Is Alignment Enough? Investigating the Effects of State Policies and Professional Development on Science Curriculum Implementation

Implementation of science curriculum materials has been a fundamental challenge in science education for decades. Policy researchers have argued that alignment of standards, curriculum, and assessment are the key to supporting implementation. This paper focuses on teachers’ perceptions of curricular alignment and on curriculum implementation using empirical data from a statewide systemic inquiry science reform effort targeting students from kindergarten to eighth grade. We find that the success of alignment policies depends on teachers’ construal of the relationship between standards and curriculum materials and on allocation of time for planning at the school level. C © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 93:656 – 677, 2009 Correspondence to: William Penuel; e-mail: [email protected] Contract grant sponsor: National Science Foundation. Contract grant numbers: 0223068 and 0624307. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the GLOBE program, the National Science Foundation, the University of Michigan, or SRI International. C © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. IS ALIGNMENT ENOUGH? 657