else is around, the classroom teacher can select

and teach just about any curriculum he or she decides is important. School
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structure isolates teachers in self-contained classrooms with children, and alone

they can make independent decisions about what they teach. The decisions of a

teacher can void the best developed curriculum plans by ignoring them. (p. 114)

Background to the Coeur d'Alene School District

Coeur d'Alene School District 271, located in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was the focus district

for this project. With over 10,000 students and 1,400 classified and certified employees, the

district serves four cities with a population of over 70,000 (Coeur d'Alene School District, 2011).

The district is interesting because of the diversity of educational programs with seven

comprehensive elementary schools, two middle schools and two traditional high schools.

Furthermore, there are also three magnet elementary schools, a magnet middle school, a credit-

recovery high school, and an alternative high school. Both of the traditional high schools offer

different advanced learning programs. With this diversity, the school system recognizes itself as

a 'district of choice' which allows students from inside or outside the system's boundaries to

enroll at any school through an application process.

The Coeur d'Alene School District has not had an employee specifically charged with

overseeing the curriculum due to budget cutbacks. Instead those responsibilities have been

shared by district secretaries and upper-level administrators in addition to their jobs managing

buildings (both elementary and secondary directors are also principals) and day-to-day needs.

Purpose of Research

The purpose of this project is to identify the degree of alignment with state and federal

standards for courses taught in the Coeur d'Alene School District and propose a plan to remedy

this misalignment. This plan would provide a strategy to earn harmony between instructors and

district office administration and provide teachers an opportunity to grow professionally through
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 8

the process of curriculum development. Additionally, this development of a 'best practice' for

curriculum alignment may be helpful to other large districts that have not been able to support

the hiring of a curricular expert.

The term 'curriculum guide' has different interpretations as the words are fairly new in

our lexicon, coined when textbooks became the starting point for instruction (English, 2000).

Since then, Ezarik notes that students routinely have started with page one and finish the term

near the end of the text, primarily using the resources included with the textbook for practice and

assessment (p. 53). Although the textbook still plays a dominant role in determining the content

of a course, it is not always in alignment neither with curriculum guides nor with the applicable

standards. In contrast, a text may contain contradictory information or may include a great deal

of personalization and interpretation. Consequently, these points of learning might not match the

end-of-term assessments that students are expected to take and pass.

Teachers are usually the authors of curriculum guides; either as a collaborative group or

as individuals, in the case of some elective courses. It should be noted that many teachers have

sparse training in curriculum guide design, and many enter the curriculum writing process with

limited instruction from the district and other entities (Glatthorn, A, Boschee, F, & Whitehead,

B., 2006). The end product usually includes a listing of topics to be taught and the amount of

time prescribed for students to master the skills within that subject matter. One example, a guide

for United States History may list events from a particular epoch (i.e. World War II), how deep

to teach concepts, (usually referred to as 'scope'), ways to tailor instruction and assessment to

appeal to different types of learners, and a listing of the main ideas that need to be gleaned from

study. Some guides may also include suggested lesson activities, worksheets, additional
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readings, and other components that could be adapted to a broad range of grades, or that are

specific to a particular grade (ASCD, 1999).

In a number of instances, school systems produce a curriculum guide for each subject.

These guides may be based on the state or regional standards that a school wants students to

meet, specifying the core concepts that must be taught and prescribing instructional time. For

example, the guide may give specific recommendations on a topic, such as a unit on evolution or

human sexuality in Biology (ASCD, 1999). Essentially, such an extensive guide looks at what

aspects of a topic are to be taught so that learning is contiguous, building on previously

understood concepts in the previous grade or course. A guide may also include cross-curricular

connections, enhancing comprehension of a subject matter referenced in different courses. An

example of such could be a discussion of angles in a history lesson about the Egyptian pyramids

as well as their applications in Geometry.

School districts are expected to provide quality instruction no matter the challenge.

