To address the high cost of textbooks, Rice University's Connexions and the Community College Open Textbook Project (CCOTP) collaborated to develop a proof-of-concept free and open textbook. The proof-of-concept served to document a workflow process that would support adoption of open textbooks. Open textbooks provide faculty and students with a…

This article describes an approach to developing student reading materials that support middle school learners in a project-based, inquiry curriculum for grades 6 through 8. Reading materials are designed to encourage sense making beyond the classroom, as students read and write about science as it takes place in a classroom and as it occurs in…

A series of eight manuals dealing with the triad text characteristics--learning processes--learning outcomes are being prepared for use by authors and editors as an aid in the design and writing of educational texts. These manuals are based upon a model for the functioning of text characteristics which in turn is part of a decision model for the…

Describes the work of Mel and Norma Gabler and their campaign against what they have determined are "improper" textbooks. (IRT)

Provides a brief description of the current state of book censorship in Warsaw, Indiana, and of some of the community response to the censorship. (IRT)

The text samples presented in this document primarily serve to exemplify the level of complexity and quality that the Standards require all students in a given grade band to engage with. Additionally, they are suggestive of the breadth of texts that students should encounter in the text types required by the Standards. The choices should serve as…

The Key State Education Policies on PK-12 Education is intended to inform policymakers and educators about the current status of key education policies that define and shape elementary and secondary education in public schools across the 50 states. The report is part of a continuing series by the Council's State Education Indicators program.…

One of the key requirements of the Common Core State Standards for Reading is that all students must be able to comprehend texts of steadily increasing complexity as they progress through school. By the time they complete the core, students must be able to read and comprehend independently and proficiently the kinds of complex texts commonly found…

Mathematics textbooks are critical tools for student learning in American classrooms. Teachers use them daily to plan and deliver lessons, and students use them in class to explore and learn mathematics. Given textbooks' potential to support student learning, it is important to understand how they are developed. While pressure is growing on…

A three-part review process is proposed as an aid to textbook selection for college courses. After an introductory discussion of the importance of developing standards and criteria for selecting course texts, the three-phase process is presented. The initial phase involves the establishment of departmental criteria for textbooks, which may be…

Describes how the nursing faculty at Shoreline Community College developed a process to make textbook selection both more satisfactory and appropriate for the program, and less complicated and time-consuming for educators. Examines important factors, the review form, form content, guidelines, and the review procedure. (CT)

In the fall of 1984, the Education Commission of the States (ECS) was awarded a grant from the U.S. Secretary of Education's Discretionary Fund to identify alternative state roles for improving instructional materials in mathematics. To help state leaders define an appropriate and effective role in upgrading these materials, ECS proposed first to…

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…

California's "History-Social Science Framework" adopted by the State Board of Education in 1987 is similar to the report by the National Commission on Social Studies in the Schools in emphasizing the central role of history in the social sciences. (MLF)

Three discussion papers about the Open University's correspondence texts consider (1) the role of a transformer, i.e., any person working in communication media who is responsible for the effectiveness of his/her decisions; (2) factors involved in the design of Open University texts, including their use as a resource for a range of different…