By Teresa Eliopoulos & Maraki Kebede, The 74
This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74 to get more like this in your inbox.
Around the country, school districts have invested time and money to adopt a high-quality curriculum, only to find the boxes unopened and the digital materials rarely, if ever, accessed.
What’s the problem? The truth is, adopting and implementing a new curriculum isn’t simply an educational challenge — it’s a human behavior problem. For students to benefit from instructional materials, those materials must be used well in classrooms. But that can happen only when districts support early and meaningful teacher engagement to strengthen the quality and sustainability of adoption efforts.
The stakes are high. A growing body of research demonstrates that high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), when used effectively, improve student achievement. School systems need every tool at their disposal to address worrisome learning gaps in core academic subjects. But these efforts come at a cost. Districts typically replace their core curriculum every five to seven years, and each adoption represents a multi-million-dollar decision that holds the potential to impact teaching and learning. Yet too often, new materials sit on shelves and go underused leaving the investment, and the impact on students, unrealized.
Behavioral scientists have long known that status quo bias makes people favor what’s familiar, even when better options exist. This can help with making quick decisions in a complex world. However, in group settings, it can lead to resisting change and overlooking evidence. Organizations often struggle to turn good intentions into lasting new practices, and schools are no exception.
To better understand why strong curriculum adoptions sometimes falter, our organizations partnered — combining EdReports’ producing evidence-based reviews of K-12 instructional materials and helping districts design effective adoption processes with The Decision Lab’s expertise in applying behavioral science to help organizations shift mindsets, change habits and follow through on new practices.
Together, we surveyed a nationally representative group of 254 district leaders and educators who had recently adopted new materials. The findings, presented in our new report, Beyond Selection: Rethinking How Districts Adopt Curriculum, make one thing clear: The toughest hurdles come not during selection, but during implementation.
Nearly half of respondents (49%) said “achieving consensus or stakeholder buy-in” was their biggest challenge, and 48% cited “implementing purchased curriculum.” By contrast, far fewer struggled with early steps such as identifying needs or narrowing options. This pattern reflects a confidence-implementation gap. While 72% of leaders said they feel confident choosing new curricula, only 59% have systems to evaluate implementation and just 60% pilot programs before adoption.
The data also reveal a blind spot. Although nearly half of districts cite buy-in as a major obstacle, only 18% seek outside support for consensus-building — suggesting that many underestimate the complexity of change management and try to do it all internally. Teachers, meanwhile, often have limited input: In a 2024 survey, only 1 in 5 reported having a role in selecting their school’s materials, and just 1 in 4 said their district was “very effective” in helping them implement new ones. When educators feel excluded or undersupported, the status quo bias strengthens — making even the best materials harder to sustain in classrooms.
Districts that beat these odds do a few things differently, taking a proactive approach to countering biases and building energy around change:
Involve teachers early and often: Bringing educators in at the start — on curriculum committees, in pilots and in decision-making — builds ownership and strengthens implementation. Teachers bring practical insights into what works for students and can flag potential pitfalls before rollout. Their engagement isn’t just good process — it’s what makes change possible.
Plan for implementation from day one: Adoption must be understood as an ongoing process, not a single decision. Districts that plan early for how materials will be rolled out in classrooms — including scheduling, teacher training and ongoing support—see stronger results than those that treat adoption and implementation as separate efforts. When teachers receive curriculum-based professional learning, student outcomes can improve significantly, having about the same effect as a 15% reduction in class size.
Make field testing non-negotiable: Piloting new materials before full adoption helps districts gauge how well resources meet teacher and student needs, while giving educators a chance to see their value firsthand. This familiarity reduces resistance to change and surfaces adjustments that improve long-term success.
State and district leaders can learn from the examples of Louisiana and Rhode Island, where clear definitions of high-quality instructional materials, paired with complementary state guidance, help districts in making local decisions. Districts such as Nashville and Baltimore highlight the power of early teacher engagement, transparent communication and sustained professional learning to translate curriculum adoption into quality use of new materials. When districts approach adoption through a people-centered process — anticipating bias, engaging teachers and designing for implementation — they set themselves up for lasting success.
When the time comes to replace core curriculum, district leaders have a choice: repeat the same ineffective procurement routines or build a process centered on people and learning. Handled poorly, even the best materials risk gathering dust. Managed thoughtfully, with an understanding of how people respond to change, they can transform teaching and learning.
When adoption focuses on engagement, planning and teacher support, curriculum stops being a box to check and becomes a lever for success, sparking the kind of lasting improvement every district seeks: better teaching and better results for students.
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This story was produced by The 74, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in America.
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