Parents trust that schools and their teachers will compare student work to a set of standards that

have been identified by the Local Education Agency (district) or state of residence. Educational

leaders must recognize that a written curriculum is the key to understanding the expectations for

student learning, and is a component for guiding teacher professional development where states

are focusing on what is happening in an individual student's growth pattern (Glatthorn et al,

2006). Overall, to ensure parental trust, address state and local learning outcomes, build district-

wide subject continuity, and meet the needs of children, school districts need to develop

curriculum guides. Without these guides, quality instruction might still be delivered, but the lack

of continuity may result in students not receiving instruction that relates to state and district

assessments (Hadderman, 2000).

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 10

The problem exists in the Coeur d'Alene School District, however, that courses are being

taught without a curriculum guide or with limited understanding of the standards required. A

lack of these guides certainly provides many teachers the autonomy to teach what they feel is

necessary, but causes a lack of instructional flow and consistency across schools (Stevenson, D.,

& Baker, D. P. (1991). In an initial survey of all courses taught at each grade level in the Coeur

d'Alene School District, nearly 60% of active high school courses did not have a written

curriculum guide nor did they have a scope-and-sequence document on file with the district

office. The findings were better at the elementary (80% of courses had a written curriculum) and

middle school levels (71%). In conversations with principals of under-performing schools

within the district, one observation was apparent: teachers often did not understand the

expectations for students in their curriculum guides. Indeed, further investigation revealed that

many teachers did not have an accurate copy of their curriculum guide. Specifically, many of the

guides have not been updated after new standards were adopted following the state's six-year

curriculum adoption cycle. Analysis of this problem at each grade level also found that less than

20% of all active courses had current End-of-Course Assessments (final exams) for each

semester or grading term on file in the district office. Moreover, scores on those assessments

were not being analyzed nor rewritten consistently.

A written curriculum guide should be available in every classroom, in each building in

all districts, as standards for just about every course are available (Squires, 2009). Although

districts are putting more emphasis on those courses tied to making Adequate Yearly Progress

(reading and mathematics), electives, remediation, and special education classes must also have a

written plan based on the need to achieve standards. District Administrator Magazine (author

unknown) reported that these plans should be visible and understood by the students (p. 8). In the
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 11

same initial survey, these content areas were the least likely to have curricular guides, leaving

teachers to deliver instruction without a formal plan. Significantly, Portier (2002) found that

students may learn less than they otherwise might, while many new teachers who could have

succeeded with more support may leave teaching prematurely because of the overwhelming

nature of the work and the pain of failing in the classroom (p. 2). Notably, this problem is not

unique to the Coeur d'Alene School District. According to Education Week (2011) one-fifth of

the new teachers in Massachusetts - most commonly secondary school teachers and elementary

teachers in social studies and science - received no operational curriculum at all. These findings

were impressive as the state was named in the same article as the most highly achieving state in

the union, although their success is attributed to statewide practices of teacher effectiveness (p.

8). Over half of the respondents reported that they encountered a curriculum that specified topics

or skills to teach but no guidance about how to teach them. And only two teachers in the sample

said they had a highly specified curriculum for most subjects or classes they taught (p.14). All of

these results are consistent with the Coeur d'Alene School District.

Additionally, Glatthorn (1999) asserts that districts should have a plan of continual

curricular improvement so that faculty members can discuss the effectiveness of their lessons. (p.

194) The process should also place consistent and trusted teaching methods that have worked

into the guide in order to offer consistent opportunities to all students receiving instruction in that

course (Glatthorn, 2006). This type of empowerment encourages sharing and does not require

the allocation of money. Instead, the focus is placed on the sharing of common goals, a key to

making curriculum changes in a classroom, school or district.

Ideally, this project will help produce curriculum guides that include the key elements to

be taught and best practices for instruction in courses.

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 12

Implementation Plan

Being on the forefront of changes in the politically-charged world of public education

and implementing a goal-based approach for an instructional curriculum often go hand-in-hand.

