WCPSS officials have been adamant that the $200,000+ curriculum audit – results to be released today – is not a PR stunt. Why? The audit is long (400+ pages) and is critical of some of the district’s practices. Even so, the school system says that “[t]he next few weeks may be one of the most important periods in the Wake County Public School System’s history… The release of the curriculum management audit will certainly be a milestone in our quest to be not merely good, or very good, but outstanding in our service to children.” This sounds like some PR-style hyperbole to me.

Fenwick English, a professor of education at UNC Chapel Hill, conceived of the curriculum audit process nearly 30 years ago. Dr. English assured me that there is a body of research that substantiates the cost and time dedicated to the audit. My hope is that the final report discusses this research at length.