Selecting for Quality: 6 Key Adoption Steps


Less than 20% of the materials in use in classrooms are aligned to standards.

All students deserve high-quality materials. Less than 20 percent of the materials in use in classrooms are aligned to standards.

What you select and how you select matters. Schools and districts have more options than ever from which to find high-quality materials that meet their local priorities. The selection process is a critical lever for ensuring that quality materials are adopted and then used well in classrooms. Current adoption practices are simply not good enough.

We believe that:

  • Selecting materials is a decision worthy of study and prioritization
  • Local context and instructional vision should drive decision-making
  • Educator voice and expertise must be at the center of the decision
  • Materials should be aligned to high standards, attend to instructional shifts and be based on research
  • Professional learning and implementation needs to be considered from the beginning of selection processes.

We work with teams across the country to implement the steps below, improve their selection processes, and find the right materials for their students and teachers. Explore our case studies to see how different districts have applied these key steps. Additional activities, resources, and protocols we use with teams are embedded within the steps for you to use or adapt within your own process.

We’ve also collected resources and best practices from these districts and included them here for your inspiration. We will be adding to this collection on a regular basis.

Contact us if you would like to share a best practice from a recent adoption process or consult with one of our experts as you plan your next instructional materials selection,

contact@edreports.org.

Adopting Materials During the COVID-19 Crisis: To support educators in their planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, EdReports has created a collection of resources to advocate for and guide decision making around the use of high-quality instructional materials. Explore this resource >