Tools to Help California Districts Navigate Today’s Adoption Landscape

Selecting high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) is one of the most consequential decisions a school district makes. The materials teachers use every day shape students’ access to grade-level content, their opportunities to engage in meaningful learning, and the instructional experiences they receive across classrooms.

In California, the landscape for selecting those materials has changed significantly over the past decade. With the state’s list of approved math instructional materials last November, districts gained an updated and expanded set of options in alignment with the 2023 Math Framework. But a more robust selection of quality programs also brings a new challenge: How do districts navigate between quality options to select the HQIM that best meet the needs of their students, educators, and communities?

Answering that question requires more than a list of approved programs. It requires a new kind of support for district leaders navigating increasingly complex adoption decisions.

Key questions to navigate California’s current adoption landscape

Over the past year, the team at CalCurriculum has been developing a suite of open-access tools to help California districts navigate the instructional materials landscape and plan adoption journeys that reflect their unique needs.

The tools are designed to support district leaders in answering three essential questions:

• What’s approved, and how do those options meet our needs? Compare programs across the approved state list to identify programs that align with local non-negotiables and priorities.
• How do the high-quality options differ? Examine the strengths, considerations, and implementation supports associated with programs under consideration.
• What can we learn from similar settings across the state? Explore adoption patterns and learn from the experiences of other districts.

These tools help districts navigate the decision-making process, moving from a broad landscape of options toward a focused investigation of the materials that best fit their instructional vision.

Tools to support a more complex adoption journey 

CalCurriculum has been developing a connected set of resources to support districts at different stages of their mathematics adoption journey:

See the statewide landscape: The California Math Adoption Dashboard provides a window into the evolving landscape of mathematics instruction across California. District leaders can explore which programs are in use across the state and examine adoption patterns by district, county, grade span, and curriculum – as well as information from our partner districts about what they piloted, and what their priorities were. This information can help leaders understand the broader landscape and support connections and learning across the state.

Narrow the field: The Math List Hub helps district leaders filter California’s approved mathematics instructional materials list based on program attributes and their local non-negotiables. By connecting the available options to their own priorities, districts can develop a more focused shortlist for further investigation.

Understand the differences: Through Between the Greens, CalCurriculum continues to release profiles of green-rated programs that highlight their strengths, considerations, and professional learning supports. Side-by-side comparisons help district teams look beyond broad quality indicators to better understand the distinctions that may matter for their context.

Together, these resources help districts move from understanding the landscape to narrowing their options and investigating the strongest contenders.

Same strong process, new tools to support informed decision-making 

By bringing together information about available programs, program comparison profiles, and statewide adoption patterns, CalCurriculum aims to help California districts navigate a complex landscape with greater clarity and confidence.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t simply to help districts choose from a list. It’s to help them make thoughtful, evidence-informed decisions about the instructional materials that will bring their instructional vision to life within their local context.

Looking ahead: New tools for ELA/ELD adoptions

The need for accessible, California-specific adoption support extends beyond mathematics. Following upcoming approval of California’s ELA/ELD instructional materials list, CalCurriculum will build on this work by releasing an ELA List Hub and ELA/ELD program profiles. These resources will help district leaders explore available options, identify programs aligned with their priorities, and make more informed decisions as they move through their adoption journeys. Stay tuned!