:: Resources for Reviewing

Reviewing Instructional Materials

County Offices of Education and regional partners across California will be offering professional learning opportunities and training on the newly developed and CCSESA-approved tool for reviewing instructional materials developed by the NGSS Collaborative (CCSESA-CISC Science Sub-Committee, California Science Project, CASE, K-12 Alliance @ WestEd, CDE, and State Board of Education). In December, 2018, the California County Superintendents Education Services Association (CCSESA) approved the California Tool for Instructional Materials Evaluation (CA TIME). The review tool and training are applicable to all grade levels K-12. For a calendar of upcoming training opportunities, contact your local County Office of Education, or click here.

Several resources are now available to facilitate the review instructional materials. These include:

California NGSS Toolkit for Instructional Materials Evaluation (TIME)
Reports of Findings - from the 2018 Science Instructional Materials Reviewer deliberations (July 2018)
Insights from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning @ WestEd: 2017/18 Instructional Materials
NextGen TIME - Published by BSCS in collaboration with the K-12 Alliance @ WestEd and Achieve, Inc.
The California Department of Education (CDE) has a number or resources and guiding documents including guidelines, textbook weight information, and implementing materials not on the California adoption list.
2016 California Science Framework: Chapter 13: Instructional Resources to Support the Next Generation Science Standards for CA Public Schools K-12
Achieve Resources and Tools:
- Achieve Reviews: Achieve is broadening its reach to identify more high-quality materials designed for the NGSS. We hope this will help both those developing materials—whether in the classroom, a university, or a publishing company—and those looking for quality materials to support implementation.
- EQuIP Rubric for Science: The Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) Rubric for science provides criteria by which to measure the degree to which lessons and units are designed for the NGSS. The EQuIP webpage includes information for the EQuIP rubric, a professional learning facilitators guide, helpful training videos, and more.
- NGSS Lesson Screener: The NGSS Lesson Screener provides criteria for a quick look into the degree to which lessons and units are designed for the NGSS.
- NGSS Alignment Claims: How Publishers Talk About the Next Generation Science Standards: This document categorizes and describes some of the common ways those developing and marketing science instructional materials are making connections to the NGSS. In addition to sharing the categories of claims common in the marketplace, several examples are provided of claims that Achieve would like to see more frequently—ones that closely tie to the major NGSS Innovations.
- PEEC: "PEEC" is an acronym for the Primary Evaluation of Essential Criteria for NGSS Instructional Materials Design. PEEC can be used by educators to evaluate the degree that the NGSS Innovations are represented in science instructional materials programs.
- Peer Review Panel: The EQuIP Peer Review Panel (PRP) for Science was launched in September 2016 to provide concrete examples of high quality lessons and units that, along with professional learning, can support implementation of the NGSS. The PRP seeks to identify lessons and units that best illustrate the cognitive demands of the NGSS as introduced in A Framework for K-12 Science Education. To submit lessons or units to the PRP for review, click here.
- Quality Examples of Instructional Materials: The criterion-based reviews provided by the Peer Review Panel are meant to be constructive and in the spirit of continuous improvement. All submissions receive feedback regardless of their rating and confidentiality will be ensured for those that are not ready to be shared publicly. Lessons and units that are rated by the PRP as Examples of High Quality NGSS Design, Examples of High Quality NGSS Design, If Improved, or identified as Quality Works in Progress will be publicly posted along with the EQuIP criterion-based feedback so that all educators can benefit from these materials.
- NGSS Design Badge: Achieve awards a digital badge called the NGSS Design Badge to science units designed for the NGSS that have earned the highest rating on the EQuIP Rubric for Science based on a review conducted by Achieve or its Science Peer Review Panel. The digital badge includes a logo, the name of the unit, the date the badge was awarded, and a "Verify" button. When a user clicks on the digital badge to verify its authenticity, the badge provides a full EQuIP evaluation describing quality features of the unit in question.