Curriculum Analysis: Acceptability Analysis

The Acceptability Analysis component includes guiding questions, a chart for organizing comments, and a score sheet for rating the acceptability of curriculum content. It should be completed by persons who know the expectations of the school and community for health education materials; state and local policies, frameworks, and standards that guide health education; and the health education needs of students. The analysis team could include parents/caregivers, students, school board members, school principals, district health education coordinators, physical education and health teachers, school counselors, and other persons who work with young people.

Review the curriculum to determine if the text, pictures, graphics, and other materials:

• Are appropriate for the intended audience. (See Note 1 below)
• Are compatible with community norms.
• Avoid promoting biased or stereotypical perceptions of individuals or groups on the basis of personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, culture, age, or sexual orientation.
• Are consistent with state statutes, state or district policy, codes, and frameworks.
• Some questions to consider when analyzing acceptability include:
  • Address the health problems that affect youth, families, and the community?
  • Address issues and experiences that are important to improve health-promoting decisions, practices, and behaviors of the students?
  • Affirm all students, including historically marginalized groups of students, (e.g., ethnic and racial minority students; LGBTQ+ students; students with histories of trauma, abuse, or neglect; BIPOC students; runaway or homeless students’ criminal justice or foster system-involved students; students with disabilities or special needs; students who are young parents and caregivers), and address their unique experiences, learning, and developmental needs? (See Note 2 below.)
  • Include language relevant and appropriate for the students and the community?
  • Consistently feature individuals with diverse characteristics (e.g., different ethnicities, nationalities, body types)?
  • Reflect the diversity of races, cultures, sexes, genders, identities, abilities, perspectives, and beliefs found in families, the school, or the community?
  • Include information and learning experiences, such as student-family activities, that reflect the diversity of races, cultures, sexes, genders, identities, abilities perspectives, and beliefs of students and families?
  • Acknowledge and support the roles of parents/caregivers, family, and community members in promoting healthy behaviors among youth?
  • Omit stigmatizing and fear- based messaging related to health behaviors and experiences?
  • Use images, stories, information, or learning experiences that avoid stereotyping people based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, culture, country of origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, or ability? (See Note 2 below.)
  • Avoid perpetuating negative stereotypes and beliefs about historically marginalized identities (e.g., assumptions about communities of color to have low educational attainment and/or income) through images, information, stories, or learning experiences?
  • Avoid presenting health-related situations and problems as caused exclusively by the individual and instead acknowledge the societal context?
  • Address issues required by statute or policy, including the health requirements identified in the health education framework or course of study?
  • Include information and material consistent with health education frameworks and other guidance?
  • Recognize the validity and integrity of knowledge systems based in historically marginalized communities (e.g., communities of color, collectivist cultures, matriarchal societies, and non-dominant religions)?
  • Use information or materials that violate health education requirements, education codes, or mandates?
  • Include sponsorship, information, or materials that reflect an inappropriate marketing message that attempts to influence teachers and students, such as:
  • Marketing a particular brand or product?
  • Advocating a position that might conflict with the school’s mission?
  • Communicating a message that conflicts with health education outcomes and objectives?

Directions:

1. In column A, list the page(s) in the curriculum where unacceptable information or depictions appear.
2. In column B, briefly describe the piece of information or depiction that is incompatible, biased, or inconsistent with policies, frameworks or standards.
3. In column C, indicate the degree to which the information or depiction is inappropriate, incompatible, biased, or inconsistent with policies, frameworks, or standards by checking the appropriate checkbox.
4. In column D, briefly describe what needs to be done to correct the problem.
5. In column E, indicate how difficult or easy it would be to correct the information or depiction or eliminate it from the curriculum without affecting the quality of the curriculum by checking the appropriate checkbox.
   • For example, an unacceptable teaching strategy described in a teacher’s guide might be easy to replace with a district-developed supplemental lesson; whereas culturally biased information in a printed textbook might be more difficult to correct, because the developer would have to revise and republish the book.

An unlimited number of rows can be added to the table by pressing the ADD ROW button. Information will be saved by pressing the SAVE button. The user can return to the main Curriculum Analysis screen by pressing the CLOSE button. The PRINT button will open, in a new window, a printable version of the page with the entered data.

Complete the acceptability analysis score based on information from the acceptability analysis chart, by clicking the ACCEPTABILITY ANALYSIS: PART 2 - REVIEWERS AND SCORE button. On this page the user enters information about the reviewers and, using the information from the acceptability analysis table, adds a score for the curriculum based on the overall acceptability. This score will transfer to the acceptability analysis line of the overall summary form. Remember: a score of "0" indicates that the curriculum should be eliminated from further consideration and no further analysis should take place. The PRINT button will open, in a new window, a printable version of the page with the entered data.

Note 1: Although the HECAT ensures analysis of appropriateness (developmental, racial/ethnic, cultural, age), it does not provide standards or any criterion for determining what is and what is not appropriate. These standards or criteria should be determined at the local school district level and should be applied consistently in the review of all curricula under review or development.

Note 2: A curriculum that addresses sexual health outcomes and promotes responsible sexual behavior solely from a heterosexual, cisgender perspective might not be relevant to young people who identify as bisexual, gay or lesbian or who engage in same-sex sexual behavior. An inclusive curriculum incorporates information, skills, and learning activities that apply to students regardless of gender identity or expression, and sexual orientation (e.g., gender-neutral or sexual orientation-neutral language). It may be necessary to recommend supplemental curriculum materials to increase relevance of a sexual health curriculum for all students. It may also be necessary to identify other resources, outside of the health education curriculum, to effectively meet the sexual health promotion needs of students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ) or who engage in same-sex sexual behaviors.