Frequently Asked Questions and Promising Practices

II. Practices that May Benefit Students, Parents, and the School Community

12. Curriculum — promising practices in Alternative Education

Alternative Education programs and schools meet the same standards as all other public schools. This means that the Alternative Education programs/schools provide all students with learning opportunities to meet the Department's proficient and advanced levels of achievement on the MCAS.

Curricula and instruction are aligned with the state curriculum frameworks, in not only the subject areas currently assessed by the MCAS, but in all areas for which the Department has developed standards that students are expected to learn. Visit the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for more information about the currently available frameworks.

Moreover, the curriculum is enriched to accelerate learning for those students who are further from achieving mastery of the standards and learning goals. To meet the needs of students who may have been retained in grade, the curriculum is developmentally appropriate so as to engage them in the teaching and instruction. The curriculum is culturally relevant; it reflects the backgrounds of the student population and is, therefore, understandable, and meaningful to the students.

Last Updated: January 17, 2018