Developing a Challenging, Engaging Curriculum
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Relationship to Framework
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An academically rigorous curriculum that is well taught provides students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors to make a successful transition to college or other postsecondary education institutions.
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Purpose
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To help schools think through strategies and next steps for developing challenging, engaging curricula that attract student enrollment.
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Outcomes
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Schools will:
- Have common understanding of what constitutes a rigorous core curriculum
- Compare current school curriculum to prototype rigorous core curriculum
- Assess their status regarding the extent to which strategies are in place to achieve a challenging, engaging curriculum
- Outline next steps to achieve a challenging, engaging curriculum
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How to use
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This tool may be used by individuals and/or groups to contrast their school’s curriculum with what postsecondary institutions consider to be a rigorous core curriculum and to identify strategies and next steps for developing such a curriculum.
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When to use
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Initial planning stage
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Directions:
- Use the Rigorous Core Curriculum Chart (below) to determine how closely your school’s curriculum aligns with what postsecondary institutions consider to be a rigorous core curriculum.
- Use the Strategy, Status, Next Steps Worksheet (next section) to check-off strategies that your school is employing (or is considering employing), note the status (what your school is doing to implement the strategy), and write next steps.
Rigorous Core Curriculum Chart
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Subject
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9th Grade
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10th Grade
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11th Grade
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12th Grade
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Math
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Algebra I
or higher
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Algebra II or higher or Geometry I
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Trigonometry
or higher
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Pre-Calculus or higher
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Science w/lab
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Earth Science w/ lab or Biology w/ lab
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Biology w/ lab or Chemistry w/ lab
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Chemistry w/ lab or Physics w/ lab
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Physics w/ lab or Advanced Science
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Social Studies and History
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World History I
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World History II
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American History & Government
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Economics, Government, and/or State/Local History
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English or
English as a 2nd Language
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English I
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English II
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English III
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English IV
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World Language
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World Language I
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World Language II
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World Language III
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Advanced World Language
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Schools can increase student enrollment in challenging core courses by including such courses in graduation requirements and/or eliminating or substantially strengthening low-level or remedial-type sections of core courses.
Schools can increase the likelihood that students will be motivated to master a challenging curriculum if courses are developmentally appropriate and if students (with parents and advisors) are allowed to determine their curriculum. Other ways of engaging students include 1) expanding the number and types of learning opportunities through internships, community service, and individual research projects and 2) relating learning to the real world by offering career tracks that enable students to connect academic- and work-related skills.
The next section contains a worksheet that may be used to identify strategies and next steps for developing a challenging, engaging curriculum that is accessible to students with different backgrounds, interests, capacities, and career goals.
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