Assistance for school districts, accreditation teams, and education service centers in the development and use of local curriculum documents is provided in this publication. District responsibility to develop local curriculum guides has led to a lack of standardization, which in turn has complicated assessment. State requirements and standards for curriculum documents are clarified in this document. Part 1 offers an instrument for assessing curriculum guides based on state principles and standards for accreditation. Four descriptors and their indicators are presented. Part 2 contains answers to questions most often asked by school personnel, some of which involve the curriculum guide development and assessment processes, contents, and uses and purposes of curriculum guides. Appendices contain planning and administration principles set forth by the Texas administrative code and statutes and a compliance statement with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (LMI)