Springboard

Name: Springboard
Brand: College Board

by College Board

ElaGrades 6–12

About This Curriculum

<cite index="1-1,1-2">SpringBoard ELA offers a full curriculum for students in grades 6–12, developing critical thinking, close reading, writing in various genres, and research skills.</cite>

What makes it unique: <cite index="3-18">Research-based curriculum aligned to state standards and key College Board programs, helping students develop skills needed to succeed in Pre-AP, AP, on the SAT, and beyond.</cite>

SpringBoard: College Board's Project-Based ELA Curriculum

SpringBoard is a comprehensive ELA curriculum for grades 6-12 developed by College Board that emphasizes project-based learning, critical thinking, and college readiness. The curriculum focuses on developing close reading skills, writing across multiple genres, and research capabilities through structured activities and assessments.

Best for

Middle and high school teachers seeking a comprehensive ELA curriculum aligned to college readiness standards, particularly those comfortable with project-based learning approaches

Evaluation Criteria

4 strengths · 1 concern · 4 insufficient evidence

Knowledge RichStrength

The curriculum appears to build knowledge systematically through texts, meeting standards for knowledge-building approaches.

EdReports reports that SpringBoard meets expectations for 'Building Knowledge' through texts, indicating systematic knowledge development

Text ComplexityStrength

The curriculum meets expectations for providing grade-appropriate complex texts across the 6-12 grade span.

EdReports confirms the curriculum meets expectations for 'Text Quality & Complexity — alignment to grade-level text demands'

Teacher TrainingStrength

The curriculum meets expectations for teacher support and usability, suggesting adequate professional development resources.

EdReports indicates SpringBoard meets expectations for 'Usability — teacher support' among other implementation factors

Writing InstructionStrength

The curriculum explicitly emphasizes writing instruction across various genres as a core component.

SpringBoard specifically develops 'writing in various genres' and research skills as stated core curriculum goals

Direct InstructionConcern

The project-based learning approach may rely more on guided discovery than explicit direct instruction methods.

The curriculum is described as using 'project-based' pedagogy, which typically emphasizes student-centered learning over direct instruction

Retrieval PracticeInsufficient Evidence

Available evidence does not provide specific information about retrieval practice or spaced review implementation.

No specific mentions of retrieval practice, spaced review, or systematic review strategies in the available curriculum description

Systematic PhonicsInsufficient Evidence

As a grades 6-12 curriculum, systematic phonics instruction is not applicable to this program's target grade levels.

SpringBoard serves middle and high school students (grades 6-12) who are beyond the primary phonics instruction years

Vocabulary BuildingInsufficient Evidence

While the curriculum emphasizes close reading and critical thinking, specific vocabulary instruction approaches are not detailed in available evidence.

The curriculum description mentions developing critical thinking and close reading skills, but specific vocabulary building methods are not specified

Whole Books Vs ExcerptsInsufficient Evidence

Evidence suggests the curriculum includes quality texts that meet grade-level complexity demands, though the balance between whole books and excerpts is not clearly specified.

EdReports indicates the curriculum meets expectations for text quality and complexity alignment to grade-level demands

Sources: edreports.org