I still remember the nervous excitement of releasing EdReports’ first educator-led reviews on this day in 2015, waiting to see how they would be viewed and utilized by educators, administrators, publishers, and the field. No organization had tried to do what we were endeavoring at a national scale and, with no roadmap, we did our best to listen, learn, and improve while following our north star: that educator-led reviews, based on clear and transparent criteria, free from any biases, can provide information to help educators and districts select and implement instructional materials that better support student learning.

On this day in 2020, celebrating our fifth anniversary, with no idea what was to come a few weeks later with the pandemic, it was a time to reflect on increased impact. We were reviewing across English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science. We were beginning deeper work with states and districts on utilizing reviews to support district materials selection. And we were starting to see some real evidence of impact in the proportion of available curriculum meeting our criteria.

Today, as we mark nine years since publishing our first reviews and celebrate over 1,100 published reports, it feels like the right time to share reflections on our impact, what we’ve learned, and how we are striving to improve. We at EdReports always say, “our best report is yet to be written” and we know it requires continual review of new research, an understanding of the evolving field, conversations with researchers, publishers, users, and purchasers about the utility of our reports; and doing even more to support our educator reviewers. We remain as eager, emboldened, and committed to doing this work well today as we were back in 2015. 

Continuous learning and improvement is critical 

So much has changed since our first review criteria were developed for math in 2014, for ELA in 2015, and for science in 2017. Research continues to inform what we know about content and instruction, students need more and different support to recover from the pandemic, and generative technologies such as AI are reshaping what we think instructional materials can be almost weekly. We know both what we review for and how we conduct our reviews must reflect these changes. We’re drawing upon and learning from our efforts over nine years to continue to be responsive to the education landscape.

After our first reviews in 2015, we realized we needed increased flexibility in our gateway system to provide more evidence to the field, reviewing materials that partially met criteria around focus and coherence in math, so there was more information on important aspects of rigor and the connections between content and mathematical practices. We listened to feedback and made those changes. 

Within the first months of the pandemic we revamped our technology criteria to provide needed information to districts about the functionality and accessibility of materials that met our alignment standards for use in remote, hybrid, and face-to-face settings.

In 2023, we enhanced our website to more clearly highlight key indicators that align with the science of reading research and state policies to make it easier for educators and districts to hone in on our criteria that support teaching kids the foundational skills to read.

Building on our commitment to continuous learning and growth, we're thrilled to announce two exciting projects this year that are closely interconnected. This spring, we're launching our inaugural reviews using updated K–2 ELA foundational skills criteria for supplemental materials. Through careful listening to educator feedback, we've made specific enhancements to the review process to ensure close alignment to reading research, including indicating tailored strategies and supports for multilingual and below-level learners, as well as more clearly identifying the presence of three-cueing in materials.

These improvements to our K–2 foundational skills reviews will also be reflected in the revisions of our core comprehensive ELA tools, marking the second major project for EdReports this year, which will also involve changes to our mathematics and science evaluations. In the coming weeks, we'll be embarking on a listening and learning tour to thoroughly consider the latest research and feedback from various stakeholders, such as teacher membership organizations, state departments of education, school districts, researchers, and influential policy voices. We’ll be evaluating how to make our reports more responsive to the rapidly evolving curriculum space and considering stakeholder feedback on topics including usability and volume of content. 

Educators remain at the heart of everything we do

With a strong belief in the expertise and professionalism of educators, we've always centered a "by educator, for educator" approach to our reviews, ensuring that those closest to students are the ones analyzing materials. Our content review teams comprise expert classroom educators, district coaches, and state content leaders who deeply understand college- and career-ready standards and other quality dimensions, such as support for multilingual learners.

We prioritize providing our educator-reviewers with a high-quality professional learning experience at EdReports. Reviewers undergo extensive training from field experts, participate in weekly professional learning communities throughout the approximately six-month review period, and individually dedicate an average of 150 hours to each series report. Over the years, we've collaborated with approximately 1,000 educators representing nearly every state, valuing their time commitment and expertise by providing compensated contracts.

Arthur Everett, a New York-based educator reviewer and Klawe Fellow, emphasized, "Publishers are now listening to what teachers are saying about quality materials, thanks to initiatives like EdReports. For so long, teacher voice had been absent from that conversation." Similarly, Katie Miller, a reviewer from Iowa, shared her insights, noting, "The process was incredibly comprehensive as we meticulously examined every page of the materials, gathering exhaustive evidence for each indicator and collaboratively reaching final scoring consensus. Reviewing alongside teammates from diverse locations allowed us to learn from one another, offering different perspectives while united in our shared goal of ensuring student access to quality materials."

