and use of explicit criteria tied to district or state goals or linked to statewide assessments. In technology education, cross-discipline committees sometimes define the curriculum and ways in which technology will be implemented in classrooms, while in other cases the technology education departments make those choices and recommendations.
In summary, the selection and adoption of textbooks is closely related to state and district policies and funding procedures. In some instances, the availability and administration of financial resources directly affect how often schools and teachers adopt new textbooks, which schools and students have access to instructional resources to support the curriculum, which instructional resources are available for which teachers, and how teachers are supported in their use of such resources.
Nationally developed standards describe the organization, balance, and presentation of important mathematics, science, and technology content. The standards intentionally do not prescribe a specific curriculum, but provide criteria for designing a curriculum framework or selecting instructional materials.
If standards are influencing what is taught to which students, then curriculum policy, the design and development of instructional materials, and the processes and criteria by which such materials are selected and implemented in classrooms would reflect the content described in the standards. Enacted policies and funded programs defining curriculum would align with those relating to standards-based instruction and assessment. State content standards would be consistent with content specified by the nationally developed standards, providing comprehensive guidance on what should be taught at each grade level, stimulating creation or adoption of curricular materials and textbooks at the local level that embody the standards’ vision, and providing direction to needed curricular guidance and support. Graduation requirements would reinforce