Piloting New Curricular Programs

Piloting new programs in the K-12 space is a challenging feat. Piloting a new curricular program is the process of introducing the new planned curriculum on a small scale to select schools to evaluate the feasibility of the program before large-scale implementation. At the K-12 level, this may occur due to alterations or additions made to the state curricular standards.

Piloting a new program is a multi-step process and requires using the input of teachers and other data sources to measure success. Our research team reviewed literature regarding best practices for piloting new curricular programs. The goal of this report was to create a consistent, unbiased protocol and evaluation system for piloting new programs using student achievement. The steps provided are intended to apply generally to various curricular pilot rollouts.

Our researchers found that providing consistent offerings of teacher professional development increased the likelihood of a pilot’s success. It was also important that district administrators have clear and concrete metrics of success, so they are then able to measure said goals with the pilot data acquired.

It is also salient to note that piloting a program is only the first step in rolling out a larger initiative. In the initial process of developing and planning how the pilot will be implemented, districts should similarly describe their ideal end-state once the pilot is to scale. Read on to learn about our recommended four-step process, or download the full report.

Our four step recommendations for piloting a successful pilot program

Step 1: Who, what, how, why?

Determine the “who,” “what,” “how,” and “why” of your pilot. You should be able to confidently answer the following questions:

• Who will be responsible for the pilot implementation?
• What group of students/classes should be the site of the pilot?
• Why is your district conducting this pilot?
• What is the reason for the curricular changes?
• How will you measure success?

Step 2: Link to teacher development

During the pilot, ensure consistent professional development is offered to teachers. A new curricular program’s success is highly linked to professional development, so teachers can be subject matter experts in the new content they will be delivering to students. Allow room for growth by providing support regularly to educators throughout the pilot process.

Step 3: Pulse checks

Conduct evaluations or “pulse checks” as progress monitoring tools. When implementing a pilot, teachers should be documenting any and all administrators to pivot and revise instructional materials as needed to meet students where they are.

Step 4: Evaluate pilot

Use data from teacher and student feedback/evaluations to either:

• Determine whether launching to scale (district-wide) would be beneficial.

OR

• Evaluate areas of improvement and repilot changes using steps 1-3.