Equity Impacts Outcomes
Instructional Framework Alignment
California districts are not starting from scratch. You are already doing this work — implementing MTSS and PBIS, designing curriculum through UbD and DOK, building equity through Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, Street Data, and Restorative Justice, driving improvement through PDSA cycles and Data Wise, and grounding instruction in UDL and Constructing Meaning. Your LCAP reflects these commitments. Your professional learning is built around them.
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But your evaluation system was written in 2009 — before any of this existed. That gap is not a minor inconsistency. It sends teachers mixed messages, undermines trust, and disconnects evaluation from everything else you've invested in.
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The 2024 CSTPs close that gap. Our work connects your evaluation system to the frameworks your teachers and leaders are already using — so evaluation finally reinforces the work instead of running parallel to it
From Initiatives to Impact
This map shows how your existing work in instruction, equity, and systems connects.
Instruction & Learning Design
What teachers are doing
- Understanding by Design (UbD)
- Constructing Meaning
- Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Equity & Student Experience
Who it’s working for—and how well
- Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain
- Street Data​
Systems & Continuous Improvement
How the system supports it
- Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
- PBIS
- Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA Cycles)
- Data Wise Improvement Process
CSTP Integration with Common System Improvement Initiatives
How your existing instructional, equity, and systems frameworks map directly to the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.
What makes this toolkit distinctive is the explicit, intentional mapping between each CSTPs and the specific frameworks your district is already implementing. This isn't generic compliance—it is strategic coherence.
CSTP 1 — Engaging & Supporting All Students
Aligned Frameworks: Project GLAD · SDAIE · EL Achieve Constructing Meaning · UDL · Culturally Responsive Teaching
Look-fors:
- Structured academic discourse with sentence frames and Accountable Talk
- Multiple entry points for diverse learners
- Language development embedded within content instruction
CSTP 2 — Creating Effective Learning Environments
Aligned Frameworks: GLAD · PBIS · Street Data · Culturally Responsive Teaching
Look-fors:
- Inclusive participation structures that honor student identity
- Student voice and a visible sense of belonging
- Classroom norms that support discourse and collaboration
CSTP 3 — Understanding & Organizing Subject Matter
Aligned Frameworks: Understanding by Design · DOK · Constructing Meaning · Science of Reading
Look-fors:
- Standards-aligned lesson design with clear learning targets
- Tasks calibrated to appropriate rigor levels
- Integration of language development within content instruction
CSTP 4 — Planning Instruction & Designing Learning
Aligned Frameworks: UbD · Project-Based Learning · Gradual Release of Responsibility
Look-fors:
- Evidence of backward planning from standards to assessment
- Clear, student-facing learning objectives
- Scaffolded instruction that releases responsibility to students​
CSTP 5 — Assessing Students for Learning
Aligned Frameworks: Data Wise · PDSA Cycles · MTSS
Look-fors:
- Strategic use of formative assessment throughout instruction
- Real-time data-informed instructional adjustments
- Systematic monitoring of student progress toward standards
CSTP 6 — Developing as a Professional Educator
Aligned Frameworks: PDSA Cycles · Instructional Coaching Systems · PLC/Data Cycles
Look-fors:
- Professional reflection explicitly tied to student outcome data
- Collaborative inquiry around shared evidence of student learning
- Continuous improvement cycles embedded in team structures
Where We Come In
Most districts are implementing multiple frameworks across instruction, equity, and systems. Without alignment, these efforts can remain fragmented. We design evaluation systems that connect this work—so it drives consistent instructional practice and measurable student outcomes.