A sample of 12 recent and older sixth grade social studies textbooks was examined to determine their level of explicitness, one of the criteria used to determine the "friendliness" or comprehensibility of a text. Researchers randomly selected three samples--usually chapters--from each of the 12 textbooks. The Explication Inventory…

An instrument to assist in assessing textbooks was created to provide a concise format for comparison and evaluation. Textbook characteristics were selected to illustrate content and proportion of characteristics of textbooks. Nine textbook characteristics were selected for quantifying the content areas of textbooks: (1) number of pages in the…

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…

This project developed a checklist for examining college texts for adoption in situations in which several instructors use the same text to teach a large introductory, multi-sectioned college course. Fifteen students from Brenau College (Georgia) and 33 faculty members from several Georgia colleges were interviewed. Four computer software dealers…

Ten frequently used eighth grade U.S. history textbooks were examined to determine the extent to which they reflected the pluralistic nature of the United States, promoted the concept of global interdependence, and were educationally sound. This volume includes checklists completed by 16 individual reviewers. For each completed checklist, specific…