• enacted curriculum
• enacted instruction

• alignment to standards
• levels of cognitive rigor
• potential grade inflation

• classroom time usage
• teaching strategies
• custom issues

Sample Chart
STEM Curriculum

A mathematics curriculum can suffer from a lack of cognitive rigor, reducing student achievement and interest in the subject. Even when the adopted curriculum is sufficiently rigorous, teachers sometimes omit the more meaningful problem sets from their assignments. By analyzing completed student work, Ruby measures the curriculum actually delivered to students.

The darkest cell in this figure points to a potentially serious issue with the enacted mathematics curriculum — a preponderance of mechanical, skill-driven problem sets. Derided as "plug-and-chug" by educators, such assignments often fail to reinforce concepts and can lower student interest in mathematics. To promote fluency in mathematics, teachers at this school should consider assigning more problems that reinforce learned concepts and that align to higher-lever thinking skills.