What does a curriculum specialist do?
The primary job of curriculum specialists is to develop, assess, and improve curricula and instruction. They are responsible for guiding teachers on their teaching methods, conducting research and making recommendations for improvements, and evaluating existing curricula alongside teachers and administrators. A curriculum specialist is expected to assist in creating and revising instructional materials, analyzing student data, and evaluating and improving the utilization of classroom materials. You are also responsible for finding appropriate curricula and textbooks to improve the student body's learning outcomes.
Curriculum specialist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real curriculum specialist resumes:
- Lead efforts to establish goals for foreign language department's continuous improvement.
- Lead the virtualization of military training exercises and provide periods of instruction using virtual simulations.
- Coordinate testing, modele lessons for teachers, and implement the language arts program.
- Develop and implement art infuse literacy program for kindergarten classes
- Used data analysis consistently to target identify students for sustain reading and mathematics instruction.
- Work with grades k-8, enrichment or extension classes
- Assist students k-5 in meeting their academic goals.
- Conduct CPR courses, administer test and assess hands on skill proficiency.
- Develop curriculum for study skills classes and create RTI plans and goals.
- Design and maintain a middle school ELA wiki including resources and curriculum documents.
- Collaborate with counselors to evaluate students' reading comprehension levels and build RTI plans.
- Support head classroom teacher to assess the reading strengths and needs of kindergarten students.
- Handle disciplinary infractions grades k-12 using the disciplinary matrix guide as a guide for consequences.
- Prepare to present the products to the classroom teachers during in service training through activities and PowerPoint presentation.
- Develop and publish comprehensive curriculum standards for art, music, dance, and theater education, grades k-12.
Curriculum specialist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Curriculum Specialists are proficient in Math, Curriculum Development, and K-12. They’re also known for soft skills such as Decision-making skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Curriculum Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Math, 8%
Differentiated curriculum for low-level readers including students with reading and math disabilities.
- Curriculum Development, 8%
Developed an integrated curriculum development plan targeting increased enrollment, retention, and success of the at-risk student population.
- K-12, 7%
Developed rigorous K-12 curriculum for all students as well as monitored the implementation of curriculum and instruction.
- Mathematics, 4%
Facilitated and organized monthly professional development for Achievement Academy Mathematics Instructors and staff.
- PowerPoint, 4%
Prepared to present the products to the classroom teachers during in service training through activities and PowerPoint presentation.
- State Standards, 4%
Created assessments that accurately measured student comprehension of material and state standards.
"math," "curriculum development," and "k-12" are among the most common skills that curriculum specialists use at work. You can find even more curriculum specialist responsibilities below, including:
Decision-making skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a curriculum specialist to have is decision-making skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "instructional coordinators must be decisive when recommending changes to curriculums, teaching methods, and textbooks." Curriculum specialists often use decision-making skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "determined and implemented instructional strategies and appropriate modalities for identifying and resolving skills, knowledge, and assessment based problems. "
Leadership skills. Another essential skill to perform curriculum specialist duties is leadership skills. Curriculum specialists responsibilities require that "instructional coordinators serve as mentors to teachers." Curriculum specialists also use leadership skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "coordinated staff and curriculum development, student conferences, and leadership activities. "
Analytical skills. This is an important skill for curriculum specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how curriculum specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "instructional coordinators evaluate student test data and teaching strategies." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a curriculum specialist: "developed online assessments for grades k-5 utilizing a database of questions. ".
Communication skills. For certain curriculum specialist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a curriculum specialist rely on this skill, as "instructional coordinators need to clearly explain changes in the curriculum and teaching standards to school staff." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what curriculum specialists do: "worked in collaboration with principals and teachers to increase student performance in math and communication arts. "
The three companies that hire the most curriculum specialists are:
- Gap Inc.6 curriculum specialists jobs
- Sheltering Arms5 curriculum specialists jobs
- Democracy Prep Public Schools4 curriculum specialists jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable curriculum specialist resume templates
Build a professional curriculum specialist resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your curriculum specialist resume.
Compare different curriculum specialists
Curriculum specialist vs. Education coordinator
An education coordinator is an individual who develops an educational curriculum that is efficient and in line with the latest education standards and developments. Education coordinators are required to meet parents, as well as teachers, to discuss concerns regarding the curriculum and to ensure that the curriculum is being used properly. They create budgets for all their education programs and disseminate reports of their programs to the organization's management. They may also assist in the recruitment of instructors for their organization.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a curriculum specialist are more likely to require skills like "math," "state standards," "student achievement," and "child care." On the other hand, a job as an education coordinator requires skills like "customer service," "patients," "education programs," and "patient care." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Education coordinators really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $54,845. Comparatively, curriculum specialists tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $50,372.The education levels that education coordinators earn slightly differ from curriculum specialists. In particular, education coordinators are 13.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a curriculum specialist. Additionally, they're 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Curriculum specialist vs. Literacy coordinator
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, curriculum specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "math," "powerpoint," "state standards," and "child care." Meanwhile, a literacy coordinator has duties that require skills in areas such as "community outreach," "english language," "assessment data," and "literacy curriculum." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Literacy coordinators earn similar levels of education than curriculum specialists in general. They're 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for curriculum specialists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Lynn Baynum Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Early Childhood and Literacy Education, Shippensburg University
Our world is ever-changing, so to be sure that educators are optimizing instruction in K-12 classrooms, teachers need to be able to adapt the curriculum to reflect STEM topics within a multi-cultural landscape. For example, math teachers can profile black mathematicians when discussing a math concept. Students can emerge in inquiry or problem-based learning, specific situations that use data to investigate and solve real-world problems. School-age learners, even young children, can learn to computer code, and teacher candidates must be able to not only adapt instruction using digital tools to construct knowledge within a STEM mindset.
Curriculum specialist vs. Junior coordinator
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from curriculum specialist resumes include skills like "math," "curriculum development," "k-12," and "mathematics," whereas a junior coordinator is more likely to list skills in "jr," "ach," "ran," and "social events. "
When it comes to education, junior coordinators tend to earn lower degree levels compared to curriculum specialists. In fact, they're 25.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Curriculum specialist vs. Technology teacher/technology coordinator
Types of curriculum specialist
Updated January 8, 2025
