| Abstract: | This article describes an approach to curriculum adoption that is confirmatory in nature, and is based upon Cooley and Leinhardt's (1975) model of classroom learning and Stake's (1967) data matrix. This approach includes identification of principles of classroom learning, assessment of district goals, analysis of curriculm materials "on the shelf," direct observation of learning processes during classroom use of materials, and measurement of student performance with curriculum-based and non-curriculum-based measures. This approach was applied to a school district's curriculum adoption decision-making needs in the area of special education, with the pilot use of basal materials in four classrooms over a 1-year period, and the assignment of two nonequivalent control group classrooms. Analysis of the resulting multi-faceted database was used to address a number of separate but interrelated evaluation questions. The results from the separate analyses are mutually supportive, converging toward a single adoption decision. |
