SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Nov 12, 2026 – Inquiry by Design (IBD) announced today that its Middle School English Language Arts curriculum has earned all-green ratings from EdReports, the gold standard in independent curriculum evaluation. To review the full EdReports findings, visit https://edreports.org/reports/overview/inquiry-by-design-middle-school-english-language-arts-2026/
The findings provide an important proof point for a different approach to middle school ELA: print-first, built around complete literary and informational works, and designed to connect reading, writing, language, discussion, and knowledge building rather than asking teachers and students to navigate them as separate pieces.
“Schools are asking important questions about what students lose when learning becomes increasingly fragmented and screen-dependent,” said Nick Resnick, CEO of Inquiry by Design. “We believe students build understanding by spending sustained time with important texts and ideas, talking about them, writing about them, and making connections over time. The EdReports findings give schools another meaningful proof point that this approach can deliver both rigor and the support students and teachers need.”
Inquiry by Design earned EdReports' highest 'meets expectations' rating across all middle school ELA evaluation criteria, including text quality, knowledge-building, and teacher support.
Connected by Design
Inquiry by Design begins with a simple premise: understanding builds when ideas connect.
Rather than organizing instruction around isolated skills or digital excerpts, the curriculum uses complete literary works to create sustained opportunities for reading, authentic text annotation, purposeful writing, contextual language development, and classroom discussion.
Those experiences are intentionally connected across lessons and units so students are not simply completing activities. They are building knowledge over time.
In their review of our curriculum, EdReports described our connected approach like this: “A consistent instructional pathway integrates reading, writing, speaking, listening, language, and research, with frequent opportunities for close reading, text-based analysis, evidence-based discussion, writing, and inquiry.” (Read the full report here.)
The program provides 180 days of instruction, including assessments and extensions, in a structure designed to be both rigorous and realistic for teachers to implement.
“Strong curriculum should not ask teachers to choose between rigor, engagement, and meeting the needs of different learners,” said Tammy Baumann, Chief Product Officer at Inquiry by Design. “Those things have to be designed together. When texts, questions, language, writing, assessment, and differentiation are connected from the beginning, teachers can spend less time assembling instruction and more time supporting student learning.”
Support that is built in, not bolted on
The EdReports review also recognized Inquiry by Design’s teacher and student supports, reinforcing a core idea behind the program: a rigorous curriculum does not require an ever-growing collection of digital tools and supplements to meet the needs of different learners.
Inquiry by Design embeds multilingual learner supports, task-specific Tier 2 and Tier 3 supports, scaffolded differentiation, Universal Design for Learning principles, and authentic assessment directly into instruction at the point of use.
The result is a program in which the teacher and student materials hold the core instructional experience together rather than overwhelming teachers with assembling disconnected texts, interventions, language supports, activities, and digital resources themselves.
That leaves teachers free to do what only teachers can do: listen, respond, question, guide discussion, and help students make meaning.
The EdReports recognition follows Inquiry by Design’s recent recommendation for the California state list adoption of its California-specific Middle School ELA with Integrated ELD curriculum. Together, the California State Board of Education recommendation and EdReports review provide two independent proof points for a connected, teacher-led approach to rigorous, knowledge-building instruction.
Watch the Inquiry by Design Instructional Overview Video that illustrates our connected approach to a knowledge-building curriculum.
Inquiry by Design is a California-based curriculum company offering print-first English Language Arts and Spanish Language Arts curriculum for secondary schools in grades 6–12.
Founded by educators, Inquiry by Design connects full-length literature, knowledge building, writing, language development, and classroom discussion into one coherent learning experience without requiring a student digital platform for core instruction.
Learn more at inquirybydesign.com.
