Two Models for Evaluating Alignment of State Standards and Assessments: Competing or Complementary Perspectives?

The release of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) and their adoption across the United States calls for careful attention to the alignment between mathematics standards and assessments. This study investigates 2 models that measure alignment between standards and assessments, the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) and the Webb Alignment Tool (WAT), by examining the use of these models in 3 grade levels in 3 states. Findings indicate affordances and limitations of both models and suggest that, when taken together, the criteria of the WAT coupled with the alignment index and tile charts of the SEC provide a variety of perspectives on the alignment between standards and assessments. Findings from the study also suggest using caution when making decisions based on the results of alignment evaluations.