While more schools and districts are turning to evidence-based curricula vetted by their states or outside expert reviewers, that’s not necessarily translating into student achievement gains. Education researcher Sara Pixley explains that the problem lies with how school systems are implementing these new resources. Too often teachers aren’t receiving aligned professional development, support staff and administrators lack an understanding of or access to the materials, and instructional time isn’t used strategically. Pixley highlights the barriers to effective implementation of high-quality instructional materials and discusses how to knock those barriers down so student outcomes improve.
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