At a glance
- The Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) is a tool to examine health education curricula.
- HECAT was developed by CDC along with heath education experts from state and local education agencies, schools, colleges and universities, and national organizations.
Overview
The Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) is a tool for examining school health education curricula. Health education is a fundamental part of an overall school health program. It offers youth the health knowledge and skills they need to become successful learners and healthy adults.
The HECAT can help schools conduct a clear, complete, and consistent analysis of health education curricula. The HECAT is based on Standards for Health Education and CDC's Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum.
The HECAT is available in two formats
A set of downloadable PDFs.
HECAT Online
Did you know?
The HECAT is customizable—to meet both local community needs and the curriculum requirements of the state or school district.
Purpose of the HECAT
The HECAT provides state, regional, and local education agencies with a common set of tools to help select or develop health education curricula.
Did you know?
The HECAT results can help schools:
- Select or develop appropriate and effective health education curricula.
- Strengthen the delivery of health education.
- Improve the ability of health educators to influence healthy behaviors and outcomes among students.
HECAT modules address the following curricula:
- Alcohol and Other Drugs.
- Food and Nutrition.
- Healthy Eating.
- Mental and Emotional Health.
- Personal Health and Wellness.
- Physical Activity.
- Safety.
- Sexual Health.
- Tobacco.
- Violence Prevention.
- Comprehensive Health Education.
What the HECAT includes
The HECAT includes all the instructions and appraisal tools for carrying out a thorough, systematic assessment of a health education curriculum. The HECAT offers information, materials, processes, and tools—with these specific components:
- Essential background information and instructions for using the HECAT to review and improve locally developed curriculum.
- Instructions for developing a health education scope and sequence.
- Templates to record key information about a curriculum—for use in curriculum review.
- Preliminary curriculum considerations, such as accuracy, acceptability, feasibility, and affordability analyses.
- Curriculum fundamentals, such as teacher materials, culturally responsive and inclusive approaches, instructional design, and instructional strategies and materials.
- Customizable templates for users.
- Specific health-topic knowledge and skills analyses across grades pre-K–2; 3–5; 6–8; and 9–12.
See Also
Check out the HECAT webinar series, which includes a video overview and spotlight of four health topic modules.
How to use the HECAT
The HECAT is available free of charge. You can select either the interactive, customizable online tool or the downloadable, print version.
Get answers to frequently asked questions about using HECAT to conduct a curriculum analysis.
Who can use the HECAT
The HECAT is designed for use by state, regional, and local education agency staff. It is also designed for others responsible for selecting, supervising, developing, or using health education curricula in schools. Some examples follow.
1. Curriculum committees or educators at school districts, schools, or community-based organizations that work with schools can use the HECAT. These groups—also guided by state standards and health education frameworks or other locally defined requirements—can then:
- Develop new or improved courses of study, frameworks, learning objectives, or curricula.
- Guide the selection of curricula available for purchase.
- Examine curricula currently in use.
2. State or regional educational agency staff can use the HECAT to inform the development or review of:
- State health education standards or frameworks.
- Recommendations for conducting state or local curriculum review.
- State-recommended health education curricula.
3. Developers of nationally disseminated curricula—such as nongovernmental organizations and for-profit curriculum development companies—can use the HECAT. Their aim is to design health education curricula that best meet the needs of schools and students.
4. Institutions of higher education teacher preparation programs can use the HECAT as well. This may improve their students' understanding of health education, curriculum analysis, and development of instructional skills.
Benefits of using the HECAT
Using the HECAT can:
- Help ensure a complete, thorough, and consistent review of a health education curriculum.
- Clarify what should be included in a health education curriculum.
- Help ensure that the curriculum aligns with research-based practices, health education standards, and CDC's Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum.
- Identify strategies that improve both teaching and student learning.
- Inform your selection of a high-quality curriculum that is affordable and feasible to use in your schools.
- Inform the development of a scope and sequence for health education.
- Provide sound, defensible justification for curriculum decisions to parents, school boards, and others interested in health education in your community or state.