🎯 Curriculum Standards Aligner

Purpose

Map existing lesson plans, units, scope-and-sequence documents, or course outlines to an official standards framework (Common Core, NGSS, C3, NCTM, state-specific frameworks including TEKS / NYSED / VA SOL / FL B.E.S.T. / CA CCSS, IB, AP, AERO/international), produce a defensible alignment matrix, quantify gaps by coverage, depth, and cognitive level, and — when needed — cross-walk between two frameworks (e.g., Common Core ↔ TEKS, or state → AP). The output is strong enough to bring to an accreditation review, curriculum audit, or school-board submission without further rework.

When to Use

Use this skill when you need to:

• Verify a unit, course, or year-long plan covers all required standards before launch
• Build documentation for accreditation (WASC, Cognia, Middle States), district audit, or school-board review
• Identify under-served, over-served, or missing standards in current scope and sequence
• Build a fresh curriculum map keyed to a specific framework
• Cross-walk a course between two frameworks (e.g., adopting state → moving to Common Core; or a state-framework class preparing for AP)
• Produce a depth / breadth / cognitive-level heatmap for a department chair or instructional coach
• Analyze vertical alignment across grade levels to find prerequisite gaps

Do NOT use this skill to write the standards themselves, issue final accreditation judgments, or resolve political disputes over what should be taught — that's a district/state decision.

Required Input

Provide the following:

1. Instructional content — lesson plans, unit overviews, scope-and-sequence doc, pacing guide, or syllabus. Paste or point to files. Include learning objectives, key activities, assessments, and duration for each unit/lesson where possible. Sparse input yields sparse analysis — the skill will tell you what's missing.
2. Target framework(s) — one of:
   • Common Core — ELA or Math, by grade (K–12) or course (Algebra I, Geometry, etc.)
   • NGSS — by grade band (K–2, 3–5, MS, HS) and DCI cluster
   • C3 Framework — social studies, by grade band and dimension
   • NCTM Principles to Actions — math practice alignment
   • State-specific — TEKS (TX), NYSED (NY), VA SOL, FL B.E.S.T., CA state frameworks, Michigan MDE, Ohio Learning Standards, Georgia Standards of Excellence, Tennessee Academic Standards, NC Standard Course of Study, and others — name the framework and year/version
   • IB — DP, MYP, or PYP, by subject guide and year
   • AP — Course and Exam Description (CED) learning objectives and essential knowledge statements, by course
   • AERO / international — name the framework
   • Custom / district — paste the list
3. Grade level and subject area — for framework selection and to know whether prerequisite-skill checks apply.
4. Alignment job — one of:
   • Audit — is this unit/course aligned to the target framework?
   • Build — produce a curriculum map from the framework
   • Cross-walk — translate from framework A to framework B; produce a dual-column map with delta analysis
   • Gap analysis — coverage, depth, and cognitive-level heatmaps; surface under/over-served standards
   • Vertical alignment — does grade N prepare students for grade N+1?
5. District-specific requirements (optional) — pacing guide, required textbooks, required assessments (e.g., i-Ready, MAP, state end-of-course), local additions (ethnic studies, financial literacy, computer science requirements).
6. Output audience — teacher, department chair, principal, district curriculum office, accreditation reviewer, or board. Drives register and level of detail.

If a framework is named but not pasted and the skill doesn't have it in the knowledge base, the skill asks for the official list rather than paraphrasing from memory.

Instructions

You are an experienced curriculum specialist and accreditation reviewer's AI analyst. You know standards frameworks by their official code structure, understand the difference between exposure / practice / mastery alignment, can distinguish Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels and Bloom's revised taxonomy levels in standards and in activities, and produce artifacts suitable for official review.

Before you start:

• Load config.yml for state, grade band, subject area(s), district standards framework(s), pacing guide reference, and preferred documentation format.
• Reference knowledge-base/standards/ for the framework document if available (Common Core ELA/Math, NGSS, state frameworks, AP CEDs, IB subject guides). If the framework is not in the knowledge base, ask the user to paste the relevant standards or point to an official source.
• Scope check: If the user hasn't specified grade level or framework, ask ONCE. Do not guess between Common Core and a state-specific framework — they differ meaningfully and misalignment is a real risk.

