Benchmarks of Quality
The Benchmarks of Quality are instructional materials review criteria that outline critical features and supports for effective high-quality instructional materials that address the assets and needs of multilingual learners. They provide an overview of research-backed criteria that can be used to review the quality of content materials.
What are the Benchmarks of Quality?
The Benchmarks of Quality is a materials review and evaluation tool to support the effective review, adoption and implementation of instructional materials that meet the strengths and needs of multilingual learners.
Why this work matters
In the United States, there are currently five million1 English learners in K-12 schools. Students in this diverse and growing population bring with them unique assets and learning needs that have the potential to transform education for all students. By attending to multilingual learner’s needs through the design, adoption, and implementation of high-quality curriculum materials, school districts can create more inclusive, engaging, and rigorous classrooms that support language and content learning for every learner. Sadly, the immense academic potential of multilingual learners has yet to be realized in U.S. schools, and wide gaps in academic achievement and learning opportunities persist.2 English Learners Success Forum believes that with the right tools, including high-quality curriculum, these gaps can be addressed and all multilingual learners can be successful in meeting their academic and career goals.
1 Office of English Language Acquisition. English Learners: Demographic Trends
2 The Council of the Great City Schools (2019). English Language Learners in America’s Great City Schools. Demographics, Achievement, and Staffing.
Importance of high quality curriculum
More than 70% of teachers report that they have received inadequate preparation to effectively teach multilingual learners. Most teachers believe their core content materials are not designed to raise multilingual learners’ academic performance. This can be remedied by improving the quality and implementation of instructional materials.
There is substantial evidence indicating the importance of high-quality materials. Specifically,
- High-quality curriculum is key to effectively implementing state standards.3
- Multilingual learner achievement can be improved by implementing a high-quality curriculum.4
- High-quality curriculum that integrates the assets and needs of multilingual learners is more effective than offering add-on interventions.5
- High-quality curriculum is one of the key influencers of student learning.6
When adopting and implementing traditional content-specific instructional materials, state, district, and school leaders must consider ALL students, with a particular focus on multilingual learners.
3 The Education Trust-West (2018). Unlocking learning II: Math as a lever for English Learner equity.
4 The Education Trust-West (2018). Unlocking learning II: Math as a lever for English Learner equity.
5 Koedel, C. & Polikoff, M (2017). Big bang for just a few bucks: The impact of math textbooks in California.
6 Perry, R., Marple, S., & Reade, F (2017). Instructional materials: Who makes the choice? Findings from the annual survey on implementing the Common Core State Standards in mathematics.
Orienting questions for the Benchmarks
- What are the fundamental design features to look for/consider in instructional materials that attend to multilingual learners’ assets and needs?
- How might we use an analysis of the strengths and challenges in instructional materials to enhance or adapt materials for multilingual learners?
Structure of Benchmarks and Supplementary Materials
The Benchmarks of Quality contain five criteria, that we call benchmarks, for each content area. Each benchmark includes indicators to illustrate the features of instructional materials that exemplify each benchmark.
