Who provides financial support to EdReports?

EdReports is grateful for the generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Broadcom Corporation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Overdeck Family Foundation, the Samueli Foundation, the Stuart Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation, and the Oak Foundation.

Does EdReports recommend specific materials for adoption?

EdReports does not make recommendations or purport whether one curriculum is “better” than the other. This is because what is “better” for one student, teacher, or district is something that is a question that requires a lot more information than what we look for in our review indicators. For example, we do not review for cultural relevance, but that does not mean it is not an important consideration or priority.

EdReports’ reviews focus on whether materials meet our indicators, criteria, and gateways. Different indicators and criteria may matter more to different districts based on the professional support, student learning results, and overall local context regardless of a program’s summative total. Our aim is to empower schools and districts with information to choose the best curricula to meet their local needs.

What support resources does EdReports offer?

EdReports offers a suite of resources that help navigate our reviews, promote smart adoption practices, aid in implementing new materials, and help identify gaps in materials a school district or teacher may currently be using.

Districts and states may also contact EdReports directly to learn more about the reviews, and EdReports staff are always happy to get on the phone or conduct webinars to help people understand our process and reviews.

What makes EdReports reviews unique?

EdReports reviews are educator-led. We firmly believe that those closest to the classroom are best positioned to review materials.

What does EdReports do?

EdReports.org is an independent nonprofit committed to ensuring all students have access to high-quality instructional materials. We publish free reviews of K–12 instructional materials, using an educator led approach that measures standards alignment, usability, and other quality criteria.

EdReports increases the capacity of teachers, administrators, and leaders to seek, identify, and demand the highest-quality instructional materials. Drawing upon expert educators, our evidence-rich reviews of instructional materials and support of smart adoption processes equip teachers with excellent materials nationwide. Learn more about what we do.

Do reports provide all the information necessary for an adoption committee to make a selection?

EdReports is a strong starting point for conversations about curriculum, but it isn’t the ending point. Districts should look at EdReports reviews and evidence as one part of a thoughtful adoption process. Our reviews can be an important tool for adoption committees to communicate with teachers about materials under consideration as well as with other district leadership about recommendations. 

What’s more, the information in our reviews support adoption committees and educators to see where they can put the bulk of their analysis time and resources. As you begin your materials adoption, use our reports as a way to determine what areas of specific programs should be explored further. It will help you to ensure the materials chosen are not only aligned to standards, but also meet the unique needs of the teachers and students in your community.



What kinds of instructional materials does EdReports review?

EdReports reviews materials from all sources including for-profit, non-profit, and Open Education Resources.

EdReports currently reviews year-long, comprehensive instructional materials for K–12 mathematics, K-12 English language arts, and K–12 science. We do not review supplemental materials except for K–2 foundational skills supplements (see below).

For high school mathematics, we review collections of courses (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II OR Integrated I, II, III) and do not review stand-alone courses. Read more about materials currently under review and recommend materials for us to review.

For K–2 foundational skills supplements, we review standalone foundational skills programs, meaning that the program does not rely on other materials to deliver instructional content. Explicit instruction, practice, and assessment in alphabet knowledge and print concepts, phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition and word analysis, and fluency must occur in the materials.

Why do instructional materials matter?

Research shows that rigorous college- and career-ready standards can improve and deepen student learning. To reach these standards, what is taught matters. Teachers need access to high-quality, aligned instructional materials to support their students.

Currently, not all students have the same access to rigorous curricular materials and this perpetuates the opportunity gap with only 18 percent of teachers who strongly agree that their district or school’s instructional materials are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. A 2015 study also found that low-income students are less likely than high-income students to have quality content and curriculum in the classroom.

2017 study investigating the impact of curriculum on student achievement found that the quality of instructional materials had a greater effect on learning than the influence of a student’s home and school. This effect size is second only to teaching quality.

How does EdReports choose which instructional materials to review?

EdReports reviews materials that are currently in use in classrooms across the country and are full-year, comprehensive programs in K-12 math and ELA, and K-8 science. We review materials from all sources including for-profit, non-profit, and Open Education Resources. 

We are guided by the long-term goal of providing a broad picture of materials, reviewing as close to 100% of the ELA, math, and science market as possible.

To identify which materials to review, we research the market, accept recommendations from the field, and also receive requests from publishers. Suggest materials to review on our website.

Who reviews materials for EdReports?

EdReports’ content review teams consist of outstanding classroom educators, district coaches, and state content leaders who deeply understand college-and career-ready standards and the importance of high-quality instructional materials.

The selection process includes an application, interviews, and a work sample to ensure reviewers’ mastery of the standards. Learn more about being a content reviewer and how to apply.

EdReports reviewers receive more than 25 hours of training and meet in weekly professional learning communities, spending an average of 150 hours each per series report (three grade levels).

How are publishers involved with EdReports?

EdReports purchases materials directly and does not charge fees or accept free materials from companies or organizations except those that are already free and publicly available, such as Open Education Resources. We have policies in place for our board and reviewers to ensure no conflicts of interest with publishers, which include previous paid engagements.

