Unlocking Instructional Coherence Through Curriculum Insights

The Center for Education Market Dynamics • March 26, 2025

Defining Instructional Coherence

Instructional coherence is a cornerstone of effective learning systems. More than a buzzword, it represents the alignment of students’ learning experiences—from core instruction to interventions to extended learning time. When instructional coherence is strong, students engage in a connected learning journey with clear pathways that reinforce their growth.

Despite its importance, instructional coherence is hard to define and measure at scale. Local priorities, diverse district resources, and a fragmented education product market creates variation in how coherence is attained and how curricula support or hinder it. CEMD data on the core and supplemental materials that school districts select offers a unique window to view and explore instructional coherence on a national level.

Why Instructional Coherence Matters

Research finds that coherence supports better student outcomes. TNTP explains that “…reform and intervention efforts that work to strengthen coherence are more likely to advance student achievement than those that work to improve schools ‘through the adoption of a wide variety of programs that are often uncoordinated or limited in scope or duration.’”

Consider Maya, a fourth-grader learning about fractions. Maya’s teacher introduces fraction subtraction with visual models and real-world examples, like slicing a pizza into equal portions. In a pull-out intervention session, Maya practices similar problems that connect fractions to decimals and percents, strengthening her understanding, and works with a tutor using a digital supplemental program that reinforces the core curriculum. Throughout the day, Maya encounters aligned concepts with a consistent instructional approach, building her confidence to persist through challenging lessons.

Without coherence, Maya may encounter disconnected systems: a core curriculum lesson on fraction subtraction, tutoring sessions on exponents and roots, and homework drawn from a different, unaligned resource. A lack of overlap makes it harder to draw connections, and can leave a student struggling to stay motivated in making sense of rigorous material.

The Role of Instructional Materials Data in Understanding Coherence

Instructional materials data offers insight into how district curriculum choices shape coherence. By examining the mix of core and supplemental resources, we can better understand how districts navigate their options—and how the wide, fragmented supplemental market compares to the more structured core curriculum landscape.

Key Findings So Far

CEMD analysis, focused on the interplay of core and supplemental math materials in districts, reveals initial trends:

1. Districts typically select more supplemental products than core curriculum products, and these supplemental resources frequently span multiple grades and subjects.
2. Most major core curricula are provided by a concentration of suppliers that are squarely focused on core products; in contrast, options for supplemental products are vast, with materials provided by a wide variety of organizations.
3. Districts face barriers to create coherent lesson plans in a crowded, noisy instructional materials environment. With different resources in place across grade levels, low district selection of K–12 vertically-aligned products, and a mix of core and supplemental materials that don’t always “speak” to each other, building an aligned instructional experience for students remains a challenge.

Leveraging and Expanding Data to Track Coherence

Instructional coherence is a local, state, and national challenge. Analyzing instructional materials data can provide a better understanding of how district decisions influence the ability to drive coordinated learning systems. For instance, tracking year-over-year differences in selection data can signal areas where districts frequently change materials. These insights can help district leaders, educators, and their partners make informed decisions throughout procurement cycles to build aligned instructional systems.

Meaningful work doesn’t happen in silos. As CEMD continues to analyze these data and the implications for instructional coherence, sharing findings with partners and creating opportunities to build momentum and collectively improve and leverage information is key. Together, we can support systems that align every aspect of instruction towards meaningful learning for all students.