Some educational materials produced by industry are among the best available. (DS)

The author suggests that quality selection of textbooks at the local level is more likely to occur when: (1) administrators involve teachers, subject-matter specialists, and others in the selection process; (2) these individuals comprise a committee which makes a regular, continuing study of textbooks; (3) they consider using materials recently…

Article discussed the obstacles one must hurdle in order to produce an effective textbook. (RK)

Discusses the concepts involved in constructing a meaningful free energy plot for a chemical reaction and how these concepts are sometimes insufficiently represented in textbooks. (MLH)

A quality social studies text should be readable and well illustrated, offer a good conceptual and thematic framework, realistically present the element of conflict always found in social development, and be learner-centered. (MB)

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…

A treatment group of ninth-grade students were instructed in selected science concepts with drawing-plus-text materials; the control group used text only. Results showed that the treatment group scored significantly higher on post-tests on the selected science concepts. (MLH)

The purposes of this study were to determine the social studies series adoption policies of midwestern school districts and to identify the most popular and successful series in use. Data were provided by elementary principals in 186 randomly selected school districts. Available from: Department of Social Science Education, University of Georgia,…

This document is a position statement of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics on instructional materials, including textbooks. First the point is made that the content, organization, and style of instructional materials are among the most important factors influencing outcomes of school mathematics programs. Then five standards are…

Publishers of textbooks are subject to pressure from public opinion and regional bias as well as criticism from teachers and boards of education. (JD)

Discusses procedures for selecting textbooks. Provided are guidelines for reviewing textbooks, analyzing content, and analyzing strategies. (SL)

Article relates the findings of a 1971 National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) study of a series of textbooks, which found the situation unsatisfactory. Author requests that more study be done on the subject. (JB)

The aim of this article is to map out the priority directions and shape the program for the development of the textbook. The tasks of adjusting the aims of education, renovating the priority directions in the selection of the content of areas of education and school subjects, and improving the tools and means, methods, and organizational forms of…

Designed to help local boards of education eliminate biased instructional materials, these guidelines contain (1) a suggested contractual provision which specifies instructional material reflecting the multi-ethnic nature of society, (2) a rationale for the contractual provision, (3) three examples of how textbooks can be analyzed, (4) the…