Undoubtedly, foreign language teaching intends to make students obtain the required competence so as to get the linguistic knowledge needed in a foreign language. With this respect, a textbook should supply to the users as much as possible, be satisfactory to fit into the syllabus, and meet all the needs and expectations of the students during the…

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)

Offers a worksheet for evaluating the readability of content area textbooks. (RL)

Horizontal readability, the analysis of essentially similar passages through classification of words and phrases according to their cognitive similarity, is discussed in relation to its usefulness in differentiating among materials designed for the same reading level. Three studies of horizontal readability in which passages were rated for high…

Provides a check list of evaluation criteria to supplement the SMOG readability formula in choosing new content area textbooks. (Author/KS)

Looks at factors in the textbook publishing industry, especially costs and censorship, which affect the quality of available reading series. Notes the problem of readability and content bias. Finally, presents a checklist of basal reader evaluation criteria. (SJL)

Three main factors in textbook selection for distance education--readability, appropriateness, and availability--are examined in detail, and suggestions for adapting standardized texts to the needs of individual groups are provided. Twelve specific criteria are listed for determining the appropriateness of a text and textual factors influencing…

Describes the development and the components of an instrument designed to assess the contents of educational materials. (JM)

This textbook evaluation instrument is provided to assess (1) content properties; (2) instructional properties; (3) physical properties; (4) readability; and (5) other properties such as cultural mix, organization of text, and suitability for various grade levels in secondary level world geography and global studies textbooks. For the first three…

Two readability formulas were applied to two math and two reading series textbooks at the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade levels to see whether the publishers' suggested reading levels were accurate. Five samples were taken from each text and compared to the publishers' suggested usage according to grade level. Results showed that although formulas…

To assist textbook adoption committees in answering the questions that arise as they consider basal reading series, this paper provides a discussion of readability. Following a brief introduction, the second section of the paper offers a background discussion of what readability really means. In addition, this section looks at three factors to…

To provide learners with the most reliable information, individuals and committees responsible for text selection examine texts for classroom use in steps. Since very few people have the specialized knowledge of all the technical fields like drafting, electronics, or graphics that make up the field of Industrial Arts, a committee is required to…

This guide, one in a series of works dealing with adult literacy education, is designed to help adult reading program staff to select adult literacy materials. Examined in the first section of the guide are the commercially prepared basal and supplemental reading materials that are available for use in the Jefferson County Adult Reading Program…