By utilizing the current district documents (strategic plan, mission, and vision statements, etc.)

and involving a wide range of stakeholders, curricula can be written, rewritten, and implemented

with general outcomes clearly in mind. This collaborative approach also emphasizes continuous

improvement and creates a normal progression that instructional leaders can champion.

(Glatthorn, 2006). To this end, a four phase plan will begin with an orientation about the state of

the curriculum for district stakeholders, a prioritization the curricular needs of the district,

beginning the writing process and the activation of a cycle of ongoing reflection and revision.

Phase One - Analysis of Current State of Curriculum

In order to understand the scope of the task, a full course curriculum and assessment audit

listing all of the active courses in the school district will be completed by reviewing electronic

and metal file storage systems and attempting to find a copy of the written curriculum according

to the district's preferred template. In Coeur d'Alene, the template contains the objectives for

each unit based on the expectations of the Charlotte Danielson framework, the time allotted to

the unit, the materials necessary to complete it and validations that can be utilized to identify

whether students completely understand the topic. Furthermore, propositions and cues are

written into the curriculum guides, which are used to identify the most important topics to

include on the formative and summative assessments for each course. In the preliminary Coeur

d'Alene School District results, many of the courses did not have complete curriculum guides,

but had guides that were outdated. Also, there was a noted inability to find the documents when

teachers were asked if they had a copy for review. A more detailed analysis would also
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 13

determine whether courses have a curriculum map (or scope-and-sequence) and whether the

district office has a copy of an approved summative assessment that is to be given to each

student.

During this phase, a district curriculum committee will need to be organized. Although

this team should be composed of any combination of administrators and educators, subject

review by a department of similarly assigned faculty (grade level or content area) is logical.

Phase Two - Planning and Prioritization

Once the creation of the curricular committee is complete, the team will meet to discuss

the priorities of the district in comparison to meeting goals in the specific mission / plans that

have been utilized. Once the priorities are identified, the participation of all teachers who will

teach the curricula is essential, as each provides information about the content, skills, and

assessments administered in his/her class (Glatthorn, 1984). Moreover, the development of a

comprehensive curriculum map / scope-and-sequence that is intended to promote higher

achievement also must include instructional considerations from each teacher. Squires (2009)

pleads that teachers (as a professional team) will also need to chronologically map important

skills, content, and assessments addressed in each class taught (how lessons went in comparison

to the goals set forth by the committee) and the connections made to other content based on

student input / discussion. (p. 168) He also advocates that this information should then be

submitted to a team of curricula writers during a specified revision period that takes these

suggestions and compares them to the current vertical (year-to-year) and horizontal (teacher-to-

teacher) alignment of the course (p. 183). Much of this work should have already been

completed as schools work to analyze data more frequently with the amount of pressure applied
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 14

by meeting federal benchmarks. Likewise, a data-driven focus can also help the curricular

development process. Jacobs claims that:

Through the analysis of achievement data and other data in a system, a school or

district can underscore the need for change. By actively involving staff in the

process, mapping helps to create buy-in by working collaboratively to identify the

strengths and targets for growth. (p. 24)

Specific attention to the alignment of a curriculum has great value to the students of a

school district. Curriculum sets the goals for all instruction in a district whereby teachers decide

how to achieve their goals within the autonomy of their classroom (Squires, 2009). Some

teachers use horizontal alignment by team-teaching or simply collaborating with teachers in

similar job assignments, but in many cases, this paradigm creates isolation and indifference to

how the course fits in a vertical alignment. Through collaborative work, agreement can be

reached between the school district and teachers to ensure that the goals for education are

uniform.

As the areas of need are identified during analysis, the conclusions must be presented to

the internal leadership of a school district in order to expose unmet requirements. With their

approval, school districts should implement plans to remediate the errors in accordance with their

knowledge of personnel, and aligned with the curriculum adoption cycle of state, which is every

six years in most states, according to the National Association of State Textbook Administrators

(2010).

In the creation of any document that affects students, many stakeholders will be involved.

Certainly that is the case for a written curriculum guide, the foundation that allows all teaching

and learning to take place. In preparing a procedure for handling the problem of missing
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 15

curricula, a prioritization of which courses that are missing curricular documents must be

developed first (Squires, 2009).

