Evaluation Procedures
he term integrity describes the purpose and outcomes for Florida’s process of evaluation and selection of materials.
Members of instructional materials committees are expected to perform their duties with a degree of trustworthiness and incorruptibility that prevents unfairness and dishonesty.
Procedures for statewide adoption have been designed to support this integrity.
But lobbying influences from any source
can undermine the integrity of the whole system. Because of this, committee members must be diligent in following the recommended
procedures and in refusing inappropriate discussion of instructional materials. If concerns or doubts arise about any of Florida’s
evaluation procedures, members must make sure to check with other officials about the best course of action.
Although requirements of defined procedures
specify how to accomplish the evaluation of instructional materials, neither Florida Statutes nor the Department of Education
can fully prescribe all of the actions and possible influences that may introduce unfairness, biases, or dishonesty. It is
up to individual committee members to recognize the possible influences from any outside
source, not just publishers.
Schedule
Florida’s state-adoption process
begins with the specifications sent to publishers.
The orchestration of everyone’s
involvement in the selection of instructional materials begins with a schedule of events and activities. The following dates
are an approximate schedule of events. Specific dates are announced annually and
vary somewhat from year to year.
The list below summarizes the major schedule
of events. Each of these is explained further in the section following this list.
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Annually |
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Specifications to publishers |
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|
q
Schedule of subject areas |
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|
q
Recommendations for adoption |
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February |
q
State committee appointments |
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April |
q
Contracts with publishers |
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|
q
Publishers’ workshop |
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|
q
District committee formation |
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May–June |
q
Announcement of bid deadlines |
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|
q
Delivery of training workshops |
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June–July |
q
Bids submitted
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Sample materials submitted |
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July–September |
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District evaluations
q
State committee evaluations
q
State hearings
q
State committee nominations |
Annually. Specifications, the schedule of subject areas, and recommendations for adoption are provided each year.
(1) Specifications: At least
two years before bids are due, publishers receive specifications for subjects and grade levels.
(2) Subject areas: The Department
of Education publishes the schedule of subject areas to be called for adoption.
(3) Recommendations: The Department
of Education prepares the report to the Commissioner of Education on recommendations for state-adopted instructional materials.
February. The Commissioner of Education appoints state committee members for the current evaluation cycle.
April. Contracts
with publishers, the publishers’ workshop, and formation of the district committee occur each year.
(1) Contracts: Contracts with publishers go into effect on April 1, following the previous evaluation
cycle.
(2) Publishers’ workshop:
The Department of Education conducts the publishers’ workshop in April to provide information on procedures for the
current evaluation cycle.
(3) District committee formation:
Anytime before May 1, the superintendent decides if the district will participate in preadoption for the current evaluation
cycle. Then the superintendent or designee appoints district committee members and assures selection of a training coordinator.
May–June. Announcement of the bid deadline, delivery of training workshops, and organization of committees
fall within these months.
(1) Bid deadline: On or before May 15, the Department of Education advises publishers of the bid deadline, i.e.,
June 15.
(2) Training workshops: The Department of Education conducts workshops on instructional materials evaluation. State
committee members and district training coordinators, or other district representatives, attend the workshop training. District
committee members rely upon information provided by the representatives who attend the state training.
(3) Committee organization: District and state committees organize their roles and schedules.
June–July. Bids and submissions are provided during June and July, respectively.
(1) Bids: Publishers submit bids by the deadline given by the Department of Education, e.g., by June 15.
(2) Submissions: Publishers submit materials for evaluations, i.e., on or before July 15.
July–September. District and state evaluations, state hearings, and state committee nominations occur from
summer through early fall.
(1) District evaluations: District committee members review publisher submissions, reach consensus on evaluation,
and rank the submissions. Results appear on a single district report submitted, along with affidavits, to the Department of
Education. Dissenting views, if any, appear on a single minority report submitted with the district report.
(2) State evaluations: From about midsummer to early autumn, each state committee member independently reviews and
evaluates instructional materials. Members use district reports along with other information to complete their evaluations.
