A written schedule displaying the alignment of concepts, topics, and skills related to a particular curriculum to be addressed over a defined period of time.

There is no single format for a pacing guide. They may be as simple as a list of topics organized by week or as comprehensive to included instructional strategies, assessments, materials, and alignment to a set of standards. Individual teachers, departments, or teachers across a district might collaborate to design a pacing guide. Textbook publishers often create pacing guides to supplement their texts, offering suggestions for how a teacher might cover the material during a given amount of time.