The most logical first step for any curricular development or alignment entails the

collection of current standards. In the case of Sophomore English, a statewide summative

assessment is connected to the course that must be passed in order to graduate. That assessment

is written in connection with the state's content standards, a list of topics that are expected to be

mastered at a particular grade level. Those standards are usually connected to standards

generated by other national entities, such as the Common Core Standards, which 47 of the

United States have pledged to adopt, or the Standards for English Language Arts from the

National Council of Teachers of English. When trying to prioritize curriculum writing, these

courses, usually in the fields of Language Arts, Reading, and Mathematics, must be well-

designed and comprehensive, allowing connections to other fields of study. This provides cross-

disciplinary opportunities for students and does not place the pressure of students passing exams

on the soul of one teacher, which is a common occurrence at some schools.

These aforementioned fields of study are also the most commonly adjusted to meet the

needs of new standards and expectations. Especially if an entity has newly prescribed a high-

stakes test, a teacher should expect that the standards may shift slightly annually until the test

becomes leveled, reducing the margin of error. School districts also need to have the flexibility

to adjust vertical and horizontal alignments in order to meet those new standards or risk the

consequences associated with having a greater number of students not pass them, such as with

Adequate Yearly Progress.

The second level of prioritization should come from the direction of the individual state.

Idaho, in connection with 31 other states (Ezarik, 2005), has a textbook adoption cycle in which
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 16

all curriculum adjustments are approved within the state after being screened for content,

organization, presentation and quality (State of Idaho). For instance, subjects in Idaho are on a

six-year cycle, such as the prescribed adoption of Social Studies materials in the 2010 school

year. This allows states to realign their expectations for each of the prescribed courses in a

subject area, and also to create a list of textbooks provided by publishers that meet those

standards from which the district can choose to purchase. It is imperative at least to review

currently adopted curricula or fill holes for courses missing a curriculum guide, end-of-course

assessments, scope-and-sequence or other supporting documents (Glatthorn et al, 2006). It

would ensure that the written, taught and tested curricula matches the expectations of the state

and most likely the school district.

However, what should happen if a course is neither in the core curriculum, nor in line for

an adoption according to the state timeline? At this point, courses for revision or curriculum

adoption should be prioritized according to the number of students enrolled in the course, the

severity of need (i.e., how many documents are missing) and by balancing the number of

changes made to the standards by other agencies. As an example, the missing curriculum for the

course entitled "History of Sports and Entertainment" taught at both of the district's two

traditional high schools has a total enrollment of 318 students but does not have a school board-

approved curriculum guide, scope-and-sequence, End-of-Course Assessment, nor supplementary

materials approved by the school district. Because of the number of students served, the course

would be put on an elevated priority. For another example, the State of Idaho is planning major

revisions to Professional-Technical courses in the coming school year, which does not connect

with the state adoption cycle, when, in 2014, these courses will next be reviewed. Certainly, in

situations in which massive changes are mandated in the title, scope and content, the course
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 17

should be reviewed and re-presented for re-adoption through the normally accepted district

policy.

Writing a district curriculum should not be done in isolation. Teams of educators should

be charged with this purpose, with representation from the student body (excluding assessment

writing, naturally) and the discussion on the progress of the curriculum should be ongoing even

after approval by the school board (Glatthorn, 2006). Led by an interconnected leader at the

district level who provides a clearly-stated vision for written and implemented curriculum in the

district, the team investigates whether building or district resources permit such a vision to

become reality. This organizational hub should be composed of educational leaders within the

school or system, and might include central office personnel, instructional leaders, and

department chairpersons (Glatthorn, 2006).

Phase Three - Curriculum Writing

With the identification and scope of the problem, curriculum writing can take place. This

task should be completed by small teams isolated from outside influences and noises to keep the

focus on improving instruction. According to Jacobs, "Schools that have been successful at

integrating curriculum mapping over the long term have done so by making it a part of their

culture. It becomes a way of doing business" (2009).

