Publishers Instructions Science Grades 9-12 Maps

Introduction

Assembly Bill 699/Canciamilla, Chapter 591 of the Statutes of 2001, requires publishers to submit standards maps to local education agencies (LEAs), so that the school districts can determine the extent to which instructional materials or combination of instructional materials for pupils in grades nine through twelve align with the content standards adopted by the State Board of Education (Education Code Section 60451, subsection d). Also, the legislation requires LEAs to use the standards maps in their local review process prior to purchasing instructional materials for grades nine through twelve, to certify via a local board resolution that the instructional materials or combination of instructional materials align to the content standards (Education Code Section 60451, subsection c). 

The Department of Education is sending blank copies of the standards maps for History-Social Science, Science, Mathematics, and Reading/English Language Arts/English Language Development to nine through twelve publishers, and to local nine through twelve education agencies. The instruction pages for publishers and the local school agencies identify roles and responsibilities of publishers and LEAs.

For materials to be sold in California, publishers are required to have standards maps available for local education agencies to use in their local review process by August 1, 2002.

Responsibilities of Publishers in Completing Standards Maps

• Standards maps are required 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 Publisher’s Notes Section 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 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 be aware that the definitions in the Citation Section for introduced, practiced, and taught to mastery do not imply a preferred instruction sequence for teachers.
• Publishers should use the “appendix” section at the back of each grade level standards map to provide additional comments regarding their citations on coverage of specific standards, if it is necessary. Please footnote with a number, such as 1, 2, 3, etc. in the citation box. Keep the actual citations simple and reference the page number and/or the span of pages.
• Publishers may find in some instances that a standard is introduced, practiced, and taught to mastery in a single citation, or they may find that there are several citations in each category that cover a specific standard. Please explain in the appendix to the local education agencies reviewing the instructional materials, if the above statement is applicable.

Role of LEAs in Determining Standards Alignment

• Local governing boards must certify that materials are aligned to the content standards (Education Code section 60451).

• 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). 

Description of the Standards Map

The first column is the grade level(s) of the standard. The second column is the standard number. The third column is the text of each grade level standard.

Publishers should complete the following sections of the document:

• Columns four, five, and six (Publisher Citations) are reserved for use by the publishers to identify citations where the standard is introduced, practiced, and taught to mastery. You will find these columns after each of the standards.
• The following definitions for citations do not imply an instructional sequence.

Citations:

These are the places in the program where a specific standard has been covered.  Space is provided for three types of citations.

• Introduced: These are places in a program where a specific standard is introduced and the student is exposed to the material for the first time, or a standard is reintroduced from a previous course.
• Practiced: These are opportunities for students to practice what they have learned.
• Taught to Mastery: This is a place or places in the program where thorough instruction is provided in the knowledge, skills and strategies, specified in a particular standard.
• Citations for introduction and mastery may be the same in some instances.

Nine through twelve Local Education Agencies should complete the following sections of the document:

• Columns seven, eight, and nine are shaded and blank, as they are provided for use by nine through twelve Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to evaluate whether the program is “meeting” (Y-yes) or “not meeting” (N-no) the standards. 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 and HTML format.
• Science curriculum framework [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/cf/index.asp].
• Price Lists of state-adopted instructional materials [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/ap1/plsearch.asp] for Kindergarten through grade eight.