Educators often wonder exactly how the textbooks that end up in students' hands were approved. In this article, the author explores one significant stage in the process in California, the nation's largest textbook market. The Instructional Quality Commission (IQC), an advisory board to the California Department of Education's (CDE) State Board of…

New laws in California have set the state on a course for some potentially significant changes to the curriculum, including a measure that revisits the matter of teaching Algebra 1 in 8th grade and another that revamps the state's textbook-adoption process and hands districts greater leeway in choosing instructional materials. The algebra-related…

Textbooks are often a core element of curricula and delivery of classroom instruction and have long been a source of controversy. The textbook adoption process has become less about content and more about political/cultural pressure. Special-interest groups from the right and left exert enormous influence on textbook content through bias and…

In 1986, the California State Board of Education rejected all 14 kindergarten-eighth grade mathematics textbook series submitted for adoption. Implications of this action are discussed. (CB)

Although few would question the public school's legitimate role in transmitting societal values, controversy surrounds what those values should be and who should make such decisions. School boards should have policies in place to handle curriculum challenges and to establish review committees with broad representation for the selection of…

Discusses the difficulty of creating recommended reading lists, examining the development of California's recommended reading list and suggesting that lists succeed or fail not because of a book that is or is not included but because of the range they suggest. Concludes that in order to be successful, a list needs constant revision by teachers,…

Listed in this catalog of instructional materials in English and the use of dictionaries are those materials adopted by the California State Board of Education for use in public schools from 1983 to 1985. Materials listed include those published by (1) Allyn and Bacon; (2) Bowmar/Noble; (3) Ginn and Company; (4) Glencoe; (5) Harcourt, Brace…

Contains statements by five biologists and science educators to the California State Department of Education committee considering the adoption standards for science textbooks with regard to the clause requiring inclusion of creationist viewpoints of species origins. (AL)

The instructional textbooks for history-social science, K-8 grades, recommended for adoption in the state of California are described in this report. The rationales for recommendation of particular texts are provided, as well as those behind the decision not to recommend other materials. A number of special issues dealt with by the adoption…

California state-adopted commercial art and music instructional materials are described to aid state school districts in matching instructional materials with curriculum goals and objectives. Information is provided in three sections. An annotated index gives pertinent information about each program, including title, year of copyright, and grade…

The California State Board of Education is responsible for adopting textbooks and instructional materials for use in kindergarten through grade eight. The purposes of the instructional materials program are to: (1) establish clear standards for the educational and social content of texbooks and instructional materials; (2) evaluate instructional…

This publication is intended to serve as a resource for teachers who are responsible for selecting textbooks for general mathematics courses in high school. Contained are 18 factual textbook reviews. (The reviews do not contain assessments about the quality of the books). Each review includes four parts. Part 1 contains information furnished by…

Responds to critical commentary about the authors' article, "The Great Speckled Bird" (1993), which addressed educational policymaking within a social context characterized by multicultural backlash. The authors point to their critics' attempts to deflect from the article's main focus, how these educational policies came to be, by…

Designed for publishers and producers, this document initiates the annual subject area(s) adoption of basic instructional materials for California schools, kindergarten through eighth grade. The document presents an overview of the total instructional materials adoption-distribution process, specific instructions relating to initial submissions…

To assist California school district personnel in their selection of state-adopted instructional materials, this catalog of literature materials consists of four parts. The first, an annotated index of instructional materials identified as basic materials, gives pertinent information about each literature program, including program title, year of…