Comparative Analysis Of The Measurement Of Total Instructional Alignment

In 2007, Lisa Carter created the Total Instructional Alignment system-a process that aligns standards, curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Employed in several hundred school systems, the TIA process is a successful professional development program. The researcher developed an instrument to measure the success of the TIA process with the assistance of educational experts throughout the United States, administered the instrument utilizing teachers and administrators from the Pacific Northwest and re-administered the instrument to a rural school district in the southeastern region of the United States. A comparative analysis methodology was conducted to discover if the results could measure, and to what extent, the perceived differences and effect as instructional practices are altered due to the Total Instructional Alignment process. -- The researcher was able to confirm that the Total Instructional Alignment professional development process created by Carter does increase the educators' perceived awareness of the alignment of the standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment, increase knowledge, and change behavior and performance. The research includes nine minor thematic units that were reported by respondents answering an open-ended question in relationship to TIA professional development. These results were confirmed using a mixed-methodology research design that included a comparative analysis and cumulative frequency distribution.