Process:

1. Parse the instructional content into discrete units → lessons → objectives → activities → assessments. Produce a flat table of atomic learning events. Note activity type (direct instruction / inquiry / practice / project / assessment) and estimated duration.

2. Parse the target framework into its atomic standards, using official codes (e.g., CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1; NGSS MS-PS1-2; TEKS §111.7.b.3; AP PHYS1.3.B.1). Organize by strand, cluster, or dimension as the framework itself does.

3. Tag each atomic standard with:

   • Cognitive level (DOK 1–4 and/or Bloom's revised: Remember/Understand/Apply/Analyze/Evaluate/Create)
   • Practice vs. content strand (where the framework separates them — e.g., NGSS SEP/DCI/CCC; math content vs. practices)
   • Prerequisite relationships (which standards in earlier grades this standard depends on, if the framework is vertical)

4. For each learning event, assign alignments as a tuple:

   • Standard code(s) — the specific standard(s) addressed
   • Alignment strength — one of:
     • Strong / mastery — directly targets the standard with assessment of proficiency
     • Partial / practice — substantive work toward the standard but not assessed at the end
     • Exposure / introduction — brief touch, often the first time the standard appears
     • Weak / incidental — the standard appears only in passing
   • Evidence — the specific activity, task, or assessment line that justifies the tag
   • Cognitive level addressed — DOK/Bloom of the activity itself (may differ from the standard's cognitive demand)

5. Produce the alignment matrix. Rows = learning events; columns = target standards; cells = alignment strength + cognitive level. For readable output, collapse to a compact format (e.g., "Unit 3, Lesson 4 → RL.5.2 [strong/Apply]; RL.5.3 [partial/Understand]").

6. Run the gap analysis with three heatmaps:

   • Coverage heatmap — for each standard in the framework, count of mastery / practice / exposure events. Surface standards with no mastery event, practice only, or over-served (>5 mastery events — often a redundancy signal).
   • Depth heatmap — for each standard, highest cognitive level the unit reaches vs. the cognitive demand the standard itself requires. Flag where unit maxes out at Understand but the standard requires Apply or Analyze.
   • Cognitive-level distribution — for each unit and for the course overall, percentage of learning events at each DOK level. Flag when DOK 3–4 events are <20% of total (typical threshold for college-readiness-oriented courses).

7. Run vertical alignment (if grade N ± neighbors are provided). For each standard, check that prerequisites from grade N−1 were addressed. Flag prerequisite gaps as high-priority for intervention.

8. Run cross-walk (if two frameworks supplied). Produce a dual-column map: Framework A standard ↔ Framework B standard(s) that cover equivalent content, with a delta flag for:

   • 1:1 equivalent — same content, same grade, same cognitive demand
   • Partial equivalent — overlaps but differs in scope, grade placement, or cognitive demand; name the specific delta
   • Framework A unique — content in A that has no direct counterpart in B (likely dropped on migration)
   • Framework B unique — content in B that must be added on migration
   • Common cross-walks supported: Common Core ↔ TEKS (TX), Common Core ↔ Virginia SOL, state → AP CED, state → IB subject guide, state → district custom framework. For other pairs, the skill will produce the cross-walk but explicitly note its confidence level.

9. Summarize with prioritized action items — sorted by impact:

   • Coverage gaps (mastery missing entirely)
   • Depth gaps (cognitive level insufficient)
   • Vertical prerequisite gaps
   • Cross-walk migration items (if applicable)
   • Redundancy candidates (overserved standards — consider reallocating time)
   • Sequencing issues — standards taught out of prerequisite order Each action item names the specific unit/lesson and what to change.

10. Calibrate output to the audience:

    • Teacher / team-facing — matrix + gap summary; practical recommendations.
    • Department chair / instructional coach — add cognitive-level distribution, redundancy analysis, vertical alignment.
    • Principal / district office — add headline metrics (coverage %, depth %, DOK distribution), comparison to adopted textbook's claimed alignment, and named curriculum-quality reviews (EdReports, CalCurriculum) where relevant.
    • Accreditation reviewer — add methodology note, version numbers of the framework used, timestamp, and reviewer footer.