Once teacher teams are organized, the labor-intensive portion of curriculum mapping is

complete and the review process begins. Once the review is complete, the benefits of curriculum

mapping become apparent: issues in sequencing of instruction become obvious and easily

correctable (Kurz, Elliot, Wehby & Smithson, 2010).

After this information is collected, a district representative will be able to use this project to

identify the best ways to tackle curricular development while not overstepping the boundaries
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 18

provided by district policies and collective bargaining organizations, all of which must provide

buy-in in order for the results to be acceptable. The activity ties to the second overall purpose of

the project - to create a cycle of review, revision and reflection so that any school district can

appropriately focus their attention on student achievement.

The first area of professional development should be an overview of the district's mission

and vision concerning curriculum and, specifically, about alignment. Horizontal alignment,

often referred to as "pacing guides," assures that all teachers of a common grade level address

specific subject matter following the same time line. Such alignment is crucial in school systems

dealing with state-mandated, standards-based assessments (West-Christy, n.d.). Upon review of

the preliminary completed guide, each member of the teaching faculty has the ability to assure

vertical and horizontal alignment and segue the guide into a more detailed evaluation as the

course is being taught (Glattorn et al, 2006).

After vertical and horizontal corrections have been made, West-Christy (n.d.) asks that a

different review team composed of instructional leaders from throughout the school reviews the

map in search of common points of instruction. This team of reviewers informs teachers of

overlaps in the content or major assignments to promote interdisciplinary connections. (p. 1)

As teachers begin to build on interdisciplinary connections, students naturally begin to

link information between and among courses, increasing the relevancy of skills and content in

such courses. Additionally, teachers can verify skills or content addressed in other courses and

alter their unit plans to a higher cognitive level, making learning more relevant.

While curriculum mapping is an intense and time-consuming undertaking, improvements

to instruction such as vertical alignment, horizontal alignment, elimination of redundancies, and

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 19

facilitation of interdisciplinary linking build stronger curricula and improve instruction

throughout a building (Jacobs & Johnson, 2009).

A curriculum guide is a work-in-progress and schools that view it as such create and

recreate review teams for it, always looking for ways to build bridges among curricula. Schools

with established review teams are keenly aware of the changes that impact instruction and assure

that such changes are reflected on the curriculum map in use (West-Christy, n.d.).

Review teams work regularly to maintain an up-to-date curriculum map that can be

reviewed quickly and efficiently by novice and veteran teachers alike. These regularly scheduled

reviews preserve an on-the-same-page mindset among educators, asking and answering the

questions that drive effective instruction.

Phase Four - Piloting and Implementation

From time to time, curricula guides are rewritten based on changes of expectation for

students or pedagogy, as well as the adoption of new classroom materials. In recent years, the

goal of continually improving curricula has been put on hold because of reduced opportunities

for professional development and less funding for new materials. With these same challenges,

teachers have been asked to do the work themselves often doing so in isolation from others and

eventually not providing copies of their work for others to see. This results in having multiple

copies of the slightly different documents in teachers' hands across district buildings.

Additionally, usually connected to a lack of a district curriculum director, teaching staff can be

unaware as to whether a document exists or, if a copy is found, when it was written and how it

was put together.

Once a new curriculum guide has been developed, the new curriculum will need to be

piloted in order to make sure the curriculum is effective, and to make changes before it is
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 20

distributed and approved by the school board. With the purpose of identifying which sections of

the curriculum meet requirements and which sections need strengthening, the process should

include a comprehensive evaluation of the curriculum’s efficacy and utility in allowing students

to meet the standards.

The findings received from the pilot should be continually reviewed and brought back to

the curricular team to revise expectations, content, materials, and delivery strategies in the

version of the curriculum that will eventually be presented to the board of trustees. Pilot testing

will only be effective if resources, time, and ability to revise the curriculum based on the

evaluation feedback received from the pilot are allocated (I-Tech, 2010).

