In a study of 15 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states, researchers at SREB identified the degree to which the Maryland State Department of Education provided leadership and support for the statewide use of high-quality instructional materials that aligned to the state’s K-12 college- and career-readiness standards in English language arts (ELA) and math.

SREB developed a list of actions that demonstrate state leadership and support in each of the three areas listed below. These actions, or “look-fors,” guided data collection and the analysis of state efforts. Read about the look-fors in the full report, located to the right. State efforts in each area fell into one of three levels of implementation: minimal, essential or strong. In some cases, SREB researchers also designated a state action as notable. Below is a detailed description of this state’s efforts.

Table of Contents

Highlights	Area 1	Area 2	Area 3	Moving Forward

Highlights from Maryland

• Strong efforts to establish clear and consistent conventions to assess the quality and alignment of instructional materials to state college- and career-readiness standards. The Maryland State Department of Education established consistent criteria based on nationally recognized tools, to develop and review textbooks and online, on-demand instructional materials. The department established a clear process that involved educators to develop, review and select online, on-demand instructional materials on a frequent basis, enabling the department to continually enhance the timeliness and relevance of its offerings.
• Strong support for local efforts to align instructional materials. The department provided extensive online, on-demand tools to assist educators with aligning instructional materials. The department offered multiple types of professional learning and technical assistance that reached all districts and many educators in the state ― including monthly or quarterly role-specific meetings with multiple leaders from all 24 districts, regional summer College and Career Readiness Conferences for administrators and teachers, and training and support for school teams on formative assessment and professional learning communities.
• Strong use of data to guide continuous improvement. The department gathered multiple types of data on a regular basis. Data included information on educator needs, and the use and perceived quality of state-provided resources and support. The department gathered these data through eConnect site usage reports, participation data from professional learning events, the 2015 Biennial Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) statewide survey and frequent meetings with multiple leaders in all 24 districts. Additionally, through review of district improvement plans, department staff gathered information on local curriculum alignment practices. To use the data gathered to inform state efforts, assistant superintendents from across the department met bi-monthly or monthly with division directors, who then held monthly or quarterly meetings with multiple leaders from all 24 districts. Directors in the agency’s curriculum, professional learning, assessment and accountability offices met weekly.

Area 1: Establishing Clear Conventions

Did the department establish clear criteria and a clear process for identifying high-quality instructional materials aligned to the state’s college- and career-readiness standards?

Maryland provided strong leadership and support in this area.

The department established consistent criteria, based on nationally recognized tools, to assess the quality of textbooks and online, on-demand instructional materials and their alignment to the state’s college- and career-readiness standards—the Maryland State College- and Career-Ready Standards. The department established a clear process that involved educators to develop, review and select online, on-demand instructional materials on a frequent basis.

Table 1: State Criteria and Processes for Reviewing Textbooks and Online, On-Demand Instructional Materials

State authority and role in developing and selecting instructional materials	Criteria the state used to develop and select materials	Process the state used to develop and select materials
Textbooks
In accordance with state law: Maryland did not adopt textbooks at the state level. Districts had the authority to select textbooks based on local needs. Districts were required to use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and the Maryland College and Career-Ready Curriculum Frameworks to develop or revise their materials.	In addition to the district requirements outlined in the column to the left, the department recommended that districts use the Publishers’ Criteria for the Common Core State Standards and Achieve’s Educators Evaluating Quality Instructional Products (EQuIP) rubrics. The Publishers’ Criteria and the EQuIP rubrics (documents that outline expectations, guidelines and procedures) are nationally recognized as clear, detailed and accurate instruments to assess the quality and alignment of textbooks to college- and career-readiness standards.	Maryland did not adopt textbooks at the state level.
Online, On-Demand Instructional Materials
The department provided collections of model lesson and unit plans and formative assessment resources on the eConnect, Online Instructional Toolkit (OIT), ELA, math and STEM websites. Teachers could use these instructional materials to inform their planning.	Achieve’s EQuIP rubrics. These rubrics are nationally recognized as clear, detailed and accurate instruments to assess the quality and alignment of instructional materials to college- and career-readiness standards.	Department content specialists reviewed items developed by department staff, Maryland educators, partners such as Maryland Public Television and vendors. The specialists conducted reviews on a quarterly to monthly basis, incorporating feedback from educators.
The department provided a collection of formative assessment items called the Formative Assessment for Maryland Educators (FAME), which teachers could use to inform their planning.	The department developed rubrics in collaboration with Maryland educators and the assessment vendor Measured Progress, based on tools from national organizations such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.	Department formative assessment specialists reviewed items developed by Measured Progress and Maryland educators on an annual basis.

Area 2: Supporting Local Efforts

Did the department provide guidance, instructional materials, professional learning and technical assistance to build local knowledge and skills, and support educator use of aligned materials?

Maryland provided strong leadership and support in this area.

The department provided extensive guidance and instructional materials for on-demand access by educators. The department offered multiple types of coordinated professional learning and technical assistance that reached all districts and many educators in the state, and included notable support for district leaders. These services included training on how to apply the nationally recognized criteria the department used to review instructional materials (described above). Examples of the department’s efforts include the following.

Guidance

Guidance could include information about the standards and aligned teaching strategies, rubrics for gauging alignment of instructional materials, templates for designing aligned instruction, lists of adopted textbooks and online professional learning resources. Maryland provided the following guidance documents.

