Teachers present their perceptions when designing and mapping curriculum to implement standards-based instruction and assessment. It appears that teachers are willing but not always able to make curriculum and instructional decisions. Participation of teachers varies from district to district. When curriculum is given to teachers as part of their district curriculum team or committee efforts, all are not part of the process. Teachers are not given a space to deeply engage and create clarity of the content within the curriculum. Teachers are not provided the time, guidance, platform or power to gather the necessary information and make the necessary decisions. No wonder there are misguided practices when it comes to curriculum and instruction. The data collected from our study led the research team to create a model for the process of designing and implementing standards-based instruction and assessment.