D021
Leadership of Curriculum Design and Instruction
AMM1 TASK 2
Curriculum Evaluation
(Passed First Attempt)
Western Governors University
,A1. Curriculum Map Alignment
Now that I have successfully led West Oak Cove Elementary School through the first two
steps of the curriculum evaluation process for the 4th-grade math curriculum by setting project
parameters, identifying the purpose behind the evaluation, and the stakeholders who should be
involved, as well as create a plan to orient the faculty to the Curriculum—my next step in the
Evaluation Process is to help guide my staff through the following four steps of the curriculum
process, which include refining the curriculum map, refining the curriculum materials, and
suggesting time allocations for the process. As educational leaders, we are responsible for
ensuring that the programs we use in our building are coherent and that we prepare our students
for success both in the classroom and beyond the classroom walls. I feel strongly that looking
into our school's current Curriculum Map and assessing its alignment with our state-established
Common Core State Standards will help guide us to ensure we are doing everything in our power
to help lead our staff and students to success in the upcoming school year in the content area of
mathematics.
Author David Squires from the text, Curriculum: District Stories of a Path to Improved
Achievement, states, "Alignment of the Curriculum to state standards and assessment
specifications is very important in districts for getting improved achievement. Alignment means
that the Curriculum is designed to make sure that assessments and standards coverage are
addressed in the instruction process" (Squires, 2014). In evaluating West Oak Cove Elementary
School's current Curriculum Map, I have identified that the current Curriculum Map, as written,
covers all of the State Common Core Standards except two and that it mentions two standards.
However, it only teaches them during the duration of the school year.
, The standards not appearing in the Curriculum Map are 4.0A.A.2 in Operations and
Algebraic Thinking and 4.MD. A3 in Measurement and Data. The second standard in Operations
and Algebraic Thinking states that students will be able to "Multiply or Divide to solve word
problems involving multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a
symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative
comparison from additive comparison" (Illinois Common Core Standards, 2024). The third
standard in Measurement and Data states that students can "Apply the area and perimeter
formulas for rectangles in real-world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of
a rectangular room given the flooring area and length area by viewing the area formula as a
multiplication equation with an unknown factor" (Illinois Common Core Standards, 2024).
The two standards listed in the current Curriculum Map to be marked as being introduced are
4.NBT.A.3 and 4NBT. B.4. These standards that are not being taught state that a student will be
able to "Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place" and a
student will be able to "Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard
algorithm" (Illinois Common Core Standards, 2024). The current draft of our 4th-grade
mathematics Curriculum Map at West Oak Cove Elementary School does include a breakdown
of the standards and what Unit they will be taught in, as well as a timeframe for the Unit and
what math chapters will be covered during that Unit. As the Principal of West Oak Cove, our
staff and students would benefit from Refinement on our Curriculum Map to better align our
Curriculum to the State of Illinois Common Core Standards that our students are expected to
know and will be tested on.
Leadership of Curriculum Design and Instruction
AMM1 TASK 2
Curriculum Evaluation
(Passed First Attempt)
Western Governors University
,A1. Curriculum Map Alignment
Now that I have successfully led West Oak Cove Elementary School through the first two
steps of the curriculum evaluation process for the 4th-grade math curriculum by setting project
parameters, identifying the purpose behind the evaluation, and the stakeholders who should be
involved, as well as create a plan to orient the faculty to the Curriculum—my next step in the
Evaluation Process is to help guide my staff through the following four steps of the curriculum
process, which include refining the curriculum map, refining the curriculum materials, and
suggesting time allocations for the process. As educational leaders, we are responsible for
ensuring that the programs we use in our building are coherent and that we prepare our students
for success both in the classroom and beyond the classroom walls. I feel strongly that looking
into our school's current Curriculum Map and assessing its alignment with our state-established
Common Core State Standards will help guide us to ensure we are doing everything in our power
to help lead our staff and students to success in the upcoming school year in the content area of
mathematics.
Author David Squires from the text, Curriculum: District Stories of a Path to Improved
Achievement, states, "Alignment of the Curriculum to state standards and assessment
specifications is very important in districts for getting improved achievement. Alignment means
that the Curriculum is designed to make sure that assessments and standards coverage are
addressed in the instruction process" (Squires, 2014). In evaluating West Oak Cove Elementary
School's current Curriculum Map, I have identified that the current Curriculum Map, as written,
covers all of the State Common Core Standards except two and that it mentions two standards.
However, it only teaches them during the duration of the school year.
, The standards not appearing in the Curriculum Map are 4.0A.A.2 in Operations and
Algebraic Thinking and 4.MD. A3 in Measurement and Data. The second standard in Operations
and Algebraic Thinking states that students will be able to "Multiply or Divide to solve word
problems involving multiplicative comparison, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a
symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem, distinguishing multiplicative
comparison from additive comparison" (Illinois Common Core Standards, 2024). The third
standard in Measurement and Data states that students can "Apply the area and perimeter
formulas for rectangles in real-world and mathematical problems. For example, find the width of
a rectangular room given the flooring area and length area by viewing the area formula as a
multiplication equation with an unknown factor" (Illinois Common Core Standards, 2024).
The two standards listed in the current Curriculum Map to be marked as being introduced are
4.NBT.A.3 and 4NBT. B.4. These standards that are not being taught state that a student will be
able to "Use place value understanding to round multi-digit whole numbers to any place" and a
student will be able to "Fluently add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers using the standard
algorithm" (Illinois Common Core Standards, 2024). The current draft of our 4th-grade
mathematics Curriculum Map at West Oak Cove Elementary School does include a breakdown
of the standards and what Unit they will be taught in, as well as a timeframe for the Unit and
what math chapters will be covered during that Unit. As the Principal of West Oak Cove, our
staff and students would benefit from Refinement on our Curriculum Map to better align our
Curriculum to the State of Illinois Common Core Standards that our students are expected to
know and will be tested on.
