California, the largest common-core-adoption state, is on the verge of adopting new K-8 English/language arts instructional materials for the first time since it put the Common Core State Standards in place鈥攁nd nearly all the textbooks that were submitted for review are likely to be approved.
Materials adoptions in the Golden State have historically been influential in defining the publishing market and other states鈥� curricular choices, but many say this year鈥檚 board vote will make less of a splash nationally. For one, California has changed a policy that once required districts to choose from the state-approved list. And states and districts now have access to more materials鈥攊ncluding free digital resources鈥攖hat meet their needs.
The California adoption 鈥減robably won鈥檛 have the same impact it had before,鈥� said Carrie Heath Phillips, a program director for the Council of Chief State School Officers. Now, 鈥渟tates together are moving the market.鈥�
California鈥檚 Instructional Quality Commission, which reviews materials against the state鈥檚 curriculum framework, is recommending the state board adopt 25 of the 29 instructional materials submitted. In all likelihood, those materials will be adopted at the board鈥檚 upcoming meeting set for the first week in November, according to Thomas Adams, the director of California鈥檚 curriculum and instructional-resources division and the head of the commission.
Programs by several major publishers鈥攊ncluding Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson鈥攁re on the recommended list. Two programs by Amplify Education Inc. and two by the College Board were found not to meet the adoption criteria (though other programs by both publishers were recommended). The College Board declined to comment. David Stevenson, vice president at Amplify, said that many California districts have expressed interest in using its new textbook.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the adoption process that California had for decades,鈥� said Jay Diskey, the executive director of the Washington-based Association of American Publishers鈥� P-12 division. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an adoption process that鈥檚 probably best described as an advisory process.鈥�
California and Texas were once the two most influential textbook adoption states, with publishers often preparing their materials for the national market based on those two states鈥� criteria.
Landscape Changes
But the landscape has changed drastically in recent years.
Forty-four states and the District of Columbia are now implementing common standards, meaning their instructional goals are now more similar than ever. Texas, though, never adopted the common core.
California last went through an official adoption process for ELA materials in 2008鈥攋ust before the Great Recession hit. During the economic downturn, districts were released from the state requirement to buy new materials.
And recently, California moved to a 鈥渓ocal control funding formula鈥� that allows districts to continue to bypass the state list of instructional materials, as long as they can prove the programs chosen are aligned to the common-core standards. Other states, such as Florida, have ceded control over instructional materials to districts as well.
Because of the post-recession changes, there鈥檚 鈥渂een a great deal of nervousness on the part of publishers over the years about what California would do鈥� regarding adoption, said Diskey.
There鈥檚 also a glut of open educational resources aligned to the common standards that districts and individual educators can use to guide their instruction. EngageNY, an online library of academic materials created in New York state, for instance, has had an estimated 20 million downloads by educators around the country.
About 200 people鈥攎ostly educators鈥攑articipate in the California materials-review process. The publishers receive the detailed criteria ahead of time, and all commission meetings and analyses are open to the public.
This year鈥檚 process was unusually smooth, according to Adams, the chairman. 鈥淚n the past, we鈥檝e had reading wars, bitter disputes,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e kind of reached a consensus as a state. There are a broad range of options [for materials], yet they鈥檙e all rooted in very solid standards.鈥�
The fact that so many ELA programs are being recommended to the state board this year is 鈥済reat news鈥� for publishers, Diskey said.
Even if not required to do so, Adams believes, districts have a compelling reason to switch to the new materials: They鈥檙e designed to address the needs of English-language learners, who make up a quarter of California鈥檚 students. The criteria for the materials required that English-learners receive instruction on grade-level English/language arts content while simultaneously improving their language skills. Previously, students worked on language alone before content.
鈥淲hat this adoption does is really put in place the gold standard for combining ELA and ELD [English-language development]. There isn鈥檛 anything out there that even comes close to what these materials are doing,鈥� Adams said. 鈥淚 think California districts will embrace these materials enthusiastically.鈥�
Kenji Hakuta, a Stanford professor and English-language-acquisition expert, called California鈥檚 expectation of the connection between English/language arts content and English-language development 鈥渋n a sense, cutting edge.
鈥淚 think every state is going to get there eventually,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I think California is ahead of the curve in doing this.鈥�
