Five fifth grade and five sixth grade textbooks commonly used in Michigan public schools were examined to determine the extent to which they (1) reflected the pluralistic nature of the U.S. society and also (2) showed scholarship, educational soundness, and appropriate readability. Six of eight independent and qualified educators reviewed and rated textbooks on bias; one on scholarship and religion; and one on educational soundness and readability. All ratings were done according to criteria previously developed and used by the Michigan Department of Education. This report includes a description of the study, reviewers' narrative reports, and summaries of findings and recommendations. The major findings were: (1) On the whole, the textbooks examined recognize pluralism as one characteristic of the U.S. society, and treated positively the several racial, ethnic, and religious groups, men and women, and the handicapped in the United States; (2) The textbooks were less successful in treating some groups than others (Blacks and women were included, but Native Americans of the present, Hispanics, Asians, and the handicapped were either under-represented or not portrayed clearly); (3) Fifth grade textbooks needed smoother or more coherent ways of including the various groups of our society; (4) Scholarship in fifth grade textbooks was considered at least adequate and sometimes strong; and (5) Publishers seemed to have tried to produce textbooks with readability levels suitable for students at the fifth and sixth grade levels, but with varying degrees of success. The document includes the evaluative criteria checklists used, lists of the books reviewed and the reviewers, and summaries of findings and recommendations. (JB)