The curriculum guide outline (CGO) developed for the Richland School District One (Columbia, South Carolina) represents a structured effort to coordinate the curriculum across disciplines. The CGO is an outline that guides the total curriculum content of a course and states the level of mastery acceptable for course credit. It has five components in increasing order of specificity and measurability: philosophy, goals, objectives, performance indicators, and test items. From a broad statement of belief (philosophy) to a specific test item that measures mastery of one small element, the CGO provides the total package for curriculum development. The philosophy is a general statement of belief. Course goals are four or five non-measurable statements of content and belief. Objectives state what the student should do and provide the basis by which student output is measured. They focus on achievement. Performance indicators specify exactly what skills students are expected to perform to master an objective. Each minimum performance indicator is linked to at least four test items, three for the interim test and one for the post-test. This approach eliminates the guesswork in deciding if a student has really mastered the course basics. (MSE)