This excerpt from the series that won the 1977 IRA Print Media Award discusses the attempts of textbook publishers to meet the current market trends and to sell in states which have an approved statewide list. (MKM)

Reports findings of a study that analyzed approximately 2,000 selections from basal readers to determine the nature of their content. Concludes that only 57.7% of the selections had subject matter content, none had functional ("knowing how") content, and none had ethos ("knowing to") content. (FL)

Reports that first grade children in Zaire who used a carefully controlled native language primer (developed to meet a need for up-to-date, relevant primers in Zairean languages) achieved higher reading scores than children who used an old (1952) primer. (GT)