Standards Crosswalks

Standards crosswalks are mappings between equivalent standards from different frameworks. CurryCMS uses crosswalks to help you understand how content aligned to one standard set relates to other standards—essential for variants targeting different states or frameworks.

Overview

Crosswalks enable:

• Alignment mapping - See equivalent standards across frameworks
• Variant alignment - Carry alignments to variants using different standards
• Prospective coverage - Estimate coverage against non-aligned standard sets
• Gap analysis - Identify standards that don't have crosswalk mappings

What is a Crosswalk?

A crosswalk is a bidirectional mapping between two standards from different standard sets that are considered equivalent or closely related.

Example:

Common Core: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1
↕ (crosswalk)
Texas TEKS: 3.4(K)


Both standards address "interpreting products of whole numbers"—the crosswalk records this equivalence.

Match Types

Crosswalks have different match types indicating how the mapping was determined:

Exact Matches

Exact matches occur when standards from different sets have the same code after normalization:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.1 → K.CC.A.1
NY.K.CC.A.1                → K.CC.A.1
                           = EXACT MATCH

The system strips framework prefixes (CCSS, state codes) to find matches.

Fuzzy Matches

Fuzzy matches find standards with slight code differences:

K.CC.A.1  ↔  K.CC.1  (missing "A")
          = FUZZY MATCH (confidence 0.85)

Fuzzy matching uses Levenshtein distance (edit distance) with a maximum threshold of 2 characters.

Manual Matches

Manual matches are human-verified mappings added by administrators:

• Created when automatic matching fails
• Always have confidence of 1.0
• Used for conceptual equivalences that aren't code-based

How Crosswalks Work

Code Normalization

Before matching, standard codes are normalized:

1. Strip advanced indicators - Remove "(+)" prefixes
2. Strip framework prefixes - Remove CCSS.MATH.CONTENT., state codes, etc.
3. Normalize separators - Convert dashes/underscores to dots
4. Collapse dots - Remove duplicate or trailing dots
5. Uppercase - For consistent comparison

Example:

Original: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3-OA_A.1
Normalized: 3.OA.A.1


Supported Prefixes

The system recognizes and strips these prefixes:

Using Crosswalks

Viewing Crosswalks

1. Navigate to Standards in the main menu
2. Select a standard set
3. Browse to a specific standard
4. View the Crosswalks section
5. See mapped standards from other sets

Crosswalk Information

For each crosswalk, you'll see:

• Target standard - The equivalent standard
• Target set - Which framework it belongs to
• Match type - Exact, fuzzy, or manual
• Confidence - Match confidence score

Crosswalk Tree View

When browsing crosswalks between two standard sets, the tree view shows:

Common Core 3.OA.A.1
├── Texas TEKS 3.4(K) [Exact, 1.0]
├── Florida MAFS.3.OA.1.1 [Exact, 1.0]
└── Georgia MGSE3.OA.1 [Fuzzy, 0.92]

Crosswalks in Variants

The Alignment Challenge

When creating a variant with a different standard set:

• Parent: Common Core aligned
• Variant: Texas TEKS aligned

The variant's content inherits parent alignments, but those alignments point to Common Core standards—not TEKS.

Automatic Crosswalk Mapping

CurryCMS uses crosswalks to help:

1. Inherited alignments show as "Inherited (Unmapped)"
2. If crosswalks exist, suggests equivalent TEKS standards
3. SME reviews and confirms/adjusts mappings
4. Mapped alignments can be published

Alignment States in Variants

Resolving Unmapped Alignments

When crosswalks don't exist:

1. Open the content node
2. View the inherited alignment
3. Search for equivalent standards manually
4. Add a new alignment to the variant's standard set
5. Optionally report the missing crosswalk to administrators

Prospective Coverage

Crosswalks power the prospective coverage feature, which estimates how your curriculum might cover a standard set you're not aligned to.

How It Works

1. You're aligned to Common Core
2. You want to know TEKS coverage
3. System finds CCSS↔TEKS crosswalks
4. For each CCSS standard you cover, finds mapped TEKS standards
5. Reports estimated TEKS coverage

Limitations

Prospective coverage is an estimate:

• Depends on crosswalk quality and completeness
• Conceptual differences may not be captured
• Should be verified by curriculum specialists

Coverage Dashboard

The crosswalk coverage dashboard shows how well two standard sets are crosswalked:

Dashboard Metrics

By Grade Level

Coverage broken down by grade:

Grade K:  ████████░░  85%
Grade 1:  ██████████  92%
Grade 2:  ███████░░░  70%

By Standard Type

Coverage by hierarchy level:

Best Practices

For Authors

1. Check crosswalks early - Before creating a variant, verify crosswalks exist
2. Review suggestions - Crosswalk suggestions are starting points, not mandates
3. Report gaps - Alert admins when crosswalks are missing

For Administrators

1. Seed crosswalks - Ensure crosswalk data is loaded for common framework pairs
2. Review fuzzy matches - Convert high-quality fuzzy matches to manual
3. Fill gaps - Add manual crosswalks for unmapped standards
4. Monitor quality - Periodically audit crosswalk accuracy

Common Questions

"What if no crosswalk exists for my standards?"

If crosswalks don't exist between your framework pairs:
1. Variant alignments will show as "Unmapped"
2. You'll need to manually align to the variant's standards
3. Request crosswalk data from your administrator

"How accurate are fuzzy matches?"

Fuzzy matches have lower confidence but are often correct:
- High confidence (0.9+): Usually accurate
- Medium confidence (0.7-0.9): Review recommended
- Low confidence (<0.7): May be incorrect

"Can I create crosswalks?"

Currently, crosswalk creation is an administrative function. Authors can:
- View existing crosswalks
- Use crosswalk data for variants
- Report missing crosswalks

"Why isn't my standard crosswalked?"

Common reasons:
- Standard set doesn't have crosswalk data loaded
- Standard code doesn't normalize well
- Standard is unique to one framework (no equivalent)

"Do crosswalks work both directions?"

Yes, crosswalks are bidirectional. If A→B exists, B→A is implied.

Related Documentation:
- Standards Coverage - Coverage tracking
- Standards Alignment - Aligning content
- Using Variants - Variant alignment workflow