The authors, Wiggens & McTighe, explain that curriculum development should not be teaching with a text followed by a test "to see if they got it." Instead, the curriculum should begin by thinking of what students should know and be able to do, then go backwards from that to decide how you will assess their understanding, then back up to "square one" which is: sequencing the instruction and experiences. See the following outline:
1. Identify Desired Results
a) Enduring understanding,
b) essential questions, and
c) knowledge and skills
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence:
a) performance tasks,
b) quizzes, tests, prompts,
c) unprompted evidence,
d) self assessment.
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction:
a) sequence of learning experiences and instruction