Diagnostic Services

Organizational Audits -- Taking a Good Look at Ourselves

Each EdFOCUS curriculum audit is a thorough and objective description of the current status of classroom instruction in comparison to the intended status. EdFOCUS identifies the discrepancy between the two, and this gap analysis provides a road-map for what needs to be addressed. Each audit is planned with district staff to examine its particular circumstances. An audit could focus on the entire district, specific grade levels, or an individual building. The data collected include on-site interviews, observations, and a review of key documents, including test scores.

Typically, a curriculum audit answers the following questions:

A. The Curriculum -- What are the academic targets and materials for each grade level and content area? How well are the standards integrated into the classroom instruction?

B. The Instruction -- What teaching methods and materials to address the standards are used in each classroom?

C. The Testing -- How closely aligned are the classroom assessments to the academic standards?

The final report for each audit documents findings, cites commendations, and makes recommendations -- all to reduce or eliminate the identified “gaps” between the desired and actual status. Although EdFOCUS has a set of protocols for several types of audits, a combination of audits is often requested.

  • The Curriculum Audit

    The Curriculum Audit is an examination of what is taught in classrooms at each grade level; although customized to district needs, this audit typically looks at:

    • the extent to which the adopted curriculum is actually the enacted curriculum
    • the alignment between the adopted curriculum and state content standards
    • the validity of content and the accurate level of cognitive demand, including higher-order thinking
    • learning outcomes that require students to construct meaning for themselves, and apply their learning to real-world contexts
    • interdisciplinary connections
    • the inclusion of art, media, and technology

  • The Instructional Audit

    The Instructional Audit (an Audit of Classroom Practices) is an examination of classroom instruction to determine how it is delivered and assessed; although customized to district needs, this audit typically looks at:

    • the planning, delivery, and assessment of classroom instruction
    • the consistent use of “best practices,” including congruence among the learning outcome, teaching strategy, and assessments
    • planning for differentiation from the outset, rather than after-the-fact
    • the level of student engagement
    • the students’ construction of meaning
    • the use of real-world contexts rather than learning in isolation
    • the use of performance tasks to  demonstrate mastery

  • The Literacy Audit

    The Literacy Audit is an examination of Literacy practices in grades 6-12, Science, Social Studies, ELA, and Math; although customized to district needs, this audit typically looks at:

    • the extent to which the Literacy skills have been adopted into the Science, Social Studies, and Math courses at grades 6-12, and are actually being included in classroom instruction
    • the coordination of the Literacy skills in these content subjects with the English/Language Arts department in each respective course and grade level—particularly in:

                  -the requirements for Informative and Argumentative Research writing

                  -the strategic choice of informational texts

  • The Assessment Audit

    We live in an era of high-stakes tests, end-of course assessments, diagnostic batteries, and various district-level benchmark tests. With so much emphasis on “being data driven,” schools are information-rich and data-poor! It’s all about measure, measure, measure. Stretched end-to-end, more classroom time is consumed by testing than in teaching.

    The Assessment Audit is an examination of the district’s testing program -- including what tests are given, to whom, when, and how the results are used; although customized to district needs, this audit typically looks at:

    • the use of high-stakes test results to make decisions about curriculum and instruction
    • the use of district-level benchmark assessments to continuously monitor student performance
    • the validity and appropriateness of classroom tests to reflect state academic standards -- including the use of paper-pencil tests that parallel the state’s high-stakes assessments
    • the use of valid authentic and performance assessments