Frequently Asked Questions

See Additional FAQs in the EngageNY Help Center

Who Created EngageNY?

EngageNY was created and is currently maintained by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to support the implementation of key aspects of the New York State Board of Regents Reform Agenda. For additional information, read our About EngageNY page.

Who can access EngageNY?

Anyone with access to the Internet can visit EngageNY and download free materials from the New York State Education Department, including all available curriculum materials. While the New York State Education Department is not positioned to provide guidance on the implementation of EngageNY curriculum in other states, use of our curriculum materials is not restricted to certain users.

What curriculum content is available on EngageNY?

As part of Race to the Top federal funding, the New York State Education Department worked with various partners to develop curriculum materials for grades Pre-K to 12 in both Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA), and these materials are available for download from EngageNY. In 2015, the New York State Education Department added links to Social Studies Inquiries that are also available free to all users.

Learning Standards and guidance about other subjects are available on the New York State Education Department’s Office of Curriculum & Instruction website.

Are the EngageNY curriculum modules mandated in New York State?

No, all curriculum decisions are local decisions in New York State.

The curricular and instructional resources on EngageNY may be adopted or adapted by schools and districts for local use. Some lessons in the modules provide detailed instructions or recommendations, but it is important to note that the lessons are not scripts. Rather, the lessons should be viewed as vignettes to help the reader imagine how the classroom instruction could function. These resources are optional and supplemental, and school districts are free to develop or purchase other materials for local use.

Lessons are adaptable to allow for teacher preference and flexibility so that classroom instruction can meet students' needs while maintaining alignment with the Common Core learning standards. If you choose to make significant changes to lessons, the Tristate/EQuIP rubric is available to help you evaluate the quality, rigor, and alignment of your adapted lessons.

Also, please note that the Math modules include a significant number of problem sets so that teachers can provide students with plenty of opportunities to practice and apply their knowledge. Educators can help students achieve deep conceptual knowledge by asking them to complete selected problems that have been designed in a sequential, thoughtful order. It is not expected that all the problems in a problem set be administered, but rather educators can choose from the problems provided. Educators are free to adapt this curriculum using their own judgment regarding student needs and pace of the semester and/or year.

How can I provide feedback on the curriculum modules?

If you have any feedback on the curriculum modules, let us know by completing the Curriculum Feedback Form. We will review all feedback as we continue to make improvements to the materials.

Although educators realize that the modules are meant to serve as a guide, they are concerned that the exact methods and wording used in the modules for teaching concepts will be adopted for the state assessments, thus putting students at a disadvantage if the modules are not followed exactly. Is this a valid concern?

Any overlap between the modules and the state assessments would be derived from the appropriate and deliberate instructional application of the Common Core assessment-design resources on EngageNY, resources that both the developers of the modules and the general public have access to. There are specific suggestions on the use of these design documents to design assessments and modify instruction for Mathematics and for English Language Arts.

In addition, the assessments in the English Language Arts and Mathematics modules for grades 3-8 use the same rubrics used to evaluate student responses on the 3-8 NYS assessments. Use of these rubrics in conjunction with the instructional application of the Common Core assessment-design resources is in strong alignment with the Common Core Learning Standards and the state assessments. The rubrics can be found within the Test Guides for English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Finally, please note that the Mathematics modules include a significant number of problem sets so that students have ample opportunity to practice and apply their knowledge. Educators can help students to achieve deep conceptual knowledge by asking them to complete selected problems that have been designed in a sequential, thoughtful order. It is not expected that all the problems in a problem set be administered, but rather educators can choose from the ample amount of problems provided. Educators may certainly adapt this curriculum using their own judgment regarding student needs and pace of the semester and/or year.

Are the modules available in Spanish (or other languages)?

The English Language Arts modules are only available in English, but NYSED is working on an initiative to translate the Mathematics curriculum modules into the top 5 languages spoken in New York State, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Bengali, and Haitian Creole.

Please see our chart of all available translated Mathematics modules on EngageNY Translated Modules page. Additional translations will be posted as they become available.

To support teachers in ensuring that ELLs meet the high demands of the New York State Common Core Learning Standards, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) is developing a blueprint for ELL success. This blueprint includes guiding principles that will support teachers in addressing the academic language and content needs required by the Common Core Learning Standards.

In addition, NYSED has been working on several initiatives to create resources and supports for schools and districts as they implement the Common Core with ELLs. These initiatives include, but are not limited to:

Working with the American Institute for Research on a project led by Diane August to enhance and build on scaffolds for ELLs in the P-12 Common Core ELA and Math Curriculum.
Developing the New York State Bilingual Common Core Progressions, which address each Common Core standard and demonstrate how ELLs at all levels of language development can reach the Common Core standards (Bilingual Common Core Standards).
Developing new resources for parents of ELLs to enable them to make informed decisions about their child's education.
Developing Native Language Arts exemplars in the top 5 languages spoken in NYS, including Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Bengali and Haitian Creole that complement the P-12 Common Core ELA Modules.
Aligning the NYSESLAT to the Common Core and developing a new identification exam, NYSITELL, aligned to the Common Core.

What Browsers are supported on EngageNY?

EngageNY supports access and navigation for Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer (IE) for the most recent versions plus the previous two versions. (For instance, this means IE11, which is the current version, and IE10 and IE9.)

How do I find curriculum content on EngageNY?

You can find Math and ELA curriculum content by clicking on the subject/grade-level links on the EngageNY homepage or you can click on “Common Core” in the banner toolbar to use the green “Find More Curriculum” button on the upper right. Once you navigate to a specific module, unit, topic, or lesson page the curriculum documents are available from the “Downloadable Resources” section on each of these pages.

How do I purchase printed copies of EngageNY curriculum?

The New York State Education Department does not offer printed EngageNY curriculum content for purchase. All curriculum materials are free for download from EngageNY. If you are looking for guidance on copyright and use of materials, including printed materials, from EngageNY, then you should review the Creative Commons Copyright information that is available from the Terms of Use page on EngageNY. You can find contact information for the various vendors who assisted with development of the EngageNY curriculum on our FAQ with this information.

How do I sign up for Newsletters?

You can sign up to receive newsletters emailed to you from EngageNY with information about the topics and subjects that interest you. You can also navigate directly to the Newsletter Signup page from the top header on EngageNY.

How do I contact EngageNY?

You can send an email to the EngageNY support desk at the New York State Education Department by using the following email address: info@engageny.org. You can also use the “Help” link on the top of all of our web pages to enter a question and search through our online FAQs. After receiving FAQ results, you can click the “None of these are helpful” button at the bottom of the results to submit a ticket to the EngageNY helpdesk.

How do I stay informed about new content and updates to modules?

EngageNY offers a list of curriculum module updates, content-specific newsletters, and RSS feeds. RSS alerting URLs allow a user with an RSS reader to stay up to date on new content and content updates loaded to EngageNY. The RSS page on EngageNY can be located by clicking the orange RSS icon on the bottom right of the website footer, or by navigating directly to the page via the following URL: https://www.engageny.org/rss.

How do I locate the Terms of Use?

You can find the Terms of Use that outline issues related to using EngageNY, hosted by the New York State Education Department, in the bottom right footer on every page on EngageNY. You can also navigate directly to information about use and copyright by using the following URL: https://www.engageny.org/terms-of-use.

Still have questions?

See Additional FAQs in the EngageNY Help Center
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