Common section

Chapter 6

Curriculum and Standardized Testing

This section is intended to help principals and other administrators with oral and written communication related to curriculum and standardized testing. If a parent or teachers’ group wants to find the weak points in a district, they are most likely going to start in these areas. Therefore, it is important that you have formal policies, objectives, and reasoning in place to defend why and what you are teaching within the district.

Perfect Phrases for Course Descriptions

It is important to be able to describe how your staff teaches a particular course. Parents may want to know how your school approaches teaching. Here are some phrases to best describe what students learned and how your school’s philosophy applies to the courses:

This is our first year offering this course in____________.

We have designed the course so that it can . . .

Our courses are mirrored to meet state guidelines and standards. For example, please note . . .

Our programs were designed to serve . . .

To perfect our programs, we constantly seek feedback.

We believe that just “good enough” is never good enough for our students.

The school’s educational philosophy is based upon . . ., so it is only natural that our programs are based upon . . .

We strive to . . .

Since our inception, we have been driven to achieve academic excellence. This is reflected through our programs such as____________, which serve children by . . .

Your child takes part in our____________program.

Your child attended classes on/in____________with a specific focus on the skills/topic of . . . this past semester.

The teacher helped students brush up on . . .

Based on my training and educational philosophy, which is aligned with . . ., I feel that . . .

This course will encourage your child to . . .

This class is a mirrored environment designed to serve as a prerequisite to an apprenticeship or career vocation.

The focus has been on . . .

This program serves as a prerequisite to . . .

We have been focusing on major topics such as . . .

Students have been learning about . . . in class.

We have been working with students in the areas of . . .

We have concentrated on . . .

While going to school here, your child has learned . . .

Your child has been taught to . . .

Your child is being instructed in . . . and will upon completion move to . . .

Perfect Phrases to Indicate Compliance with State Guidelines

Parents want to know what you are doing to help students learn. You have to be able to defend what your staff is teaching in the classroom. You also need to align yourself with state curriculum guidelines and district regulations. These materials are not always made available to you, and you may have to seek them out. Every state has a published set of guidelines that you can request, and most can be downloaded online. There is little excuse for a school district or a teacher not to be in compliance with these guidelines. Here are some phrases to show that your curriculum and method of teaching is in compliance:

We are in compliance with . . .

We have complied with both state and federal regulations. Our teachers adhere to strict guidelines that require them to . . .

The curriculum at____________is designed to mirror state curriculum guidelines.

The____________statute requires. . . . We are meeting the spirit of this statute by . . .

We are working on a plan of corrective action to ensure our compliance with . . .

We hope to comply with . . . by . . .

We are in the initial phases of compliance and hope to be fully compliant by____________.

Unorthodox methods of teaching may be acceptable to some, but here at [name institution] we believe in traditional methods that promote . . .

The curriculum dictates . . .

Perfect Phrases for Curriculum Reports

Curriculum reports are generated to show the sequence of material and information being taught to learners. Following are some introductory phrases to use when presenting the curriculum to new faculty members who may want to teach outside of your curriculum framework. When writing up curriculum reports, you may want to remind teachers that the word curriculum is used to describe a singular form of study, and that the word curricula is used to describe plural forms of study. Curriculum can include, but is not limited to, the production of set courses; the prospectus, program, or syllabus; the core curriculum; and/or the national curriculum within a program of study. Let’s start with basic phrases that can be used to introduce materials within a set curriculum. These phrases are written to help you modify how you present the core concepts and can be adapted to meet your school’s needs.

____________is about understanding . . . and the design of curriculum and assessments.

____________will participate in a unit on . . .

We intend to identify the desired results.

We are choosing to test the merits of . . .

The merits of our claims . . .

We encourage . . . to . . .

To match our learning goals, . . .

We use the appropriate evidence produced by . . .

We like to coach by using the following design: . . .

From the sidelines, our professional staff helps our students . . .

Have no misconceptions about our curriculum design, as it is based upon . . .

Coverage of materials includes . . .

Traditional design is based on . . .

A weaker educational design would be visible if . . .

Our curriculum and assessments grasp the key concepts of . . .

After framing our goals, . . .

We meet specific performance goals.

