Evaluation Criteria Map, Standards Maps
2026 English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Instructional Materials Follow-Up Adoption Evaluation Criteria Map, Standards Maps Instructional Document.Definitions
- Evaluation Criteria Map, Standards Maps: Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 9510(u), defines standards and evaluation criteria maps as templates prepared by the California Department of Education (CDE) and approved by the State Board of Education. Maps must be completed by publishers/content developers submitting instructional materials for adoption. Submitted maps are a resource used by instructional materials reviewers and content review experts during independent reviews to support the evaluation of instructional materials alignment with the content standards and evaluation criteria.
- Full: Program designed to meet all California Common Core State Standards (CA CCSS) for English Language Arts (ELA)/Literacy and/or English Language Development (ELD) standards at one or more grade level(s).
- Partial: Programs designed to meet all CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy in a strand (or domain in the case of a Foundational Skills program) at one or more grade level(s) in kindergarten through grade eight (K–8), and/or all CA ELD Standards (for Program Type 2 and 3 partial program submissions) at one or more grade level(s).
- Strand: The CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy are organized by strands, which include Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. Additionally, for the 2026 ELA/ELD Instructional Materials Follow-up Adoption, the Foundational Skills (K–5) domain of the Reading strand is a partial submission option under the strand heading.
- Subset: An approach outlined in the 2025 Guidance and Assembly Bill 1454 allowing local educational agencies to adopt programs designed to meet specific subsets of standards and combine materials to create comprehensive approaches that are tailored to local needs.
Instructions
- Publishers/content developers participating in the 2026 ELA/ELD Instructional Materials Follow-up Adoption must complete the Evaluation Criteria Map for the submitted program type. A publisher/content developer must declare the program type they are submitting; programs cannot be considered for more than one type. The evaluation criteria apply to your entire program and therefore each grade level. Criteria Map files are posted on the Department’s ELA/ELD Instructional Materials web page.
- Fill in the header of the document with publisher/content developer name, program title, and grade level(s).
- Column one has been completed with the 2015 criteria language and 2025 Guidance, when applicable. Note that the Category 1 column contains only those criteria that apply to the program type indicated. However, all the appropriate criteria in Category 1 must be met in full for the program to be eligible for adoption. In Categories 2 through 5, the program must demonstrate strengths in each of those categories to be eligible for adoption.
- Column two (Publisher Citations) is reserved for publishers to use to identify exemplary citations for each appropriate criteria statement. These citations are not intended to be exhaustive but should provide information to help the Content Review Experts and the Instructional Materials Reviewers determine whether each criterion statement has been met. Citations should cover a range of grade level(s) in each program. Publishers should not provide a separate evaluation criteria map for each grade level. Acronyms and abbreviations used to refer to program components should be consistent with those used on the standards map. Include citations for each grade level or applicable span of grade levels, as appropriate, to demonstrate that the program meets the applicable evaluation criteria.
- Publishers should only enter text in the Publisher/Developer Citations column.
- A completed Evaluation Criteria Map and completed standards maps must be submitted along with the instructional materials samples. The deadline for receipt of these items is May 15, 2026, which is after Reviewer Training Week (April 27–May 1, 2026). Please submit a hard copy printout of the evaluation criteria maps (along with the corresponding electronic files) for each program submitted to each identified reviewer, display site, and CDE.
- Staff will reiterate this information at the Publishers’ Invitation to Submit meeting on January 29, 2026.
Program Submission Reference Table
| Program |
Submission Type1 |
Evaluation Criteria |
CA CCSS for ELA/Literacy |
CA ELD Standards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Type 1: Basic ELA |
Full |
Program Type 1: Basic ELA (K–8) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Not applicable for Program Type 1 |
Type 1: Basic ELA |
Partial |
Program Type 1: Basic ELA (K–8) |
Appropriate strand map(s) for appropriate grade level(s) |
Not applicable for Program Type 1 |
Type 2: Basic ELA/ELD |
Full |
Program Type 2: Basic ELA/ELD (K–8) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Type 2: Basic ELA/ELD |
Partial |
Program Type 2: Basic ELA/ELD (K–8) |
Appropriate strand map(s) for appropriate grade level(s) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Type 3: Basic Biliteracy |
Full |
Program Type 3: Basic Biliteracy (K–8) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Type 3: Basic Biliteracy |
Partial |
Program Type 3: Basic Biliteracy (K–8) |
Appropriate strand map(s) for appropriate grade level(s) |
Appropriate grade-level map(s) |
Type 4: Intensive Intervention ELA |
Partial only |
Program Type 4: Intensive Intervention ELA (1–8) |
Appendix 12-B: Matrix 1-aligned, appropriate Program Type 4 standards map(s) up to the highest grade in the span targeted for intervention |
Not applicable for Program Type 4 |
Type 5: Specialized Designated ELD |
Partial only |
Program Type 5: Specialized Designated ELD (4–8) |
Appendix 12-B: Matrix 2-aligned, appropriate Program Type 5 standards map |
Not Applicable for Program Type 5 |
Type 6: Transitional Kindergarten (TK)
|
Full only |
|
TK Foundations Literacy and Language Development Map (6.1, 6.2, and 6.3) |
TK Foundations ELD Subdomain Map (6.2 and 6.3 only) |
1Partial submissions can include all standards in a strand for kindergarten through grade eight; partial submissions that include Reading Standards for Foundational Skills at one or more grade levels can include all standards in a that domain for kindergarten through grade five.