2045.4.1 : Designing, Evaluating, and Improving Curricula
The graduate evaluates curricula and recommends improvements that will ensure academic and non-academic programs are high-quality, technology-rich, and coherent.
2045.4.2 : Implementing and Aligning the Curriculum
The graduate implements and aligns the curriculum to ensure achievement of expected learning outcomes.
Before you begin this task, you must have completed and passed Task 1, and you must complete and pass this task prior to beginning Task 3.
Part of being an effective school leader is ensuring the programs of study are coherent and prepare students for success. You will lead the school’s efforts in developing, implementing, and evaluating curricula, instructional practices, and assessments.
Over the three tasks for this assessment, you will use eight of the nine steps of curricular evaluation. For this task, Task 2, you will complete steps four through six of the curricular evaluation process for programs of study: refine curriculum map, refine curriculum materials (i.e., curriculum guide), and suggest time allocations. Task 1 covers steps one and two and Task 3 covers steps seven through nine.
While you do not need to complete step three, which is to map the desired curriculum, this step would be at the beginning of this task.
The documents in the attachments section compose a rich case study similar to the type of information you would have access to as a principal when conducting a curriculum evaluation. You may not need to use each of these attachments in every task, although some attachments are required for this task. However, collectively, the attachments will give you a broad scenario to analyze, and individually, the attachments will help inform thoughtful responses to real-world situations.
You have successfully led West Oak Cove Elementary School through the first two steps of the curriculum evaluation process for the fourth-grade math curriculum based on the Illinois Common Core State Standards. You and your team have set the project parameters for the curriculum evaluation process, including identifying the purposes behind the evaluation and the stakeholders who should be involved. You have also completed the plan to orient the faculty to the curriculum evaluation. You will now continue the process, leading your faculty and staff through the next four steps of the curriculum evaluation process.
Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.
Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc., unless specified in the task requirements. All other submissions must be file types that are uploaded and submitted as attachments (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .ppt).
A. Evaluate the attached “Curriculum Map” by doing the following:
1. Discuss how well the attached “Curriculum Map” aligns to established Illinois Common Core State Standards.
2. Discuss student performance data as it relates to the standards in the attached “Curriculum Map,” including identification of areas that could be improved.
3. Recommend modifications to the attached “Curriculum Map,” and justify your recommendations based upon your responses to part A1 and part A2.
4. Explain the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Map.” Justify all changes to time allocations for key elements you would make, based on your responses to parts A1–A3.
B. Evaluate the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” by doing the following:
1. Discuss how well the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” addresses each of the following elements:
• grade-level standards alignment
• student performance data
• equity and cultural relevance
• use of technology
2. Recommend modifications to the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt,” and justify your recommendations based upon your response to part B1.
3. Explain each of the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt.” Justify all changes you would make, based on your responses to parts B1 and B2.
C. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
D. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
File size limit: 200 MB
File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z
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NOT EVIDENT The submission demonstrates consistently unprofessional or unethical behavior or disposition as outlined in the WGU Teachers College Code of Ethics. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The submission demonstrates behavior or disposition that conflicts with the professional and ethical standards outlined in the WGU Teachers College Code of Ethics. |
COMPETENT The submission demonstrates behavior and disposition that align with the professional and ethical standards outlined in the WGU Teachers College Code of Ethics. |
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NOT EVIDENT A discussion of alignment to state standards is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The discussion does not plausibly address how well the attached “Curriculum Map” aligns to established Illinois Common Core State Standards, or the discussion does not include evidence from the attached “Curriculum Map” or corresponding state standards. |
COMPETENT The discussion plausibly addresses how well the attached “Curriculum Map” aligns to established Illinois Common Core State Standards, including evidence from the attached “Curriculum Map” and corresponding state standards. |
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NOT EVIDENT A discussion is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The discussion does not logically connect student performance data to the standards in the attached “Curriculum Map.” Or the discussion does not accurately suggest areas that could be improved, or the suggestions are not supported by relevant student performance data. |
COMPETENT The discussion logically connects student performance data to the standards in the attached “Curriculum Map” and accurately suggests areas that could be improved, supporting these suggestions with relevant student performance data. |
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NOT EVIDENT A recommendation is not provided, or a justification is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The recommended modifications provided are irrelevant to the attached “Curriculum Map,” or the justification does not logically rationalize how the modifications could improve alignment of the attached “Curriculum Map” to state standards or improve student performance data. |
COMPETENT The recommended modifications provided are relevant to the attached “Curriculum Map,” and the justification logically rationalizes how the modifications could improve alignment of the attached “Curriculum Map” to state standards and improve student performance data. |
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NOT EVIDENT A submission is not provided, or a justification is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The submission does not explain 1 or more of the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Map.” Or the submission does not justify all changes to time allocations for key elements by failing to base the justification on the need to align the curriculum map to the standards discussed in part A1, improve areas of student performance data in part A2, or support the recommended modifications to the curriculum map in part A3. |
COMPETENT The submission explains each of the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Map.” And the submission justifies all changes to time allocations for key elements, basing the justification on the need to align the curriculum map to the standards discussed in part A1, improve areas of student performance data in part A2, and support the recommended modifications to the curriculum map in part A3. |
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NOT EVIDENT A discussion is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The discussion does not identify or explain strengths or weaknesses in how the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” addresses each of the given points, or the discussion is not supported with relevant details from the attachments listed in the attachments section. |
COMPETENT The discussion identifies and explains strengths and weaknesses in how the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” addresses each of the given points, supporting the discussion with relevant details from the attachments listed in the attachments section. |
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NOT EVIDENT A recommendation is not provided, or a justification is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The recommended modifications provided are irrelevant to the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt,” or the justification does not logically rationalize how the modifications could make the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” better address the given points in part B1. |
COMPETENT The recommended modifications provided are relevant to the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt,” and the justification logically rationalizes how the modifications could make the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” better address the given points in part B1. |
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NOT EVIDENT A submission is not provided, or a justification is not provided. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The submission does not explain 1 or more of the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt.” Or the submission does not justify all changes to time allocations for key elements by failing to base the justification on the need for the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” to fully address the given points in part B1 and address the timing needs of modifications in part B2. |
COMPETENT The submission explains each of the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt.” And the submission justifies all changes to time allocations for key elements, basing the justification on the need for the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” to fully address the given points in part B1 and address the timing needs of modifications in part B2. |
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NOT EVIDENT The submission does not include both in-text citations and a reference list for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list; however, the citations or reference list is incomplete or inaccurate. |
COMPETENT The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are properly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list that accurately identifies the author, date, title, and source location as available. |
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NOT EVIDENT Content is unstructured, is disjointed, or contains pervasive errors in mechanics, usage, or grammar. Vocabulary or tone is unprofessional or distracts from the topic. |
APPROACHING COMPETENCE Content is poorly organized, is difficult to follow, or contains errors in mechanics, usage, or grammar that cause confusion. Terminology is misused or ineffective. |
COMPETENT Content reflects attention to detail, is organized, and focuses on the main ideas as prescribed in the task or chosen by the candidate. Terminology is pertinent, is used correctly, and effectively conveys the intended meaning. Mechanics, usage, and grammar promote accurate interpretation and understanding. |