Abstract
This document discusses the need to control curriculum quality and describes two methods to assess school districts' efforts at curriculum quality control. Exercising such control means effecting a congruence between what should be taught (the school district's objectives), what is taught, and what students learn. In the first method of assessing curriculum quality control, the school district looks at its own curricular documents, using the following criteria: clarity and validity of objectives; compatibility between curricular objectives and testing measures; clarity of the grade-by-grade sequence of objectives and of the description of major instructional tools; and curricular adaptability to classroom use. In the second method, called the Educational Performance Audit, independent auditors gather data from school visits and interviews as well as curricular documents. The auditors then assess curriculum quality control according to whether a district (1) can demonstrate control of resources, programs, and personnel; (2) has measurable and valid objectives; (3) has documentation explaining program development, implementation, and conduct; (4) uses results from its own assessments to correct ineffective programs; and (5) has improved "productivity" (the level of pupil achievement). The document also suggests steps for citizens to take and barriers to overcome in improving their schools' curriculum management. (RW)
