Curriculum Evaluation Plan Essay

This evaluation plan provides a description concerning how the curriculum committee will collaborate to achieve an improved language arts curriculum for grades 6 through 8 at Haddonfield Middle School (hereinafter alternatively “Haddonfield” or “the school”), a public school located in Haddonfield, New Jersey.The Middletown Township Public Schools recognize the need for ongoing curricular evaluation. Based on its stated mission (described below), Haddonfield’s educators are committed to providing the highest quality curricular offerings possible that help young learners prepare for life in the 21 century. Therefore, a revision of the English/Language Arts (ELA) curriculum is needed. To this end, a curriculum committee will be organized to achieve the following objectives: (a) the committee will ensure that the curriculum continues to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), (b) effectively prepares the students for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized testing as aligned with the school district’s educational missions. In addition, a survey of Survey of stakeholder needs, an analysis of student performance data with NJCCCS/CP Indicators, and a description of curricular, cross content, co-curricular, and extracurricular content is followed by a discussion of procedures for curriculum design, approval, and steps for implementation. Finally, a description of the procedures that will be used for curriculum evaluation and the 5-year evaluation cycle that will be used for subjects is followed by a discussion concerning the technology tools for teaching and learning and corresponding professional development needs. It is the goal of this revised curriculum to provide Haddonfield’s students with the educational background they will need to succeed in their higher educational pursuits and adult lives.

Rationale in Support of Change

In 1996, the State of New Jersey’s CCSS were adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, 2016). These standards do not stipulate what curricular offerings should be provided, but they do provide a specific outline concerning what students are expected to know and be able to accomplish following their completion of a 13-year public school education (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, 2016). Because the standards are revised every 5 years, it is important for Haddonfield Middle School to revisit its ELA curriculum to ensure that it remains aligned with the CCCS.

The most recent revisions of the CCCS involved several significant changes to the ELA requirements, including (a) requiring regular practice with complex texts and their academic language; (b) reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and informational; and (c) building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction (Kurabinski, 2016).Therefore, Haddonfield’s current ELA curricular offerings must be updated to include these new standards in order to prepare students for successful completion of the PARCC’s standardized tests.

Mission/Philosophy Statement

The stated mission of the school is “to teach, guide, and nurture young adolescents” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 2). In support, the school mission statement adds that it seeks to achieve this outcome through “partnerships with parents and the community” in order to “create a school where students want to learn and see the benefit of their learning” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 2). In addition, the school’s mission statement also highlights the goal to help young learners become better citizens: “We help students become independent learners, responsible decision-makers, and thoughtful citizens” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 3). This mission is highly congruent with the guidance provided by Bas (2013) who cites the need to include citizenship development in the curriculum design process. In this regard, Bas advises that, “A curriculum is developed for such purposes as establishing a good-quality education system either on national or international basis, training qualified human force to help develop the country and supporting the protection and development of social and cultural values” (p. 981).

Finally, the school’s mission statement also includes a description of its ideal curricular offerings: “We provide a comprehensive curriculum that integrates learning – academic, artistic, technological, and athletic – with life” (Haddonfield mission, 2016, para. 3). Taken together, these mission statements are supportive of the above-stated rationale in support of revising Haddonfield Middle School’s ELA curriculum.

Haddonfield Board of Education District Mission Statement

The stated mission of the Haddonfield Public School District is as follows:

Work in partnership with families and community [to] develop the unique potential of each individual and prepare all students to meet the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards by creating a challenging and diverse learning climate that promotes the development of the whole student, and prepares its students with the knowledge skills and integrity to meet life's challenges and enrich their community” (Vision/mission statement, 2016, para. 1).

Discussion of Mission Statements and District Overview

The school’s mission statement emphasizes the need to provide students with optimal curricular offerings and the district’s mission statement likewise highlights the need to prepare students to meet the rigorous requirements of CCCS. In addition, both the school and district mission statements underscore the importance of preparing young learners for success in college and later life.

Currently, the Haddonfield School District is comprised of three elementary schools (Central Elementary, Elizabeth Haddon Elementary and J. Fithian Tatem Elementary), Haddenfield Middle School and Haddonfield High School (Haddonfield Public Schools overview, 2016). The Haddonfield School District publishes a curriculum map that describes what ELA concepts students are required to know, what skills they will be required to demonstrate, associated learning activities and assessment methods; however, this curriculum map has not been updated since 2008 (Haddonfield curriculum map, 2008).

The Haddonfield district is also relatively affluent, with a median household income of $116,233 and an estimated per capita income of $55,054 (Haddonfield city data, 2016). The research also shows that Haddonfield has a long history that dates to 1682 with a number of historic sites in the district (About Haddenfield, 2016). At present, Haddonfield has an estimated population of 11,593 citizens (About Haddonfield, 2016). In addition, the median age of Haddonfield citizens is 42.8 years versus the state median age of 39.4 years, with females slightly outnumbered male citizens (50.5% versus 49.5%, respectively) (Haddonfield city data, 2016).

Committee Membership/Profile and Selection

The membership of the curriculum committee will consist of six ELA school educators and six parents of students attending Haddonfield Middle School. Committee members who will be selected based on their willingness to participate in the curriculum revision and all members will be provided with relevant background material concerning state and district requirements for the school’s ELA curricular offerings. All ELA teachers at Haddonfield Middle School will be contacted personally via face-to-face meetings or through email to invite their participation in the curriculum review process together with a sign-up form and information concerning tentative meeting dates and times.

