Introduction to Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
For as long as I have been an educator, there has been a sense that there is more to teach than time available – whether an elementary classroom teacher; a specialist in art, music, or physical education; or a secondary teacher. During the last few years, especially in the era of No Child Left Behind, the pressures on teachers’ instructional time and students’ learning have never been greater. In the midst of federal and state mandates, school officials must push for programs that further challenge the instructional load. We need to take seriously the idea that less is more.
Starting the Dialogue
In this district we are looking to initiate a dialogue to prioritize the curriculum so that it will be more manageable for you and your students and for you to be able to teach concepts in greater depth in the time available in our 181-day school year. A group of teachers and administrators met last summer to grapple with this challenging topic. They came to realize during these meetings that the concept of working toward a guaranteed and viable curriculum will be a multi-year curriculum journey. It will require us to explore our assumptions about such a curriculum and to prioritize it. This work is among the more important we can do.
Common Curriculum Choices
Bob Marzano (2003), an educational researcher
and popular presenter, focuses on this concept as one of five school-level
factors (the one with the greatest impact), in his book on What Works in Schools:
Translating Research into Action (
Defining a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
The guaranteed curriculum, according to Marzano, is what we decide is imperative to teach – a curriculum that we communicate and assure to all groups. A viable curriculum is a curriculum that we can realistically teach during the time we have available during the course of a school year. We need to focus on what is essential vs. supplemental to teach in a school year. We must organize and sequence our curriculum to enable effective student learning – that is to say, checking to make sure the essentials are being taught and avoiding interruptions during instructional time. The work on the guaranteed and viable curriculum is designed to focus on the standards that are most essential to spend time on and, while not eliminating other standards, to make it permissible to spend less time (or no time) on them. The challenge will be to decide what is essential.
The Guarantee of Power Standards
Grant Wiggins conceptualizes this concept as moving from what is worth being familiar with to important learning and then to enduring ideas – those ideas that should guide our priorities. Doug Reeves calls the priorities Power Standards and considers three elements or criteria for determining Power Standards – the gold standards. The first is endurance, which is connected to how lasting the standard is. The second is leverage – that is to say, the capacity of the standard to be applied in multiple disciplines. It is where the interdisciplinary or integrated curriculum comes in. The third is readiness – looking to the next level (such as 5th to 6th grade, elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, secondary to post-secondary).
The essential question in developing a guaranteed and viable curriculum is what students need in school, life, and the state test (listed in the appropriate order). The state test is important, but is not the only focus, as we can easily make it. Doug Reeves calls these standards “a safety net” - an apt metaphor emphasizing a small number of standards for each grade and subject. We don’t need to teach a total curriculum, but an integrated curriculum. It is better for our students and better for you.
Next Steps
This exposition is designed to provide an overview of the concept of a guaranteed and viable curriculum. I hope it has given you some insights into a process for prioritizing our curriculum. It is work that we shouldn’t take lightly if we hope to find time to offer more depth in instruction to improve student learning.
What will happen next? Because of the importance of this work and the need to involve all of you in the process of prioritizing, I am planning to explore this initiative on several fronts. We will begin by meeting at the next October workshop to begin to focus on this challenging topic in greater depth.
We will then establish an ad hoc committee with the purpose of facilitating this process, working with groups in the schools to gather data on curriculum priorities – identifying the content that would be essential as opposed to what is supplemental in the time available. I believe that it is an opportune time to begin this process because the state has approved new curriculum standards in the areas of language arts, math, science, and social studies. It makes sense to revise our curricula from the beginning based on our priorities. It is one of the guidelines that the Curriculum Coordinating Team, which will be facilitating the curriculum development process, has already set for the review process.
I look forward to working with all of you as we work to establish a guaranteed and viable curriculum. I wish you a restful summer break.
David G. Hodgdon, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction
May, 2006