Members do not meet or discuss materials with anyone during their independent reviews.
(3) State hearings: In the fall or winter, state committees meet by subject area, hear publisher presentations, and
vote on final recommendations.
(4) State committee nominations: State committee nominations are sought
by September 1 for the upcoming evaluation cycle.
Roles and Activities
The
following chart shows how the major roles of the district and state committees fit with the roles of the Department of Education
and publishers. The text that follows the chart explains more about each role.
Department of Education
The Department of Education coordinates
the adoption schedules, manages the development of the instructional materials specifications for each subject area, and establishes
the evaluation forms, procedures, and training. The Department of Education is responsible for the state committee adoption
meetings. To facilitate the flow of the entire process, the Department of Education receives the district reports and transmits
them in a compiled format to the state committees for the subject areas. The Department of Education also compiles the results
from the state committees into one report and submits the report to the Commissioner of Education.
The Department of Education oversees
the adoption program in several phases.
Phase 1:
Developing bid specifications known as instructional materials specifications
for each subject or course.
Phase 2:
Announcing adoption schedules, extending invitations to bid, and making available to publishers the instructional materials
specifications and procedures for submissions and evaluation.
Phase 3:
Receiving and reviewing bids and information from publishers that are making submissions to be considered for adoption.
Phase 4:
Providing information, technical assistance, and training to support the instructional materials evaluation process,
and providing particular support to the district committee training coordinator, district committee members, and state committee
members.
Phase 5:
Planning and managing the state adoption meetings.
Phase 6:
Compiling the district and state evaluation results, preparing a report for final recommendations to the Commissioner
of Education, and supporting the contract award process.
Phase 7:
Monitoring compliance with contract provisions through ongoing communication with districts, publishers, and others,
such as the Department of Legal Affairs.
Publishers
Publishers receive information about
schedules for adoption from Florida, as well as written specifications that detail exactly what Florida desires in a subject
area submission of materials.
Publishers carefully examine these specifications
for the criteria that Florida uses to evaluate the materials. These criteria include a detailed focus on content as well as
other criteria for effective instructional materials. Florida also requires a correlation chart in which the publisher shows
exactly where each curriculum standard has been addressed in the publishers' submissions.
After reviewing and evaluating subject
area specifications, publishers make a decision about what to submit to Florida.
Publishers have the responsibilities
of completing all required forms and loaning submissions of materials, with correlations and other requirements, according
to the schedule provided from the Department of Education. This schedule requires strict compliance and includes the date
and hour by which certain steps must be completed.
Information and materials from publishers
are compared to the criteria for evaluation. To provide information and materials for Florida, publishers must
______ 1. Review Florida's instructional
materials specifications for subjects, courses, and grade levels.
______ 2. Decide to submit materials for
Florida to consider adopting.
______ 3. Submit sealed bids, including
bid deposit.
______ 4. Submit the "Publisher Registration."
______ 5. Provide the publisher's warranty
statement about the physical specifications and standards for textbooks or electronic media submitted as the major tool.
______ 6. Provide detailed information
in the Publisher's Questionnaire for each submission, including
·
Special nature and/or desired approach to subject/course
·
Relationship between instructional components
·
Hardware/equipment needs
·
Suggested instructional time
·
Reading level, intended students, intended grade levels
·
Training and/or inservice support
·
Licensing policies and agreements for use of electronic media
·
Where materials have been used
·
How the instructional materials satisfy each of the criteria statements
______ 7. Provide detailed correlations
to show where the instructional content correlates ("in-depth" or "mentioned") with the outcomes and standards of the curriculum/course/subject
for which the materials are submitted.
______ 8. Submit complete sets of the
instructional materials in the quantities required for the district and state committees according to instructions provided
by the Department of Education.
______ 9. Make presentations at designated
committee meetings (optional), e.g., the state instructional committee hearings or sometimes at district committee meetings.
______ 10. Enter into contracts with the Department
of Education, which include assurances of the necessary quality and quantity of materials.
