Curricular decisions and written standards have long been a part of the educational process. Middle schools in Pennsylvania have written curriculum to meet the State Standard of Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, and, in order to help teachers with state assessments, the state has further defined Anchors and Eligible Content (Pennsylvania Department of Education). Obviously, not everything in the curriculum can be, nor should be, formally assessed. Teachers make curricular decisions about the importance of teaching all or only some of the curriculum frequently because of time constraints or even personal preference. Further, educators must determine how much in depth the curriculum must be taught in order for students to be successful with the high-stakes tests. Certainly these decisions are cause for study to understand the impact they have on students' achievements.๐