Research Questions / Approach

This research would be conducted in a qualitative manner where a majority of the

examination will be based on observations and interviews, utilizing action research. This type of

approach was selected because, as Pine (2009) lies out: "it provides for an ongoing process of

study in which teachers examine their own teaching and students' learning through descriptive

reporting, purposeful conversation, collegial sharing, and critical reflection." (p. 93) Action

research is also purposeful as it is a process of systematic inquiry that provides educational

practitioners with new knowledge and understanding, enabling them to improve educational

practices or resolve significant problems in classrooms and schools (Stringer, 2008). In

partnership with the recommended phases of implementation, Mertler & Charles (2005) reaffirm

that action research can be useful for solving an immediate problem. They surmise that action

research "has great potential for bringing our improvements in teaching and learning. It is

relatively easy to carry out and it can make classroom experiences more enjoyable for students

and teachers alike." (p. 260)

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Based on the fact that action research is also the least precise of the methods (Mertler &

Charles, 2005), the research questions are simple but interrelate to identify which variables

provided greater influence on the alignment.

1. How does curriculum alignment affect student learning?

2. What steps should be taken to ensure alignment for courses taught in an individual school

or district that incorporates current standards?

3. How should districts create a balance between personal needs of teaching professionals'

concerning autonomy, and expectations for students created by state or national entities?

Limitations

Action research, being essentially naturalistic, seeks to create a wide understanding of a

complex issue. Specific limitations are present because the field of education is constantly

adapting to changing needs. Among the limitations of this methodology are:

 Credibility - Although controls will be applied, the nature of qualitative research allows

readers to make their own decision about the credibility of the work. In this light, the

researcher could have used prolonged engagement with a number of school districts with

varied characteristics to gauge effectiveness of the intervention.

 Transferability - Qualitative research seeks to provide thick descriptions of contexts and

participants so that others apply the findings to their own situation. As there are great

differences in the character of school districts and their employees, the possibility exists

that the recommendations will not be as applicable.

 Conformability - Action research and the topic of curricular alignment have a great deal

of flexibility / perspectives that must be matched with the goals of the individual school

district.
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 22

 Action research is most subject to errors of bias, reliability and validity. The findings are

limited to the setting where the research was done. (Mertler & Charles, 2005)

Delimitations

Certainly, no educational model can be transferred to every school district without having

elements which are not as applicable or important. This study recognizes that:

 The study was based on the needs of one school district which has similar characteristics

to others, but may also be dissimilar.

 School districts have different levels of curricular alignment and may not have any

courses that are taught without a curriculum guide or scope-and-sequence.

 Many school districts offer elective courses that have fewer connections to core

curriculum standards which may attract limited interest for aligning with other content

areas. Additionally, several electives are not shared between schools, so those teachers

will have to work independently, which is not often motivating.

 Some school districts have unique steps that must be completed prior to the curriculum

writing process which include community member reviews and subcommittees.

Methodology

Action research is well suited in the field of education as it is a "process of systematic

inquiry to provide educational practitioners new knowledge and understanding, enabling them to

improve educational practices or resolve significant problems in classrooms and schools

(Stringer, 2007). Specifically, Stringer asserts that action research works well within a cycle of

work, such as curriculum writing, adoption and alignment, implementation and usually results

there is an increase in collegiality and sharing of activities and materials after the reflective

practice. (pp. 27-28) Additionally, action research can allow for an increase of scope of work as
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 23

developed elements become the springboard for new opportunities, such as the sharing of

lessons. In this case, how a written and aligned curriculum impacts the work in the classroom

and student learning "is directly relevant to classroom instruction and learning and provides the

means for teachers to enhance their teaching and improve student learning. Far from an 'extra'

that teachers must somehow cram into an already challenging work schedule, action research can

be integrated into regular classroom activities to assist them to enhance student learning and

improve professional practice" (Stringer, 2007). For the purpose of this research, having an

approach that encourages the teaching staff to create a systematic process of inquiry and

reflection, while not overwhelming or demanding, is paramount.

