ELA Curriculum Evaluation Plan for Grades 6–8 Middle School

Introduction and Rationale for ELA Curriculum Revision

This evaluation plan describes how a curriculum committee will collaborate to achieve an improved language arts curriculum for grades 6 through 8 at a public middle school located in Haddonfield, New Jersey (hereinafter "the school"). The Middletown Township Public Schools recognize the need for ongoing curricular evaluation. Based on its stated mission (described below), the school's educators are committed to providing the highest quality curricular offerings possible to help young learners prepare for life in the 21st 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) ensure that the curriculum continues to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and (b) effectively prepare students for the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) standardized testing as aligned with the school district's educational mission. In addition, a 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 implementation. Finally, a description of the procedures that will be used for curriculum evaluation and the five-year evaluation cycle is followed by a discussion of technology tools for teaching and learning and corresponding professional development needs. It is the goal of this revised curriculum to provide students with the educational background they will need to succeed in their higher educational pursuits and adult lives.

In 1996, the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (CCCS) were adopted by the New Jersey State Board of Education. 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 completion of a 13-year public school education (New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, 2016). Because the standards are revised every five years, it is important for the 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, the school's current ELA curricular offerings must be updated to include these new standards in order to prepare students for successful completion of the PARCC standardized tests.

The stated mission of the school is "to teach, guide, and nurture young adolescents" (School mission, 2016, para. 2). In support, the 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" (School mission, 2016, para. 2). The mission statement also highlights the goal of helping young learners become better citizens: "We help students become independent learners, responsible decision-makers, and thoughtful citizens" (School 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).

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" (School mission, 2016, para. 3). Taken together, these mission statements are supportive of the above-stated rationale for revising the school's ELA curriculum.

The stated mission of the school district is to "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).

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 the CCCS. Both statements underscore the importance of preparing young learners for success in college and later life.

Currently, the school district is comprised of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The 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 (School curriculum map, 2008).

The district is relatively affluent, with a median household income of $116,233 and an estimated per capita income of $55,054 (City data, 2016). The district has a long history dating to 1682, with a number of historic sites, and has an estimated population of 11,593 citizens (About the district, 2016). The median age of citizens is 42.8 years versus the state median age of 39.4 years, with females slightly outnumbering male citizens (50.5% versus 49.5%, respectively) (City data, 2016).

The membership of the curriculum committee will consist of six ELA school educators and six parents of students attending the middle school. Committee members 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 will be contacted personally via face-to-face meetings or email to invite their participation in the curriculum review process, along with a sign-up form and information concerning tentative meeting dates and times.

Recruitment letters will be sent to all parents of children enrolled in grades 6 through 8 at the school, along with a link to additional information provided on the school's existing website. Interested parents will be asked to complete an enclosed short questionnaire describing 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. In addition, four members (two educators and two parents) will be selected by the committee 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.

Committee Membership and Stakeholder Needs Assessment

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

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

School psychologist. This educational professional has expertise in determining a child's level of cognitive and conceptual development. The psychologist is also 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, assess specific achievement levels in a variety of content areas, and 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 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 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. The survey will seek quantitative feedback using a series of Likert-scaled questions concerning what stakeholders 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 discussed further below.

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

Conclusion

Providing young learners with the curricular offerings they need to successfully pass the PARCC standardized tests and enter college and later adulthood requires ongoing review and evaluation to ensure alignment with the Common Core State Standards. The research was consistent in showing that the curriculum review process is not a static enterprise but rather requires ongoing attention to ensure that curricular offerings are consistent with the CCCS and the requirements of PARCC testing regimens. Although new changes will always be required over time, the curriculum evaluation strategy outlined above can be used for this purpose, provided that committee members are carefully selected and fully understand the process, including the requirements of the CCCS and PARCC testing.