The purpose of curriculum management is to help ensure that all students will get the most out of their education. The more global goal of curriculum management is for students to use all the knowledge and skills they have learned to contribute to society in a meaningful and beneficial way. All stakeholders in any given school district contribute in ways that help to see to it that curriculum management is carried out, as best as possible.
Curriculum is the academic system that imparts knowledge and skills to students in a school environment. More specifically, curriculum refers to what is written to be taught, and what is tested at different student levels, in specific areas or courses. After evaluating test results, administrators and boards can determine what are the most effective methods for imparting knowledge to students.
The first part of curriculum management is curriculum design. At this stage, educational philosophy and practice is taken into consideration. Curriculum implementation follows, after which administrators train teachers so that they will be able to deliver the curriculum in a way that will most benefit the students.
Curriculum monitoring and evaluation are closely related. Administrators monitor curriculum delivery to ensure that it is taught in a way consistent with the design. Teachers, administrators, school board members, and parents all make assessments about the effectiveness of the curriculum in place. Data derived from their input is then used to make any changes that will either lead to more effective teaching, based on the present curriculum, or to other modifications that will improve the curriculum.
With curriculum management, courses of study are aligned. Alignment refers to the coordination of the writing, teaching, and testing of curriculum across grade levels and areas of study. Written curriculum, which is part of alignment, refers to stated learning goals, as well as methods and resources that educators are to employ to reach those goals. The written curriculum typically includes a statement of assessment tools that might be used to evaluate students’ learning, and thus, the value of the curriculum.
Taught curriculum refers to the teacher’s delivery of the curriculum to the student, according to how it has been written. Teachers formulate the units to be studied, as well as the supporting lesson plans. Approaches for presenting materials to students is also a part of the taught curriculum. Tested curriculum refers the parts of the written and taught curriculum that are assessed, whether formally or informally. It determines if a student has thrived on the basis and implementation of the written curriculum.