Delaware’s implementation of high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) has shown benefits, challenges, and elicited promising practices and policies that could help guide other school systems in using HQIM in ways that help schools continuously improve student learning, according to new research by the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University.
The newly published study, “Staying the Course,” examines when, where, how, and under what conditions systems, schools, and teachers have rolled out HQIM in Delaware. The research looks at policies and practices on the state, district, and school levels, with a close look at HQIM implementation in seven schools across five Delaware school districts that have seen improvements in teacher practice and student learning since beginning to use HQIM. The report was sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Officers, which convenes the Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network, of which the Delaware Department of Education has been a member since 2017. “Staying the Course” adds to CPRL’s growing body of research on how leaders at every level of the education system create the infrastructure, systems, practices, supports, and community needed to provide rigorous and affirming learning experiences for each and every child. For related CPRL research, see Fundamental 4 and Curriculum-Based Professional Learning: The State of the Field.
Read "Staying the Course."