Largely, Pine (2009) believes that action research will allow the researcher to study the

perceptions of curricula in our target district and provide for 'catalytic conceptualizations' where

ideas are used to guide professional growth. (p. 237)

Procedure

In order to fully understand the scope of the problem, an extensive review of the

curriculum of an individual school district was conducted. Over the course of many years

without a point-of-contact for curricular maintenance and oversight, courses were approved for

teaching without a written curriculum and these courses have not been adapted for several years

to the new standards presented by the state and the developing national Common Core standards.

In addition to multiple copies and editions of electronic curricular guides stored on an

internal server, copies of similar curriculum were found in filing cabinets, folders and on several

computers and workstations throughout the school district. With the conglomeration of the

documents, an inventory was created identifying the lack of curriculum guides, curriculum maps

/ scope-and-sequence, the accompanying End-of-Course Assessment, the original date of school

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 24

board adoption as well as last update of the document showing any changes that were made in

any of the areas of the document.

When the data were compiled, a meeting was held with the Associate Superintendent and

Superintendent to inform them of the scope of the problem. Additionally, based on the literature

review and experiences from the classroom, building leaders and district office, a proposed

curriculum adoption review cycle was created (Figure 1).

Timeline of Events

The commitment and collaboration of several groups, including the teaching faculty,

administration, support staff, parents, district patrons and the Board of Trustees, is a vital

component of the curricular planning model. All must be prepared to make monies available

allowing for staff and curriculum development, and time to satisfactorily complete a detailed

program evaluation. This would conform to the Board's pledge to support a continuum of

learning and define the long-range plan.

Faculty and school and district-level educators assist by forming various committees,

involving a variety of stakeholders and following procedures created by the district to allow for

creativity, but also for conformity.

At the completion of the review and development process, faculty and supervisors must

be expected to follow the written curriculum and make constant comments as it is piloted as

directed by the Board of Trustees. It must also be well understood that the results of this ongoing

evaluation are not to be used to evaluate performance, but to ensure alignment to content

standards and strong instructional opportunities for teachers and students.

The entire curricular analysis process should be overseen by a representative of the

district office and a small committee of interconnected faculty, such as content specialists,
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 25

directors and master / consulting teachers. As this "Curriculum Council" defines the strategies

and timetables for the work of the faculty, an ongoing needs assessment should be performed,

communicating about changes being made to content standards and recommendations for the

curricular planning teams.

Model For Curriculum Review And Curriculum Planning

Goal One: Establish a District Curriculum Council

Objective 1.1 - Identify educators, district office personnel and community members that

have an interest in the curriculum design process.

Strategy 1 - Use existing means of communicating professional development in the

district to open participation to all grade levels and content areas.

Task 1 Establish Purpose, Responsibilities and Hierarchy March, 2011

1.1 Prepare a draft of the purpose, responsibilities and hierarchy of the

committee.

1.2 Identify impact areas to existing school board policies.

1.3 Present draft documentation to district cabinet.

1.4 Receive approval from district cabinet.

1.5 Work with Policy Review Committee to align board policy and procedure

with new purpose documentation.

Task 2 Select Membership for District Curriculum Committee April, 2011

1.1 Identify date of first District Curriculum Committee meeting.

1.2 Send purpose, responsibilities, hierarchy, meeting dates / times to all

district employees.

1.3 Create press release / website announcement for community involvement.

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 26

1.4 Create application or interested person list to examine committee parity.

1.5 Select representative members.

1.6 Inform participants of their selection and remind of first meeting date and

time.

Goal Two: Construct a clearly understood curricular review process

Objective 2.1 - Orient to the current norms of the district to create a framework for

committee work.

Strategy 2 - Create a university course for participants as a remuneration option.

Task 1 Orient to district vision framework / long-range plan. April, 2011

2.1 Prepare a PowerPoint presentation with essential documents.

2.2 Include during first meeting of District Curriculum Committee

Objective 2.2 - Decide the steps for curricular review / implementation in the district.