In addition, recruitment letters will be written to all parents on children enrolled in grades 6 through 8 at the school together with a link to additional information that will be provided in the school’s existing Web site. Interested parents will be requested to complete an enclosed short questionnaire that describes their educational background and personal interest in curriculum development and design.

Based on this feedback, prospective committee members will be screened to ensure they are committed to the process and possess the requisite background and experience to participate in the curriculum revision process. In addition, four members (two educators and two parents) will be selected by the committee members to form a subcommittee to address selected issues involved in the curriculum evaluation process as outlined in Table 1 in the “procedures for curriculum evaluation section” below.

Analysis of student performance data with NJCCCS/CP Indicators

At present, Haddonfield Middle School has 599 students in grades 6 through 8, but NJCCS/CP standards indicate that about 54 of these young learners are not considered proficient in math and/or reading (Haddonfield Middle School overview, 2016).

Survey of Stakeholder Needs

While it is reasonable to suggest that the entire population of the United States can be regarded as stakeholders in the success of the public schools in preparing young learners to become contributing adult members of society, the direct stakeholders who are involved in this curriculum revision process include Haddonfield Middle School students, parents, educators and administrators. A valuable resource for evaluating the needs of the student stakeholders is the Haddonfield Public School District’s Child Study Team which consists of a learning disabilities teacher consultant, school psychologist and a school social worker who have experience with counseling and mentoring students in the Haddonfield Middle School who are experienced school-related problems (Special education and child study team, 2016). Each of these educational professionals possesses specific qualifications that can facilitate the survey of stakeholders needs process as follows:

School psychologist. This educational professional has expertise in determining a child’s level of cognitive and conceptual development. In addition the psychologist is concerned with the emotional status of the student, and how both internal and external factors may affect behavior and performance in school. The school psychologist works with both general education and special education teachers to maximize a student’s potential.

Learning disabilities teacher consultant. This educational professional is trained to determine the learning styles of students, to determine specific achievement levels in a variety of content areas, and to recommend specific teaching methods and strategies that may benefit a student. This professional is generally called upon to model specific strategies and methods that may benefit students.

School social worker. This educational professional’s expertise lies in assessing the student relative to the family, the school, and the community. This professional generally gathers information concerning the student’s health, family, and school history as it pertains to the student’s current school functioning. The social worker is also the professional responsible for coordinating community resources on behalf of students and their families (Special education and child study team, 2016, para. 3).

In addition, an online survey will be administered to school ELA educators, parents, students and administrators using a premium account on SurveyMonkey to facilitate survey administration and data analysis using SPSS seeking their quantitative feedback using a series of Likert-scaled questions concerning what they believe are the most compelling needs of the school and their rationale in support. This feedback will be taken into account during the curriculum design process which is discussed further below.

Description of Curricular, Cross Content, Co-Curricular, and Extracurricular Content

A description of the school’s curricular, cross-curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular ELA content is provided at Appendix A.

Procedures for Curriculum Design, Approval, and Steps for Implementation

The State of New Jersey Department of Education publishes model curricula for its public schools including grades 6 through 8 that are aligned with the CCCS in ELA that can be used to evaluate the adequacy of the revised curricular offerings envisioned herein (ELA K-12, 2016). The curriculum evaluation committee will thoroughly review current curricular offerings to identify areas of deficiency that require alignment with the CCCS and draft a new curriculum for the approval of the committee and the school’s principal. The new curriculum will be implemented at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year and evaluated for effectiveness as described below.

Procedures for Curriculum Evaluation

Historic performance-based assessment on PARCC standardized ELA tests will be used to compare student performance following the implementation of the revised ELA curriculum to evaluate its effectiveness in achieving the intended outcomes. The State of New Jersey Department of Education mandates these test results and the performance-based assessment data will be available for this purpose.

A timeline for curriculum evaluation is set forth in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Curriculum evaluation timeline

Meeting Date & Location

Meeting Time

Task

Materials

Responsible Member(s)

Haddonfield Middle School Professional Development (PD) Room

3:30 - 4:30

Introduction for committee members

Online survey development, review and approval

SurveyMonkey

Access to current curriculum

Haddonfield online teacher resources

All + CST members

PD Room

3:30 - 4:30

Review survey data

SurveyMonkey

SPSS

All

PD Room

3:30 - 4:30

Curricular needs assessment Discussion and demographic overview

Microsoft Word

SPSS analysis results of survey

Haddonfield online teacher resources (i.e., eBoard, Genesis, and Source4Teachers)

All + CST representatives

PD Room

3:30 - 4:30

Unit planning & standards-based report card alignment

Access to current curriculum

Haddonfield online teacher resources

Subcommittee members

PD Room

3:30 - 4:30

CCSS standard alignment

Microsoft Word

Access to CCSS

Haddonfield online teacher resources

All

PD Room

3:30 - 5:30

Student activities

Microsoft Word

CCCS texts

Haddonfield online teacher resources

All

PD Room

3:30 - 5:30

Assessment(s), evidence and benchmark planning

Historic PARCC performance data

Subcommittee members

PD Room

3:30 - 4:30

PARCC preparation procedures (Ready Core)

Microsoft Word

CCCS texts

Subcommittee members

PD Room

3:30-4:30

New curriculum completed

Presentation of completed curriculum and changes using PowerPoint

Microsoft Word

PowerPoint

All + CST members

PD Room

3:30-4:30

Distribution of curriculum/faculty meeting