For more than 40 years, the Curriculum Management Audit (CMA) has been the premier tool for school districts to analyze the effectiveness of processes and programs at an organizational level. It provides a unique, independent review of policy framework; scope and quality of curriculum; consistency and equity in schools and program implementation; effectiveness of programs and process monitoring; and use and allocation of budget and resources for improved productivity.
The CMA follows generally accepted principles of organizational effectiveness and produces a comprehensive, detailed and highly contextualized written report that diagnoses the system’s strengths and weaknesses and recommends concrete actions that boards and superintendents can take to improve student learning and teacher efficacy in their systems. The CMA is perfect for district leadership teams seeking valuable feedback regarding efforts to improve student achievement.
The CMA can be modified in a number of ways to suit the needs of districts. Some of those ways include:
- Small Schools Audit – The SSA is based on the principles of the CMA, but specifically developed for districts with fewer than 2500 students. It provides the same diagnostic analysis, but scaled to fit the capacity of the smaller system. The SSA assists the district in seeing the extent to which it has developed and implemented a sound, valid system of curriculum management. The SSA report and recommendations allow the Board and the Superintendent to identify strengths and weaknesses of the system and formulate an improvement action plan focused on student achievement.
- Individual School Audit – The ISA is a diagnostic process designed to reveal the extent to which the administration and professional staff of a school, in conjunction with district officials, have developed and implemented a sound approach for improved student achievement. Individual schools are examined against CMSi-developed standards for high-performing schools. The written report details recommended student achievement goals for the three years following the report. The ISA provides key data for any school desiring a detailed diagnostic report focused on the factors shown to improve student performance.
- Program-Specific Audit — based on generally accepted principles of effective instruction and curricular design, delivery and assessment. Each program-specific audit focuses on the content area or areas selected by the district. CMSi has conducted program-specific audits in Special Education, English Language Learner programs, Gifted Education, English/language Arts, Math, Science Curriculum Alignment, Social Studies, and Technology. The PSA report is a blueprint from which a school system can plan the improvement of teaching and learning in the system.
The Curriculum Management Audit Center™ at CMSi coordinates all audit projects and trainings, both independently and through our affiliates, the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA) and Phi Delta Kappa (PDK).