All publishers are invited to provide an orientation to the team that will be reviewing their materials. The review teams also can ask publishers clarifying questions about their programs throughout the review process.

Publishers have the opportunity to post a 1,500-word response to the educator report and a 1,500-word document that includes any background information or research on the instructional materials.

Access more quick facts about EdReports here.

Who are EdReports content reviewers?

EdReports’ content reviewers consist of outstanding classroom educators, district coaches, and state content leaders who deeply understand college-and career-ready standards and the importance of high-quality instructional materials.

We have a network of over 300 reviewers hailing from 46 states. Reviewers have a wide range of professional backgrounds and experience. Reviewers also represent diverse school districts from large and urban to small and rural and everything in between.

The selection process includes an application, interviews, and a work sample to ensure reviewers’ mastery of the standards. Learn more about being a content reviewer and how to apply.

EdReports reviewers receive more than 25 hours of training and meet in weekly professional learning communities, spending an average of 150 hours each per series report (three grade levels).

What does an average week look like for a content reviewer?

All content reviewers will meet regularly in national professional learning communities with fellow educators and spend 5–10 hours per week, including team calls, reviewing materials.

Most reviewers work through one series over the course of 3–4 months.

How to I become a content reviewer?
Am I qualified to be a content reviewer?

We are looking for the following qualifications:

  • Deep content knowledge and experience with college- and career-ready standards in K–12 ELA, science, or mathematics
  • Experience using evaluation instruments to assess instructional materials
  • Passion for EdReports.org's mission of increasing educator capacity to seek, develop, and demand the highest quality instructional materials
  • No affiliations (within the past seven years) with education technology providers or products, curriculum developers or publishers, including authoring or co-authoring a textbook currently on the market
  • Ability to participate in in-person and virtual conferences and collaborate with fellow reviewers weekly during the review cycle
What are some of the benefits of being a content reviewer?
  • More than 25 hours of online and in-person professional development with EdReports staff and other content reviewers
  • A stipend per series reviewed ranging from $1,750 - $2,500 depending on the role you play on a review team
  • Opportunities to grow as a leader, and opportunities to learn with national experts in the field
  • A supportive network of fellow educators
What does the review process look like?

Reviewers receive more than 25 hours of virtual and face-to-face training on the EdReports.org review rubric and process and meet weekly over the course of several months to develop final reports. Reviewers independently gather evidence for specific indicators each week before meeting in teams to share evidence, come to consensus on scoring, and write the draft that ultimately is shared on the website.

All team members look at every grade and indicator, ensuring that the entire team considers the program in full. Teams touch every page of the series and look for the presence of standards, how well the standards are sequenced, the depth with which standards are included, and other important characteristics of high-quality instructional materials. These comprehensive reviews are evidence-rich. No other review process provides as much detail about how materials meet or do not meet the criteria, including specific examples from the programs.

Are publishers involved in EdReports reviews?

We purchase all materials directly from the publisher. All publishers are invited to provide an hour-long orientation to the review team that will be examining their materials. The review teams can also ask the publishers clarifying questions about their program as they get deeper into the materials. Publishers also have the opportunity to post a 1500-word response to the educator report and a 1500-word document that includes any background information or research on the instructional materials.

Why are some materials reviewed through three gateways and others just through one or two gateways?

Our design teams prioritize alignment and quality of content first and foremost. The EdReports rubric reflects this commitment to standards-alignment and then considers other high-quality attributes of curriculum as recommended by educators.

If materials do not meet expectations for alignment, we do not review for usability. To be reviewed through all three gateways, the materials must demonstrate that they meet the criteria of alignment. Read more about our gateways.

What is EdReports approach to reviewing materials?

While there are unique characteristics to each content review process, there are common features that extend across all of our reviews. These include:

  • Educator-led Teams Develop Rubrics – Our review rubrics are developed by educators from across the country with deep content knowledge and expertise in conducting materials reviews. Read more.
  • Educator-led Review Teams – Each report found on EdReports.org represents hundreds of hours of work by educator reviewers. Reviewers work in teams of four to five people using the review rubrics, evidence guides, and key documents to thoroughly examine their sets of instructional materials. Read more.
  • Rubric Design – The EdReports.org’s rubric supports a sequential review process through three gateways. These gateways reflect the importance of standards alignment to the fundamental design elements of the materials and considers other attributes of high-quality curriculum as recommended by educators. Read more.
How does EdReports choose which instructional materials to review?

EdReports reviews materials that are currently in use in classrooms across the country and are full-year, comprehensive programs in K-12 math and ELA, and K-8 science. We review materials from all sources including for-profit, non-profit, and Open Education Resources. 

We are guided by the long-term goal of providing a broad picture of materials, reviewing as close to 100% of the ELA, math, and science market as possible.

To identify which materials to review, we research the market, accept recommendations from the field, and also receive requests from publishers. Suggest materials to review on our website.