Evaluation of the Language Arts Curriculum in Cerro Gordo Community Unit School District #100

Cerro Gordo Community Unit School District #100 in Cerro Gordo, Illinois has a student population of approximately 700 pupils. The schools are located within Cerro Gordo, a village of 1600 residents, but gain students from surrounding areas in the ninety-nine square mile district. Most of the parents are employed in farming or in Decatur which is twelve miles to the east. During the 1985-86 school year teachers were surveyed as to what academic area needed evaluation. The teachers selected language arts as the subject for study. A committee of volunteers was formed and began meeting. The researcher served as committee chairman. The researcher guided the committee in goal formation and time guidelines. A curriculum guide was developed where there had not been one before. Once the curriculum was developed a new series was adopted that most paralleled the curriculum. This field experience was of extreme benefit to the researcher in the area of curriculum evaluation and formation. A small school district with limited personnel often has difficulty with curriculum areas due to the staff having already heavy assignments in non-curricular areas. Administrators often spend a disproportionate amount of time on areas other than curriculum so a field experience can be of benefit to force more time to be spent in the area of curriculum. The researcher submitted the effort of the language arts committee to the Board of Education in April, 1986. The Board adopted the curriculum guide and recommendations proposed