Every once in a while it is good to check-in with where our school’s are at in terms of their teaching and learning focus. Investing too heavily in one area can lead to a distinct lack of progress in another. Fenwick English’s Curriculum Audit is an essential tool to get us thinking about where our energies lie and whether we need to re-calibrate our priorities. The thought of considering whether a school’s written, taught and assessment is aligned is a great way to start conversations about where energy is being spent. Does the taught curriculum correspond to the written curriculum and vice-versa? Do the assessment tasks for a Grade Level reflect the outcomes stated in the subject’s vertical articulation document? If not, then one or the other should change.
Over a period of time, we should not be favouring one of these dimensions (written, taught or assessed) over the other; we need to work hard to get them in sync. We can spend lots of time producing great written curriculum documents, but how much detail is enough and at what expense does curriculum writing come at in terms of compromising the taught and assessed components? Similarly, what is the point of having great learning engagements and resources if they are not documented for others to use now or later?
Good school leaders take time to work with their staff to reflect on this and re-focus and give guidance to the effort where appropriate.
For education leaders everywhere 