The Explosion of Digital Content

In the past, curriculum meant textbooks. Today, it’s a dynamic mix of videos, platforms, interactive lessons, assessments, and third-party integrations.

That’s great for engagement—but it also means more parts to review, more stakeholders involved, and more opportunities for friction during the adoption process.

“Districts are no longer reviewing just a single textbook. They’re reviewing the experience, the platform, the data, the pacing guides—and how all of that maps to constantly evolving state standards.”>
— Former Director of Curriculum, Large Urban District

State Standards Are in Constant Motion

Ten years ago, most states were aligned (or aligning) to Common Core. Today, we see 50 different sets of standards across subjects—and they’re updated frequently. This is evident when you look at the continual updates to the EdGate Standards Repository, which is the world’s most comprehensive database of Academic and CTE Standards, with over 6 million augmented standards continually maintained.

This means curriculum teams need to:

• Stay current with every revision
• Maintain CASE-compliant formatting for digital systems
• Prove alignment to each state’s unique expectations

Ensuring that content is updated on all states aids in maintaining the sales cycle.

Procurement Has More Gatekeepers Than Ever

In years past, the curriculum team might’ve been the only hurdle. Today, adoption decisions often involve:

• Curriculum and instruction leads
• Tech directors
• Equity and accessibility reviewers
• Data privacy compliance officers
• Procurement departments

Each one has their own review cycle, requirements, and evaluation tools.

That means vendors not only need great content—they also need great documentation, CASE formatting, and seamless integrations.The ExACT Standards Alignment System by EdGate offers detailed reporting functions and CASE formatting to aid in the documentation process. A comprehensive functions list can be found here.

Districts Are More Risk-Averse Post-COVID

COVID exposed the fragility of digital infrastructure. Districts are now wary of any solution that:

• Can’t scale quickly
• Isn’t proven in similar districts
• Doesn’t have airtight standards alignment

This means adoption isn’t just about quality—it’s about readiness. If your team can’t show that your product is aligned, supported, and already implemented elsewhere, you’re likely to stall.

Manual Alignment Just Can’t Keep Up

Even with great instructional design, many teams still rely on spreadsheets, PDFs, and homegrown tools to manage standards alignment. This creates:

• Delays in updates
• Errors in alignment proofs
• Gaps in state compliance
• Bottlenecks in evaluation responses

And all of it adds time—time that districts don’t have, and competitors will use to leap ahead.