A college educator (trained in composition) encountered some problems when he began teaching an introductory literature course. In the first year of the course, he used a fiction anthology as his textbook. The class examined one story at a time, and attempts to compare readings seemed forced. The teacher realized that anthologies are narrow in…

School districts should identify those whom new textbooks will affect--including teachers, students, administrators, and support personnel--and determine the needs of each, then negotiate a legally binding service guarantee with the textbook publisher to ensure that services and materials will be provided to meet the determined needs. (PGD)

The "skills trace" is a textbook evaluation process by which an evaluator isolates one skill and reads every reference listed in the index of the teacher's manual. The evaluator then observes how that skill is introduced, taught, practiced, and tested throughout the grades. (Author/DCS)

Presents guidelines for use in examining the comprehensibility of a textbook, questions to ask about the book, and suggestions for using the guide questions. (FL)

Recognizing that textbook adoption procedures and evaluation criteria vary from state to state or district to district, the authors present some general guidelines on screening and evaluation that should prove helpful to any elementary textbook adoption committee. (Author/SJL)

Suggests sources which can guide schools in evaluating textbooks. (MKM)

School districts can stretch their budgets for printed materials further by the following: (1) phasing in new textbook series; (2) substituting teacher-made activities for workbooks; and (3) purchasing classroom sets rather than separate workbooks for each student. (MLF)

The process of selecting a new textbook depends on whether the school board can select any textbook on the market or whether state funds can be spent only on textbooks of which the state has approved. Critics of the textbook selection process argue that much of what publishers offer has already been dictated by the 22 adoption states. (MLF)

This manual on the procedures for Texas textbook coordinators is divided into eight sections. Section 1 details general information on textbook responsibilities of individuals and groups, transfers of texts from school to school, textbook funds, waivers for textbook selection, and important facts to remember--rules, deadlines, and changes. Section…

Intended to help educators select textbooks that represent the highest standards of quality instruction, these guidelines describe major aspects of textbooks--of language arts instruction--considered essential. Following an introduction, the eight guidelines (whose features should be central to a program's design and should pervade the entire…

This handbook has been developed to assist school districts in the adoption of textbooks. The criteria for establishing a textbook selection process are included, as well as selection criteria for specific subject areas. Procedural steps are initially outlined for preliminary activities, book examination procedure, and implementation, and then a…

The concern of this paper is with techniques for improving the understandability of statistics textbooks for novices. Understandability is measured by tests of the reader's performance on creative transfer problems that require using text material in novel situations. The focus is primarily on the instructional objective of conceptual…

This paper suggests that teachers concentrate on the ideational and structural properties of text rather than on information acquired from readability formulas when selecting and using texts. Emphasis is given to the importance of context in the analysis of text, and a framework is suggested for examining the text considering the functions texts…

Explains how an Illinois school district was forced to develop a plan for writing an entire district curriculum in one day and how the plan was effectively carried out. The approach is not presented as a model for emulation but, rather, as an example of what can be done with limited resources. (MD)

Outlines some procedures for dealing with complaints and criticism over textbook selection practices. (HOD)