Intended to assist educational leaders by identifying recommendations from the report, "A Nation at Risk," that are relevant to reading and literacy and by suggesting instructional guidelines consistent with both the report and current reading research, this booklet presents policy guidelines in the following areas: (1) literacy…

Six popular high school American history textbooks are examined to address accusations of overcompensation by textbook publishers as a result of the raised ethnic consciousness of the 1970s. The textbooks are: "Our American Heritage" (Silver Burdett); "The Pageant of American History" (Allyn and Bacon); "A History of Our American Republic"…

Textbooks used in grades 2 through 12 in a county school system in rural North Carolina were analyzed to determine the degree of cultural congruency between school curriculum and ethnic cultural setting in Appalachia. Thirty-five elementary school reading books, high school and elementary school social studies books, and high school literature…

In summer 1982, at the request of Alberta Education, an evaluation study was undertaken of all learning resources presently listed in their publications "Alberta Social Studies Learning Resources for Elementary Schools" and "Alberta Social Studies Learning Resources for Secondary Schools, 1980/81," including recommended and…

A project was conducted to evaluate the industrial sewing instructional materials used in South Carolina secondary home economics programs to determine the extent to which they enabled students to achieve the cognitive performance skills and tasks incorporated in the curriculum. Procedures used in the evaluation were the following: (1) the first…

This study indicates that intent to achieve statewide uniformity of curriculum, to ensure selection of high-quality textbooks, and to control textbook costs is firmly grounded in data sources. Adoption processes of "state adoption" states are not monolithic, and insight into adoption processes may be gained from "open" states.…

The nature and quality of chapter-end tests accompanying social studies and science textbooks used in elementary school and middle school grades were studied through reviews by 3 judges of 91 tests. Identified shortcomings lead to the recommendation that these tests not be used intact in classroom assessment. (SLD)

To aid secondary science instructors and supervisors in selecting texts that provide adequate coverage of population dynamics and impacts, 44 editions of life science, biology, advanced placement biology, and environmental science textbooks were surveyed. The matrices given in this document are designed to provide objective information on each…

This document is the report of a commission appointed by the Governor of New Jersey to examine the status of Eastern European studies in the state's public schools. The commission surveyed the state's secondary schools and found that the Eastern European region outside of Russia was given very little attention. As its main focus, the commission…

United States history as a linchpin in the school curriculum and as a potentially exciting, sometimes electrifying, subject was the conviction underlying this analysis of U.S. history textbooks. This assessment investigates the capacity of leading U.S. social studies and history textbooks to inspire the imagination of students through effective…

A study investigated the content of commonly-used English-as-a-Second-Language textbooks used in Japanese nursing education and compared this information with the expressed language needs of nursing students. Seven English textbooks analyzed, all aimed at nursing students, presented instrumental language based on a situational approach to English…

Native Americans know that they have a complex social, political, and economic heritage, and they have been concerned that social studies textbooks describe the history, traditions, and values of Indian tribes much too simplistically and generally. To address the need for Indian heritage to be presented without bias, use of stereotypes, or…

Common myths of the Reconstruction Era perpetuated by textbooks are examined and positive information to counter these myths is provided. The presentation of Reconstruction in 12 secondary level U.S. history textbooks, published between 1979 and 1982, is analyzed. The myths that are examined include the following: blacks were helpless and confused…

Recent research investigating the effects of sexism in elementary school textbooks on readers is reviewed to determine children's responses in terms of reading preferences, sex-role attitudes and behaviors, and comprehension abilities. The degree of sexism in textbooks was determined by the proportion of female main characters, the presentation of…

The evaluation of Utah State University's distance education course in French as a second language consists of two separate reports, one of the instructional materials used and the other based on a later site visit. Evaluation of instructional materials focuses on a commercially available textbook and related student workbook and audio tapes, an…