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K-12 LK-12 Learning Resources
Brian Smith, Supervisor of K-12 Learning Resources Adoptions
The Cobb County School District’s Learning Resources Adoption is a data
driven process that supports our standards based curriculum. The adoption
process follows the State Learning Materials Adoption guidelines as
published by the Georgia Department of Education in the Georgia
Textbook/Instructional Materials Guide. Additionally, these procedures
comply with Cobb County School Board Administrative Rule IJJ-Instructional
Resources Selection and Adoption.
Cobb County follows the state recommended cycle in accordance with Cobb County School District
Board Administrative Rule IJJ. The process for the evaluation and selection of materials is a data
driven process. The Office of Learning Resources oversees and facilitates the review and selection
of all adopted learning materials. In the Cobb County School District, the identification of effective
learning resources is a systematic, data driven decision making process in which curriculum supervisors
and teacher committees carefully evaluate and rate learning resources submitted for review.
Prior to the adoption year (the year in which materials will be evaluated and recommended to the
CCSD Board of Education for purchase), Supervisors from the CCSD Curriculum and Instruction Division
conduct a program evaluation for the content areas under review.
- Surveys are given to teachers, students and parents throughout the district
- Supervisors conduct on site classroom observations
- Research and current trends are studied
- Student achievement data is analyzed
Collection of data from surveys and observations are reviewed and later shared with the committees. This evaluation becomes a tool to guide discussion with the adoption committee members and brings focus to our mission.
An Adoption Committee is formed for each content area under review which includes teachers, administrators, district supervisors, parents, collectively representing our diverse student population. These committees meet several times throughout the year to review material. Initially, the results of the program evaluation are shared. Then, the committees identify critical features essential to their adoption.
The State of Georgia establishes a recommended list of publishers for consideration. We looked first at the state recommended list of titles and then asked for additional input from content supervisors and teachers as far as any addition materials they wanted to review. Materials are then evaluated using established criteria and multiple measures including content alignment to standards, learning practices, assessments, and appropriateness.
Once the field narrows, materials are sent out to schools for system-wide review, requesting feedback from teachers, administrators, and parents. Publishers may be invited to make presentations to the committee as a whole, if the committee requested.
After the results of the system-wide review are tabulated and shared with the committees, each committee makes their final recommendations to the Board of Education based on the data collected throughout the process. A public review of materials is hosted at Cobb County’s Central Office at 514 Glover Street in Marietta prior to the Board of Education making their final decision.
Board of Education Academic Priorities: Goal 1 - Student Achievement
- Measurable gains/growth as measured by national and state test scores
- Quality teaching and leadership
- Keep track of students through system
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