We help district leaders understand the decisions peers are making by elevating research, guidance, and insights to aid in effective navigation of the curriculum market.
We help state leaders understand the impact of curriculum decisions within their state and strengthen their capacity with curriculum transparency reporting, coaching, and technical support.
Research shows that curriculum plays a significant role in impacting the success of our nation’s most underserved students. However, the lack of transparent information about the K–12 curriculum market and student access to quality materials in the United States has perpetuated inequities for generations.
Our first-of-its-kind database and visualization tools combine district curriculum selection information with contextual data, revealing new insights so that education leaders and stakeholders can make informed and impactful decisions.
Access the Market ExplorerCEMD collects district curriculum selection data from over 1,800 districts in the United States, representing 55% of all K-12 students. Insights into core math, ELA, science, and social studies instructional materials, as well as supplemental resources and assessments are combined with additional factors such as district demographics and quality indicators. The data sets include the CEMD Impact Core and the CEMD Equity Core.
These data provide critical insights into the instructional experiences of over half the nation’s students — and intentionally prioritize understanding curriculum access for students who have been historically underserved by the education system.
The CEMD Impact Core is a national subset of 934 large, diverse districts from across all 50 states, prioritizing urban communities.
The CEMD Equity Core is a random sample of US districts that serve a majority non-white student population. This sample is nationally representative across a range of regional contexts (urban, rural, etc.) and district sizes.
CEMD School Year 2023-24 Data Collection
CEMD data provide a window into curriculum access for underserved students across the US. Understanding the selection and use of high-quality instructional materials in these key districts helps us understand a lever for improving student instructional outcomes.
Education is a public good, and it’s also a market with over $1 trillion in annual spending in the United States, with billions more in private and philanthropic investments.
However, there is little information or transparency about what instructional materials are selected — and by whom — leaving a gap in the K-12 education market regarding which students have access to high-quality materials.
CEMD is a non-profit organization committed to illuminating K-12 education market dynamics to ensure equitable educational outcomes for historically underserved students.
We do this through:
We aim to ensure all students have access to quality learning materials, creating a more transparent education market that truly meets their unique needs.