En route to designing a course curriculum of merit, we have . . .

We are known for taking different approaches to creating courses in order to achieve our identified results.

It is essential that we determine what is or isn’t acceptable evidence of academic merit.

Our curriculum teams plan learning experiences and content-based instruction on . . .

Having clear goals has helped us focus on creating courses that pass accreditation standards.

Perspective combined with cutting-edge concepts in higher education has led our institution to . . .

To appropriately meet our standards and assess our goals, we use evidence from assessments and other tools before beginning any plan of action toward the creation of our courses.

We work toward the same content standards when working on curriculum design.

A fair depiction of our curriculum would include, but not be limited to, . . .

Using useful formats and templates, we have created units within our curriculum that allow for . . .

Our curriculum demonstrates established goals.

Basic principles of curriculum design and understanding are evident as a result of . . .

Using assessment evidence, we provide classes that prepare our students for real-world experiences.

The function of our curriculum guide is to serve as a . . .

Varied evidence grounded in performance can transfer between course contents when our departments propose courses to . . .

After the review of curriculum draft designs, . . .

Peer reviews of curriculum are completed in cycles.

The quality of the curriculum as a product is invariably enhanced by . . .

Steadying the influence of variables when creating an academic curriculum can prove challenging.

When applied, the proposed frameworks of the curriculum allow for . . .

Enhanced by cognitive tasks, the curriculum for courses in the____________department prompts learners to . . .

Referring to curricular models such as . . .

When identifying desired results, our curriculum writers highlight . . .

We use explicit learning experiences and instruction in order to . . .

Design considerations such as . . . are essential in curriculum design.

Some argue backward designs will yield greater coherence and better learning experiences.

Key design questions for curriculum include . . .

National, state, and local standards are always considered when creating curriculum.

Understanding of curriculum design differs depending on . . .

Conceptual uncertainties can arise when designing course curriculum.

Evidence suggests that . . . is the best approach to curriculum design.

After a review of previous courses, we have decided to update the current curriculum in the following ways: . . .

When designing curriculum, it is essential to find meaningful inferences.

Implicating standards that can be understood and used in the classroom for improving comprehension and understanding is essential because . . .

Verifiable claims within a curriculum need to be referenced to build a well-rounded perspective on various issues.

Curriculum theory suggests . . .

Encountering . . . issues in curriculum design is not uncommon.

To over- or underestimate the educational importance of curriculum design would be . . .

Constraints within the curriculum include, but are not limited to, . . .

As we know, a standard is different from a performance indicator; that is why as curriculum writers we create goals and assess evidence by . . .

To gain clarity on our curricular goals, we will need to . . .

When writing long-term goals versus short-term goals, we must refer back to our curriculum and target performance objectives.

Content mastery of curricular materials is an appropriate approach to furthering . . .

Identifying bias within a curriculum serves to . . .

The central purpose of inquiry on why we chose the specific design centers around . . .

Course objectives must mirror the assessment process. Therefore, we ask you to note the following in our curriculum design proposal: . . .

We ask that you refine and resubmit your curriculum proposal for further explanation, as the . . .

Basic terms and core ideas are found within our modular design, which allows our curriculum to be more cohesive in terms of . . .

Universal applications to curriculum design usually include . . .

The curriculum serves as a conceptual lens that learners and instructors can use to provide focus as they further their knowledge about . . .

Content-based curriculum design states . . .

Skill-focused courses rely on concepts developed by . . . designs within a given curriculum.

Framing goals within a curriculum . . .

The minimal requirements for curriculum proposals must include the following details, philosophies, and rationales: . . .

Interpreting curriculum means transforming understanding into . . .

The essential connotations associated with the following curriculum are as follows: . . .

Questioning curriculum design is the fundamental practice of bettering education and learning experiences for students enrolled in our courses, and thus it ultimately helps our learners compete for the best jobs in top markets.

Perfect Phrases for Designing and Assessing Educational Objectives

The following category words can be used if you are giving a talk or writing statements dealing with the design of educational objectives or assessing the methods to get to the educational objectives. You can use these words within your phrases to categorize the type of educational objectives you are designing or assessing:

Appropriate contextual knowledge