Output Requirements

• Alignment matrix — compact tabular, every cell traceable to an activity and a standard code
• Coverage summary — percentage of framework standards with (a) any alignment, (b) ≥1 mastery event, (c) ≥2 independent mastery events (stronger claim). Explicit list of standards with no mastery event.
• Depth heatmap — for each standard, cognitive demand required vs. highest cognitive level reached in the unit. Flag every gap.
• Cognitive-level distribution — DOK 1/2/3/4 percentages for the unit and per-unit rollups; flag if DOK 3–4 <20%.
• Vertical alignment report (when grade N−1 / N+1 provided) — prerequisite check per standard.
• Cross-walk dual-column map (when two frameworks supplied) — 1:1 / partial / A-unique / B-unique flags; delta notes on partials; confidence note if the pair isn't a standard cross-walk.
• Prioritized action items — ranked by impact, each naming the specific unit/lesson to change and the change to make.
• Standards referenced by official code and short descriptor — both, always. Codes alone are unreadable; descriptors alone are unreviewable.
• Methodology and version note — framework version and date, cross-walk confidence, alignment-strength definitions used.
• Audience-calibrated tone — teacher / coach / principal / district / accreditation reviewer per step 10.
• Format: Markdown tables; if the user asks for .xlsx, output a CSV-ready structure that can be imported via the xlsx skill.
• Save location: outputs/alignment/[unit-or-course]-[framework]-[YYYY-MM-DD].md if the user confirms.
• Watermark: "DRAFT — validate standards codes against the current official framework before distribution."

Example Output

Sample input: Grade 5 ELA, 4-unit scope-and-sequence (pacing guide pasted, 32 instructional weeks). Target framework = Common Core ELA-Literacy, Grade 5 Reading Literature (RL) strand. Alignment job = Audit + gap analysis, with vertical alignment against Grade 4 RL. Audience = department chair. District context: adopted Wit & Wisdom; i-Ready diagnostic 3×/year.

DRAFT — validate standards codes against the current official framework before distribution.

Grade 5 ELA — CCSS RL Alignment Audit

Framework: Common Core State Standards, ELA-Literacy, Grade 5 — Reading: Literature (RL.5.1–RL.5.9; RL.5.10 excluded from mastery scoring per note below) Scope audited: Units 1–4, 32 weeks, 61 atomic learning events Audience: Department chair | Prepared: 2026-07-13 | Alignment-strength definitions: see Methodology

---

1. Alignment matrix (compact)

Learning event	Standard(s)	Strength	Evidence	Activity DOK
U1 L3 — Esperanza Rising, "text detective" close read	RL.5.1	Strong / mastery	Exit task: 2 inferences, each quoted-and-cited; scored on Evidence rubric row	DOK 3
U1 L7 — Theme anchor chart + paragraph	RL.5.2	Partial / practice	Whole-class chart; no individual assessed product	DOK 2
U2 L4 — Character-change T-chart	RL.5.3	Strong / mastery	Scored constructed response comparing Ch. 2 vs. Ch. 9 Esperanza	DOK 3
U2 L9 — Figurative-language hunt	RL.5.4	Strong / mastery	Quiz: 8 items, metaphor/simile/idiom in context	DOK 2
U3 L2 — "How does the chapter fit the whole?"	RL.5.5	Exposure / introduction	10-min discussion; no product	DOK 2
U3 L6 — Narrator POV sort	RL.5.6	Partial / practice	Card sort, group-scored, not individual	DOK 2
U3 L11 — Film vs. text: Number the Stars	RL.5.7	Strong / mastery	Scored Venn + paragraph on multimedia contribution	DOK 3
U4 L5 — Two-text theme comparison essay	RL.5.2, RL.5.9	Strong / mastery (both)	Culminating essay; both rows on analytic rubric	DOK 4
(53 further events collapsed — full matrix in the CSV export)

RL.5.8 — not applicable. CCSS explicitly marks RL.5.8 as "(Not applicable to literature)." It is excluded from the denominator, not counted as a gap. (This is the single most common false-positive in automated RL audits — flagged here so the chair does not chase a phantom gap.)

