Describe any curriculum changes that have come about as a result of district or state assessments.

School districts across the nation have begun revising instructional programs in an effort to meet society’s demands for a 2lst century workforce.  Determining what these needs are, how to address them, and how to revise established curriculum often rests in the laps of many building level administrators.  Often these building principals find themselves at the center of a controversy they did not want, do not deserve, and cannot fix.  Yet, they are charged with full responsibility for the often mandated “curriculum revision” process.  Many times these same educational leaders have not had adequate preparation for, nor do they have a full understanding of, what is expected, with regard to the curriculum revision project.  This demand for change to meet the needs of a 2lst century educational program is challenging even the best educational leaders.

            This study and the subsequent recommendations had their origin in the frustration of two building administrators who were given the responsibility of “designing a curriculum revision project which would upgrade the established instructional program and improve classroom instruction” (the quote of their superintendent assigning the task).  In other words, the ‘taught’ curriculum was to be revised in order to match the newly integrated assessment model mandated by the state.  Teachers, community leaders, and students were not necessarily ready for a curriculum revision project , and the need for such a process was certainly not a priority in the minds of many.   As a small rural district without a curriculum coordinator, the building principals were given the responsibility for achieving the goal of developing an effective curriculum revision program which would meet the needs of a 2lst century workforce.  As in so many cases of effective educational change, need born of necessity created this study, the results, and the subsequent recommendations for effective curriculum revision