Validating National Curriculum Indicators

This report presents the design and pilot study of a model for collecting in-depth, benchmark data on school coursework, intended to improve the quality of curriculum data obtained through national surveys of classroom teachers. Homework, quizzes, classroom exercises, projects, and exams were collected over the course of a semester from 70 mathematics teachers in California and Washington. The teachers also completed daily logs of their instructional practices. These data were compared with teachers’ responses on surveys similar to those used in national data collection efforts. The results showed how well survey data measure curriculum, as compared with data that are closer to actual classroom instruction. Procedures are recommended for periodically validating data collected from large-scale surveys, and enhancements in the type and number of items included on those surveys are suggested.