A curriculum refers to the lessons and the academic content that is taught in learning institutions in a course or program that is specific. Thinking about how a curriculum is developed and implemented is a key issue in todays world. In most cases, the curriculums that are written, do not align with either the curriculum that is taught or the curriculum that is assessed. Considering this statement, it means that there exist three or more curriculums. Additionally, it means that learners have to be well conversant with all the curriculums that exist. This article seeks to substantiate these facts.
The written curriculum is found within the state produced documents. The systems of the school, the schools themselves as well as the teachers. This curriculum specifies what is supposed to be taught. These documents are inclusive of a curriculum guide as well as a scope and sequence guide. With the advancement in technology, most schools have made the curriculums accessible through their websites as well as other school databases. Other materials that have been developed by teachers are also included in the written curriculums.
The taught curriculum, on the other hand, is the curriculum that is delivered by the teachers. Different sources indicate that there is a great difference between what is taught in the schools despite the fact that all curriculums appear the same superficially. This translates into having children in different schools learning varying concepts despite going through curriculums that seem alike.
The assessed curriculum is the one that is represented in the assessment tests. These are usually developed by the state, the school systems, and the teachers. They include tests that are standardized, competency tests as well as assessments for performance. In some countries, the learners go through the same assessments despite having gone through extremely varying curriculums.
Having understood these different types of curriculums, we can now look into how they are aligned. The written curriculum seems to have little influence on the curriculum that is taught. This is so since most teachers only look at the written curriculum at the beginning of the year and do not get to refer to it any other time of the year. In fact, in some cases, where teachers feel that they are experienced enough, the written curriculum is not referred to at all.
The assessed curriculum seems to have the most effect on what is actually delivered by the teachers. In todays world, where teachers have to be accountable, the main concern has shifted to how well the students can do in the assessment tests. Therefore, much of the class time is spent in developing the wisdom to handle tests. This is mostly is done through handling practice questions that are similar to those that are tested in the state and district assessments.
This means there is need to deeply question the quality of the curriculum delivered to the learners. Does it achieve what it is meant to achieve? Is it as constructive as is supposed to be? There is need to look into the reasons why there are variations in all these curricula. This creates the need for regulatory bodies to come up with clear guidelines and standards that should be considered when developing the curriculum, delivering it and assessing it.
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