Curriculum

Rhode Island is committed to ensuring all students have access to consistent and high-quality curriculum materials (HQCM).

High-quality curriculum materials are aligned to rigorous college- and career-ready standards. Since 2017, Rhode Island continues to partner with EdReports, a nationally recognized, independent non-profit organization, who provides expert reviews of instructional materials. EdReports provides free published reviews of K-12 instructional materials in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science based on alignment to standards and usability.

RI Curriculum Legislation

Having access to high-quality curriculum materials is an important component of increasing equitable access to a rigorous education that prepares every student for college and careers. Through this national movement to increase access through high-quality materials, in 2019, RIGL§ 16.22.30-33 

was passed which requires the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, and RIDE, to accomplish the following:

  1. Develop statewide academic standards and curriculum frameworks;
  2. Identify at least five (5) examples of high-quality curriculum and materials for each of the core subject areas (English Language Arts, Mathematics, & Science);
  3. Support LEAs in the selection and implementation of curriculum materials.

This legislation requires that all RI LEAs adopt high quality curriculum materials in K-12 schools that are (1) aligned with academic standards, (2) aligned with the forthcoming curriculum frameworks, and (3) aligned with the statewide standardized test(s) (i.e. RICAS, PSAT/SAT), where applicable. Furthermore, this selection must be completed by June 2023 for mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) and June 2025 for science. Respective to each content area, implementation should be in place by September following a June selection.

For questions about any content on this page, please email curriculum@ride.ri.gov.

RI's List of Approved High-Quality Curricula

Rhode Island’s list of approved high-quality curricula in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) was published in advance of the 2023 selection and adoption requirement for LEAs. The intent of this published list is to provide RI LEAs with the ability to choose a high-quality curriculum that best fits the needs of its students, teachers, and community. Each LEA must choose a curriculum from the list for core mathematics, ELA, and science content areas per the timelines outlined in RIGL§ 16.22.30-33. When possible, LEAs should adopt early because every student in Rhode Island deserves access to high-quality curriculum materials.

The following documents provide comprehensive guidance for RI LEA educators and administrators toward these goals:

Please email questions about this guidance document to curriculum@ride.ri.gov.

Review Tools to Support Selection of HQCM

Details of the aforementioned legislation require that the high-quality curriculum selection process includes a local review for additional components to ensure that the materials are, in fact, high quality and accessible for all students. This collaborative review process with a local team of educators and administrators should determine the degree to which a set of curriculum materials provide supports for:

  • culturally-responsive & sustaining education (CRSE)
  • multilingual learners (MLLs)
  • foundational reading skills (K-2)

Toward this end, RIDE has developed tools, shared in the following guidance documents, to support local teams in reviewing materials as part of the curriculum selection process to ensure alignment with the requirements of high-quality curriculum selection, and the legislation. The use of these review tools, within the selection process, is designed to support LEA teams in becoming critical consumers of curriculum materials:

Please email questions about these guidance documents to curriculum@ride.ri.gov.

Options to Waive HQCM Selection in RI

Because the process for selecting, adopting, and implementing new curriculum materials requires operational shifts in the LEA, the aforementioned legislation outlines the following waiver options for LEAs to pursue based on local circumstances:

  1. Financial Hardship Waiver
  2. Third-Party Curriculum Review Waiver
  3. Student Achievement Waiver

Detailed guidance and applications for each of the above waivers should be viewed in the following document:

Please email questions about these guidance documents to curriculum@ride.ri.gov.