Mathematics Grade-Level Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool-Quality Review (GIMET-QR)
This evaluation tool offers a way to assess existing grade-level curriculum for alignment with the Common Core State Standards in mathematics, both in terms of content and instructional design. Reviewers are provided with an extensive rubric, the first and largest section of which analyzes several clusters of grade-level content standards (those that are part of the progression to algebra). Subsequent sections consider whether the materials contain an appropriate balance of conceptual understanding, application, and procedural fluency. The tool (a separate version of which exists for each grade, K-8) is designed to be used after the entire publisher series has been vetted using the Instructional Materials Evaluation Toolkit (IMET), designed by Student Achievement Partners.
The GIMET-QR is a comprehensive, well-designed tool that districts will likely find useful in evaluating grade-level curriculum for alignment to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics. The level of detail and guidance provided in section one (where the analysis is focused on several clusters of content standards for each grade) requires reviewers to get into the conceptual nitty-gritty of the content standards, a necessary part of a thorough and meaningful content analysis. This tool is much more than “cursory glance at the table of contents” and will require that reviewers are deeply familiar with the CCSS in mathematics, as well as grade level-appropriate pedagogy. The only shortcoming is that, although they are mentioned, the math practice standards are not treated in a very meaningful way. Curriculum reviewers who use this tool should be aware of this and find another means to consider integration of the practice standards.