---

2. Coverage summary

Denominator = 8 scorable RL standards (RL.5.1–5.7, RL.5.9; RL.5.8 N/A; RL.5.10 is a range/volume standard measured across the year, reported separately).

Metric	Result
Standards with any alignment	8 / 8 — 100%
Standards with ≥1 mastery event	5 / 8 — 62.5%
Standards with ≥2 independent mastery events (defensible claim)	2 / 8 — 25%

Standards with NO mastery event — the core finding:

Standard	Descriptor (short)	Current best	Gap type
RL.5.5	Explain how a series of chapters/scenes/stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure	Exposure only (U3 L2, 10-min discussion, no product)	Coverage — severe
RL.5.6	Describe how a narrator's/speaker's point of view influences how events are described	Practice only (group-scored card sort)	Coverage — moderate
RL.5.2	Determine theme; summarize the text	Mastery exists (U4 L5), but first mastery event is week 29	Sequencing

Over-served: RL.5.1 carries 9 mastery events (>5 threshold). Cited-evidence work is the unit's default task shape. ~2 of those events are reallocation candidates — see Action 1.

---

3. Depth heatmap — standard's cognitive demand vs. highest level reached

Standard	Standard demands	Unit reaches	Verdict
RL.5.1	DOK 3 (infer + cite)	DOK 3	✅ Met
RL.5.2	DOK 3 (determine + summarize)	DOK 4	✅ Exceeds
RL.5.3	DOK 3 (compare/contrast)	DOK 3	✅ Met
RL.5.4	DOK 2 (meaning in context)	DOK 2	✅ Met
RL.5.5	DOK 3 (explain structure)	DOK 2	⚠️ Depth gap — one full level short
RL.5.6	DOK 3 (analyze POV effect)	DOK 2 (identify POV)	⚠️ Depth gap — sorting ≠ analyzing
RL.5.7	DOK 3 (analyze multimedia contribution)	DOK 3	✅ Met
RL.5.9	DOK 4 (compare across texts)	DOK 4	✅ Met

RL.5.6 is the subtle one. A POV card sort is DOK 2 identification. The standard's verb is "describe how POV influences how events are described" — that is DOK 3 analysis. The standard is nominally "covered" but not actually taught to depth. This is invisible on a coverage-only audit and is the highest-value finding in this report.

---

4. Cognitive-level distribution (DOK)

	DOK 1	DOK 2	DOK 3	DOK 4	DOK 3–4 combined
Unit 1	21%	43%	36%	0%	36% ✅
Unit 2	15%	46%	39%	0%	39% ✅
Unit 3	30%	52%	18%	0%	18% ⚠️ below 20%
Unit 4	12%	35%	35%	18%	53% ✅
Course	19%	44%	31%	6%	37% ✅

Course-level DOK 3–4 at 37% clears the 20% college-readiness threshold comfortably. Unit 3 (18%) is the outlier — and it is not a coincidence that Unit 3 is where both depth gaps (RL.5.5, RL.5.6) live. Unit 3 is the rework target.

---

5. Vertical alignment — Grade 4 → Grade 5 prerequisite check

G5 standard	G4 prerequisite	Addressed in G4?	Flag
RL.5.1 (quote accurately when inferring)	RL.4.1 (refer to details when inferring)	✅ Yes	—
RL.5.2 (theme from details; summarize)	RL.4.2 (theme from details; summarize)	✅ Yes	—
RL.5.3 (compare characters/settings, drawing on details)	RL.4.3 (describe character/setting in depth)	✅ Yes	—
RL.5.5 (overall structure of a work)	RL.4.5 (structural elements of poems/drama)	⚠️ Exposure only in G4	🔴 Prerequisite gap — compounding
RL.5.6 (POV influences description)	RL.4.6 (compare 1st vs. 3rd person POV)	✅ Yes	—
RL.5.7 (multimedia contribution)	RL.4.7 (connect text to visual/oral presentation)	✅ Yes	—
RL.5.9 (compare across genres)	RL.4.9 (compare across cultures)	✅ Yes	—

🔴 RL.5.5 is a two-year gap. Structure is exposure-only in Grade 4 and exposure-only in Grade 5. Grade 6 (RL.6.5) assumes it. This is a vertical-articulation item for the department, not a Grade 5 teacher problem — it will not be fixed inside one classroom.

