Evaluating a New Mathematics Curriculum: A District’s Multi-Stakeholder Approach

Selecting a new curriculum and determining whether it will be an effective addition to the district’s instructional efforts can be one of the most challenging leadership tasks facing the district mathematics supervisor. This article describes a structured curriculum adoption and evaluation process undertaken by the Westside Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska, in collaboration with the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The curriculum evaluation process reviewed a new mathematics program being undertaken within the district that incorporated direct feedback from students, teachers, and parents. The evaluation strategies included a field test process involving three distinct field test groupings, with three matched control groups, to examine standardized test scores from 425 students. Surveys from 132 teachers, 596 parents, and 2,172 students were used within the comprehensive review process. The evaluation process appeared to work well for examining the impact of the new program and results confirmed that a full curriculum implementation was warranted in the 2003-2004 school year.