Tools and Guidance for Evaluating Bias in Instructional Materials

The purpose of this report is to support the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) in building the capacity of local educational agencies and schools in the identification of resources and tools that can be used by instructional teams to evaluate and assess bias in curricular materials. The materials reviewed provide insights into critical questions or approaches that ensure students will encounter materials that include and reflect a diversity of perspectives, narratives, and histories while elevating the contributions of non-White, non-male, non-dis/abled, or non-cisgender individuals. This report unpacks selected findings from a scan of available resources. A sub-focus on distinguishing between the different types of evaluation structures provides insight into whether the available resource is a tool (can be used as it stands) or supportive resource (is instructional and informative to the evaluation process). For each resource, we also provide an overview of major highlights to support the MDE team in understanding high-level features and notable factors that might inform usability. Finally, we offer considerations for the MDE based on an analysis of these resources.