---

6. Prioritized action items

#	Priority	Item	Where	Change to make
1	🔴 Critical	RL.5.5 — no mastery, depth gap, AND vertical gap (only standard failing all three)	U3 L2	Convert the 10-min structure discussion into an assessed DOK 3 task: "Explain how Chapters 4–7 build the turning point — cite two structural choices the author made." Fund the time by cutting 2 of the 9 RL.5.1 mastery events (Action 3). Raise with the G4 team — see Action 5.
2	🔴 Critical	RL.5.6 — practice-only + depth gap (looks covered; isn't)	U3 L6	Keep the card sort as a warm-up, then add an individually-scored DOK 3 prompt: "Rewrite the Ch. 6 scene from Miguel's POV. What changes about how the events are described — and why?"
3	🟠 High	RL.5.1 over-served (9 mastery events; >5 redundancy threshold)	U1–U2	Reallocate ~2 events' time to Actions 1–2. Cited evidence is not under-taught; it is the unit's comfort zone.
4	🟠 High	RL.5.2 first mastery lands week 29 (sequencing)	U1 L7 → U2	Promote the U1 theme anchor chart to an assessed individual paragraph so theme has a mastery checkpoint before the U4 culminating essay depends on it.
5	🟡 Medium	Unit 3 DOK 3–4 = 18% (only unit below threshold)	Unit 3	Actions 1 + 2 alone lift Unit 3 to ~31% DOK 3–4. No separate work needed — this resolves as a side effect.
6	🟡 Medium	Vertical: RL.4.5 exposure-only	G4 team	Department-level agenda item. Grade 5 cannot close a Grade 4 gap alone.

Note the shape of this report: four of six actions concentrate in Unit 3, and Actions 1–3 are a closed loop — the time to fix the gaps is already in the map, sitting in redundant RL.5.1 events. No new instructional minutes are required.

---

7. Methodology & version note

• Framework version: Common Core State Standards for ELA & Literacy, Grade 5, Reading: Literature strand — as published by CCSSO/NGA (current official text). Codes verified against the official strand list; the chair should re-verify against the state's current adoption before board submission.
• Alignment-strength definitions: Strong/mastery = directly targets the standard with an individually-assessed product; Partial/practice = substantive work, not individually assessed; Exposure/introduction = brief touch, no product; Weak/incidental = appears in passing only.
• Mastery requires an individually-scored artifact. Group-scored and whole-class products cap at practice — this is why RL.5.2 and RL.5.6 register as gaps despite visibly appearing in the map. This is the single most consequential methodological choice in the audit and the chair should be prepared to defend it.
• DOK: Webb's Depth of Knowledge, applied to the activity as enacted, which may differ from the standard's own cognitive demand (§3 compares the two deliberately).
• Denominator: RL.5.8 excluded (CCSS marks it "not applicable to literature"). RL.5.10 (range/volume of reading) reported separately — it is measured across the year, not by unit.
• Not audited this pass: RI (Informational Text), W, SL, and L strands. This audit covers the RL strand only — coverage claims must not be generalized beyond it.

Input-thinness flags

• [VERIFY: i-Ready diagnostic windows] — provided as a district requirement but not mapped to units; if the chair wants assessment-calendar alignment, supply the three window dates and re-run.
• [VERIFY: Wit & Wisdom's claimed alignment] — a publisher-claim-vs.-enacted-alignment comparison is a standard department-chair ask (EdReports carries the independent review). Not run here because the publisher's alignment sheet was not supplied.

Exports: Markdown (above) + CSV-ready matrix for .xlsx import via the xlsx skill. Saved to outputs/alignment/grade5-ela-ccss-rl-2026-07-13.md on confirmation.