• Extensive archived training materials from the department’s summer Educator Effectiveness Academies between 2011 and 2013 and College and Career Readiness Conferences in 2014 and 2015, including videos of exemplar classroom instruction and online professional learning resources
• Planning and monitoring tools for curriculum alignment and school improvement   
• STEM instructional guides, planning resources, videos and exemplary practices from districts and institutions of higher education
• Extensive guidance for differentiating instruction for diverse learners, including a UDL self-assessment tool, Maryland Learning Links resources and the Maryland College and Career-Ready Frameworks

Instructional Materials

Instructional materials could include a variety of tools and resources that educators use to plan and deliver instruction, such as model lesson and unit plans, sample formative assessments, textbooks, student workbooks and manipulatives, recommended texts and videos, and multimedia learning tools. Maryland provided the following types of instructional materials.

• eConnect, OIT, ELA, math and STEM extensive collections of over 11,000 items, including model lesson and unit plans for ELA, math and gifted education, student materials and formative assessment items. All items incorporated the principles of UDL. eConnect also allowed districts to share their resources electronically.
• FAME resources for formative assessments, including sample items and rubrics, student work exemplars, tasks for general and English learners, archived training webinars and planning tools  

Professional Learning and Technical Assistance

• Monthly technical assistance meetings with district assistant superintendents of instruction and chief academic officers, and quarterly meetings with other district leaders, including curriculum content supervisors, professional learning coordinators, principal supervisors and information technology officers, to provide all 24 districts with information and support for aligning instructional materials  
• Two-day summer College and Career Readiness Conferences on developing a standards-aligned curriculum. The conferences included training on how to use Student Achievement Partners’ Assessment Evaluation Tool and department-provided instructional materials. Between 2014 and 2016, 10,000 ELA, math, English learner, special and gifted educators, as well as school and district leaders, attended. In 2016, the department began hosting the conferences as regional, content area focused “EdCamps,” participant-driven professional learning events offered both virtually and face-to-face.
• FAME yearlong program for school teams to learn about and develop standards-aligned formative assessments. Teams participated in a two-day summer institute, regional convenings, monthly webinars, five self-study modules and ongoing technical assistance. Department specialists collaborated with faculty at institutions of higher education to facilitate many of the activities. Teams from all 24 districts participated in some capacity.
• EQuIP training for educators through multi-day, regional workshops in 2015-16
• Professional Learning Community (PLC) initiative. School-based PLCs committed to implementing peer coaching around one of five strands, including aligned formative assessment, school improvement, student learning objectives, new teacher mentoring and National Board certification. The department planned the initiative in 2015-16 and launched it in 2016. The department reported plans to train and support the teams throughout 2016-17.
• In 2016, the department reported plans to launch a statewide district collaborative in 2016-17 to support district selection and use of high-quality curricular materials aligned to state standards

“We don’t have a required state curriculum, but because the department provides the exemplary lessons and units, it’s easy to work with another district and know we’re not isolated. We can speak a common language and work together, even though we are a local control state. So, it’s really engaging professional development, working across districts and with the state.”—Maryland Teacher

Area 3: Using Data to Continuously Improve State Efforts

Did the department regularly gather and use multiple types of data in order to continuously improve its leadership and support for the statewide alignment of instructional materials to college- and career-readiness standards?

Maryland provided strong leadership and support in this area.

The department frequently gathered four of the five types of data that SREB deemed key for state leadership, including information on local curriculum alignment practices. Leaders and staff from across the agency, as well as educators, participated in analysis and discussion of the data. The department used the data in two ways to inform its work.

Table 2: Data the Department Gathered to Inform its Efforts

Key types of data	Data sources
Educator use of state guidance and instructional materials, and educator participation in the professional learning and technical assistance the department offered	Number of eConnect page views and visitors Number of participants at department professional development events
Educator perceptions of the quality of the state’s offerings	2014-15 eConnect user feedback forums Biennial Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) statewide survey, last administered in 2015 Feedback during monthly meetings with all district assistant superintendents of instruction and chief academic officers, and quarterly role-specific meetings with all district curriculum coordinators and other district content area leads Professional learning participant feedback surveys
Educator emerging needs	Input during monthly meetings with all district assistant superintendents of instruction and chief academic officers, and quarterly role-specific meetings with all district curriculum coordinators and other district content area leads Annual statewide surveys of each educator role group
Impact of state offerings on measurable teacher or student outcomes	None reported
Local curriculum alignment practices	Review of district annual Bridge to Excellence Master Plans

The department used this data to improve two of its supports for local instructional materials alignment:

• Guidance and instructional materials
• Professional learning and technical assistance

The department established the following routines to analyze data, discuss findings and determine actions to address identified needs:

• Assistant superintendents from across the department met bi-monthly and monthly with division directors, who then held monthly or quarterly role-specific meetings with multiple leaders from all 24 districts.
• When Maryland adopted its college and career readiness standards in 2010, the department reorganized to have curriculum, professional learning, assessment and accountability staff within the same division. In 2014-15 and 2015-16, directors in this division met weekly.

Moving Forward

As Maryland strives to continuously improve, state leaders may wish to consider the following recommendations.    

• Continue and enhance the state’s strong support for local efforts by providing extensive and current online instructional guidance and instructional materials, as well as robust professional learning and technical assistance. This will ensure educators continue to have needed tools and support to help them learn about, design and deliver instruction on the Maryland College- and Career-Ready Standards. See other strong state efforts to provide professional learning and technical assistance that were intensive, integrated and sustained, and that reached large numbers of districts, schools or educators described in the Alabama, Kentucky and Louisiana profiles. 
• Continue and enhance the state’s strong use of data to drive improvement. For example, examine how the use of state materials and services impacts educator practice and student learning. See descriptions of other strong state efforts to use data for continuous improvement in the Arkansas, Delaware, Tennessee and West Virginia profiles.