Introduction
Until recently, publishers were required to submit State Board of Education (SBE) adopted standards maps to local education agencies so that school districts could ascertain the extent to which instructional materials in grades nine through twelve aligned with the content standards adopted by the SBE. The statutory requirement for publishers to provide these completed standards maps to districts free of charge is no longer in effect. However, publishers are still encouraged to complete the standards map templates by citing where their materials align with the content standards.
The Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program (IMFRP) (Education Code Section 60422) created in 2003 requires Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to adopt standards-aligned instructional materials for kindergarten through grade twelve. These templates provide a valuable tool for LEAs in their review and adoption of instructional materials.
The California Department of Education (CDE) has provided downloadable standards maps for History-Social Science, Science, Mathematics, and Reading/English Language Arts/English Language Development for instructional materials for grades nine through twelve. The instruction pages for publishers and the local school agencies identify roles and responsibilities of publishers and LEAs.
Responsibilities of Publishers in Completing Standards Alignment
- Standards maps are designed only for basic, and not supplementary instructional materials, as defined in Education Code Section 60010.
- Publishers should fill-out the form and provide information in the Program Details Section, located at the top of the first page, that includes the title of the program, a list of the program components, and a brief description of the targeted student population.
- Publishers should provide information to the local school districts if the textbook for a course addresses only one domain/strand, etc. Since grades nine through twelve content standards are often taught in a series of domain and/or strand specific courses, there may be standards that are not taught in a particular course or textbook.
- Publishers should list citations that show where their materials align with the content standards.
- Publishers should remember that not all of the citations boxes on a standards map may be filled in. It will depend on what is submitted to local education agencies for review and evaluation, such as the course text and the relevant domains/strands.
- Publishers are reminded that they are not allowed to change the format of the standards maps in any way, or to delete any of the standards, except to fill in information in the sections provided specifically for their use.
- Publishers should use the “Publisher Notes” section, located on the last page of each grade level standards map, to provide additional comments regarding their citations on coverage of specific standards, if it is necessary. Please organize these notes/comments with footnotes (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) and associate that footnote number to any and all citations where the note(s) applies. Keep the actual citations simple and reference the page number and/or the span of pages.
Role of LEAs in Determining Standards Alignment
- Local governing boards must certify that materials are aligned to the content standards (Education Code Section 60442(a)).
- LEAs should check all citations, to verify that the materials submitted by publishers sufficiently meet the content standards that the publisher has cited. This is determined by the LEA, not the publisher. Please note that although the publisher has listed citations that indicate that the standard has been met, LEAs are still obligated to review the materials and confirm that the citations are accurate and in sufficient alignment with the respective content standard(s).
- LEAs are strongly encouraged to collaborate with other LEAs (districts, County Offices of Education) that are adopting the same or similar materials, to confirm and share information on instructional materials that meet or do not meet the content standard(s).
Completing the Standards Map
Publishers fill in the header for each grade level map with the publisher's name, the program's title, list of components (and abbreviations used, such as, PE for pupil edition), and grade level(s) of the program. Publishers should have also completed columns four and five. The following is the information provided in each column of the standards maps:
- The first three columns have been completed with the required information.
- The first column is the grade level.
- The second column is the content standard number.
- The third column is the text of each grade level.
- Columns four and five (Publisher Citations) are reserved for publishers to use to identify supporting citations. These supporting citations are provided to help LEAs evaluate a program and to determine the extent to which each of the standards are covered in that program.
- Primary Citations: These are the places in the program where a specific standard is taught in-depth.
- Supporting Citations: These are places in the program where a specific standard is also taught, but it is not the primary emphasis of instruction.
Nine through twelve Local Education Agencies should also complete the following sections of the document:
- Columns seven, eight, and nine, which are shaded and blank, are provided for use by nine through twelve Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to indicate whether a particular program “meets” (Y-yes) or “does not meet” (N-no) the specific standard. The final column is used for note taking by the nine through twelve LEA.
- Meets the Standard: This is column seven, the Y column. The standard is addressed completely and clearly, providing substantial material for teaching and learning.
- Does Not Meet the Standard: This is column eight, the N column. The standard is not addressed, or the program reflects little or no alignment with the standard. There is insufficient material for teaching and learning the standard.
Important Web Sites
- Content standards [http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp] for California public schools, in PDF format.
- Curriculum Frameworks [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/allfwks.asp] for California public schools, in PDF format.
- Price Lists of state-adopted instructional materials [http://www3.cde.ca.gov/impricelist/implsearch.aspx] for Kindergarten through grade eight.