The Mississippi Department of Education has established universal definitions for terms commonly used when evaluating and adopting high-quality instructional materials. These terms are listed and defined below.
In the Fall of 2017, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) adopted the following definition for High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM). This definition provides a frame of reference all Mississippi public schools and districts should use when selecting resources for classroom use.
Mississippi defines High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) as materials that
- are aligned with the Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards,
- are externally validated,
- are comprehensive, and
- include knowledge-building complex texts, problems, and assessments.
HQIM can help identify students’ strengths and areas for improvement. It creates a sequential plan designed to prepare students for college and the workforce. This approach is beneficial for teachers and is accessible to students with diverse learning needs.
School textbooks and other educational materials serve as the foundation for instruction, incorporating a variety of resources such as textbooks, learning kits, and digital tools (Miss. Code Ann. § 37-43-1).
The scoring tool outlines three gateways, each with specific criteria for evaluating the quality of instructional materials. Each rubric is tailored for a particular content area and grade band while sharing some common elements. This rubric assesses how effectively instructional materials align with the Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards (MCCRS) for a given content area. It includes essential considerations for high-quality instructional materials and delineates three gateways for evaluating these materials. Each gateway consists of criteria and related indicators, along with guiding questions to aid the evaluation process.
Standards are concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a course, grade level, or grade span that are adopted.
The term STANDARDS-ALIGNED INSTRUCTION directly correlates with the design of High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) and the use of a text-first approach. High-quality texts are the central focus of lessons, are at the appropriate grade level text complexity, and are accompanied by quality tasks aligned to the MCCRS in service to grow literacy skills. Click here to download a comparison chart between Standards-Based vs Standards-Aligned Instruction.
Curriculum adoption can sometimes induce panic among educators and administrators district-wide. It is crucial to get this first step correct – WHAT you choose and HOW you choose it matters. Adopting a new curriculum is a complex process with many steps and stakeholders to consider.
When stakeholders understand how the HQIM connects to the academic vision and ensures students master grade-level content by the END OF THE YEAR, they are more likely to invest in its long-term success. Engage stakeholders early and often to ensure they comprehend the curriculum’s approach and design, serving as ambassadors for the materials in their schools. Most importantly, teachers should have sufficient time to receive meaningful initial training on the adopted curriculum.
During the first year of use, teachers must adhere to the curriculum as INTENDED. This entails following the lesson plans and utilizing the provided resources and embedded supports. While it may be tempting to modify the curriculum to fit their personal teaching style, this can result in inconsistencies in classroom experiences and impact student achievement. Encourage teachers to TRUST and employ the curriculum with FIDELITY in the initial year. To support teachers, they require frequent, job-embedded professional learning opportunities to help them address specific challenges they encounter during this stage. Finally, school and district leaders need a strategy for monitoring implementation and providing regular feedback to teachers, focusing on assisting them in maximizing the HQIM for the benefit of students.
If successful in the fidelity stage, teachers can begin to take OWNERSHIP of structures and processes for unit and lesson preparation or use INTEGRITY when meeting the needs of all students and supporting them in meeting grade-level expectations. To ensure academic achievement, district and school leaders must assess the quality of HQIM implementation using data points such as classroom observations, assessments, teacher feedback, and student work and execute a curriculum-based professional learning plan, including collaborative planning time.
The final stage allows the team to adjust the plan and reset it annually, if applicable. The adjustment aims to examine progress toward established goals, identify successes, and solve any challenges. After analyzing the data from the integrity stage, the team will adjust the plan to ensure SUSTAINABILITY. The next part of this stage is to reflect on the current implementation plan, especially for new teachers, and make any necessary changes.
The Science of Reading encompasses the research conducted by experts, particularly cognitive and linguistic scientists, on how we learn to read. This body of knowledge reveals the processes that occur in the brain while reading and outlines the instructional strategies necessary to develop proficient reading skills.
Structured Literacy refers to a method of reading instruction that applies the Science of Reading in the classroom. It encompasses all the essential components identified by research as crucial for successful reading development. Structured Literacy goes beyond phonics; it includes a broad range of skills. The Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tunmer, 1986) and Scarborough’s Rope Model (Scarborough, 2001) provide frameworks for understanding and identifying the principles of Structured Literacy.
The Lexile Framework for Reading assesses both reading ability and text complexity using the same scale. A Lexile reader measure indicates a student’s reading ability on this scale, while a Lexile text measure reflects the difficulty level of a text.
Quantile measures range from below 0Q to above 1400Q, covering the math skills and concepts taught from kindergarten through high school.
Quantile measures explain the following:
- which skills and concepts students are prepared to learn,
- the expected level of success students will achieve with an upcoming skill or concept, and
- how students are growing in mathematics on a single scale across grade levels
Educator Preparation Providers (EPPs) are institutions that prepare candidates for teacher or administrator licensure. The programs consist of degrees or endorsements offered by the EPP. All programs require approval from the State Board of Education.