There are no panaceas in education

Curriculum holds significant importance for student growth—a fact supported by research. Students primarily learn through their interactions with teachers and the content with which they engage. This instructional core serves as the bedrock for ensuring all students are prepared for college, careers, and beyond, equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive.

The pivotal role of instructional materials led to the establishment of EdReports. However, from the outset, we understood that curriculum alone isn’t the sole determinant of student success. Equally critical are curriculum-aligned professional learning and effective implementation practices to ensure materials are used well.

High-quality curriculum requires high-quality professional development

Deploying high-quality instructional materials within a supportive leadership environment, complemented by ongoing coaching and professional development, increases the likelihood of these materials being utilized effectively. Unfortunately, nearly a quarter of teachers report receiving no curriculum-related professional learning, while almost a third have access to only 1–5 hours of such learning per year. Even when teachers do participate in professional development sessions, half say they feel unprepared by their professional learning to use their district's curriculum effectively. 

Like any professionals, teachers deserve and require high-quality professional learning opportunities to continually develop and enhance their skills, particularly when it comes to leveraging high-quality instructional materials to support student learning.

Data underscores the effectiveness of providing teachers with high-quality materials and training to use them effectively. A study by Brown University concluded that programs that helped teachers learn to use curriculum materials experienced stronger outcomes. And a 2017 study revealed that when teachers engaged in curriculum-based professional learning, their students' test scores improved significantly—an effect comparable to reducing class size by 15%.

EdReports should be one tool in your expansive toolkit

EdReports has successfully impacted the instructional materials market, steering the adoption of top-quality resources that align with rigorous standards and ultimately boost student achievement. As our review tools evolve to include educators' feedback and the latest research findings, the number of materials rated as green may vary. EdReports believes that having a range of options, provided they include components that make them high quality, is a positive thing for educators. Our aim is to equip educators with valuable insights to help them choose the most suitable curriculum for both themselves and their students.

Like with traffic signals, ‘green’ is not an unqualified signal to ‘go.’ We encourage school districts to view EdReports reviews as one resource as they make the incredibly hard and important choice of selecting and implementing quality materials. We embrace the inclusion of alternative tools or reports that are free from any financial influence from the products under review, prioritize rigor and transparency, ensure reviewers have no conflicts of interest and biases (such as relationships with publishers or prior experience with the materials), and make their review criteria and processes publicly accessible.

Beginning in 2018, EdReports embarked on a yearslong partnership with Rhode Island on its statewide approach to adopting high-quality materials. A key component of the state’s journey included assessing materials for how well they support culturally responsive and sustaining education (CRSE) and multilingual learners. The state used EdReports as a key resource to assess standards alignment, product design, and usability, but they also leveraged new emerging review tools to support their CRSE needs. 

EdReports reviews assess materials based on their alignment with college- and career-ready standards and their design, not their implementation. We know implementation varies so much across classrooms, schools, and districts—as it should. Therefore, school districts must first establish a clear instructional vision. This vision should delineate expectations for students' daily experiences, overarching learning goals, and local needs. Ultimately, this vision guides implementation planning. There is simply no such thing as a single perfect set of materials. The instructional vision helps districts to select materials that can meet the most essential student needs and makes clear where adaptation or supplementation is required to address gaps.

Looking toward the future

As we mark our ninth anniversary, we extend heartfelt gratitude to our exceptional staff, dedicated board members, and the over 1,000 educators who have joined us on the EdReports journey.

Looking ahead, we're filled with enthusiasm and determination for the next phase of our mission. With nearly a quarter of school districts nationwide now confirmed users of EdReports—impacting over 18 million students with access to high-quality instructional materials—we're energized by the progress made. Yet, we recognize that much remains to be accomplished. While we recently reflected on the challenges of the science market, we see more and more standards-aligned curriculum options. Despite this rise in availability, there is more work to be done given that only about one-third of ELA teachers, and less than half of math teachers, report using quality-aligned materials at least once per week. 

While it's inspiring to witness high-quality curriculum gaining greater recognition, we remain committed to our ongoing efforts to enhance and refine our work. Our goal remains steadfast: to contribute meaningfully towards creating a world where every student receives the transformative education they deserve.