Task 2 Create a visual model of the curricular review process. May, 2011

2.3 Discuss State of Idaho curricula adoption cycle.

2.4 Discuss Core Standards, Idaho Content Standards as well as organizational

standards to set understanding for alignment.

2.5 Provide proposed framework and discuss effectiveness in meeting needs.

2.6 Refine and share with district leadership and provide as policy

recommendation.

Goal 3: Conduct Evaluation of Existing Curriculum

Objective 3.1 - Conduct Evaluation of Existing Curricula

Task 1 Update Curriculum Audit May, 2011

3.1 Use Student Management System and District Drive to collect / tabulate.
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 27

3.2 Share results with district leadership and District Curriculum Committee.

Task 2 Identify Consistency with Current Standards May, 2011

3.3 Choose three random courses mathematics and language arts (correlation

to ISAT standards) and try to associate with current standards.

Task 3 Prioritize Importance of Courses for Revision / Writing May, 2011

3.4 Discuss necessity of having all courses with curriculum balanced with

need to maintain consistency with state adoption cycle.

Goal 4: Begin Writing and Revision of Existing Curricula

Objective 4.1 - Organize for Curriculum Writing

Task 1 Set Date / Expectation / Remuneration for Writing May, 2011

4.1 Reach out to teachers of affected courses for their assistance.

4.2 Set dates / times and facility needs for curriculum writing.

Task 2 Orient Curriculum Writers to Process June, 2011

4.3 Discuss vision / plan / challenges and standards for writing.

4.4 Discuss the importance of flexibility for special needs or advanced

students.

4.5 Monitor and assist as needed to ensure consistency.

Task 3 Evaluate work for formatting and compliance. June, 2011

4.6 All documents (curriculum guide / scope-and-sequence, etc.) should be

visually consistent and provide information for parents and students.

4.7 Empower curriculum writers to follow provide input on the process.

Task 4 Send curriculum for board review / adoption. July, 2011

4.8 Strictly follow district guidelines for curriculum writing.

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 28

4.9 Communicate results to stakeholders and further review and revisions.

Goal 5: Monitor, Review and Recycle

Objective 5.1 - Collect feedback from educators piloting new / updated curriculum.

Task 1 Set Date for Curriculum Writing Follow-Up December, 2011

5.1 Identify areas of first semester curriculum that needs refinement.

5.2 Curriculum Committee reports to school board for action.

Task 2 Maintain vigilance on existing curriculum Ongoing

5.3 Identify changes from standards-granting organizations.

5.4 Ensure that changes being requested are concurrent with department.

5.5 Maintain integrity of curriculum on internal and external websites.

Task 3 Contact content teachers of current year Idaho review. December, 2011

5.6 Begin discussions of curriculum writing process / goals and needs.

Evaluation Plan

Ongoing review of the implementation plan and piloting process will be noticeable. The

researcher will maintain contact with the head of the curriculum committee to identify areas of

strengths and weaknesses in the implementation phases. Additionally, frequent reports will be

given to the chairperson that identifies the number of courses out of compliance.

Conclusion / Statement of Final Product

As a guide toward the process, a curriculum revision cycle (Figure 1) has been created that

allows school districts to identify and maintain consistency of district curriculum while at the

same time focusing on the changing standards from other organizations. The diagram allows

personnel to identify the point on the cycle that a particular course is at and what the next steps

of implementation may include.

OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 29

In conclusion, the development of a shared curriculum and system of revision and

evaluation should be considered by the Coeur d'Alene School District. This dynamic process

reflects collegial practice, ensures that students receive current instruction, provides

opportunities for professional development and makes a platform available for feedback gained

in the instructional process. One potential method of doing this is through the process known as

curriculum alignment. Certainly, this practice is about building consensus, one that will allow

the district to maintain high standards and ensure that students in classrooms will be able to meet

them.

 
OUT OF ALIGNMENT: CREATING A VERTICAL PLAN 30

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APPENDIX
Figure 1 - Proposed Curricular Adoption and Review