Frameworks and Rubrics

This framework serves as a valuable resource for educators and stakeholders across the education sector to identify key criteria in truly high-quality instructional materials. It outlines the essential elements of outstanding curricula and offers clear guidance on the necessary instructional shifts and educator supports within instructional materials, fostering meaningful learning experiences for students. To deliver the world-class education that the Maryland Blueprint envisions, educators and leaders can rely on this framework in service of identifying research-based, high-quality materials that are necessary to provide students with rigorous instruction, nurture spaces that affirm their cultural and linguistic identities, and ensure students’ continued progress and success each year.

Maryland’s HQIM Frameworks set the quality bar for what it takes to be HQIM in our state

What makes instructional materials high-quality? What are the essential components that need to be present in classroom materials to support great standards-aligned teaching and learning and meet the needs of all students? MSDE has developed content-specific frameworks that define the fundamental features and core components of high-quality instructional materials for ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. These frameworks were developed in collaboration with Student Achievement Partners and have been reviewed by an Advisory of national HQIM and content area experts. The frameworks were adopted by the State Board of Education on April 30th, 2024. The core purpose of these frameworks is to name and define the key features of HQIM so that educators, district leaders, state leaders, and the general public all have an aligned understanding of what it means to be HQIM in the state of Maryland.

Maryland HQIM rubrics are designed to evaluate whether instructional materials meet the quality bar defined in the frameworks

MSDE is developing framework-aligned evaluation rubrics for ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies that can be used by Maryland educators to evaluate instructional materials and issue quality ratings. The rubrics are designed to support review teams in systematically assessing the quality of the instructional material on each key framework criterion, cite evidence, and assign quality scores. The rubrics provide for a fair, transparent and objective process that provides a clear signal of quality on each key element of instructional materials to all key stakeholders.