Gives a list of guidelines for reading specialists to use in evaluating content area textbooks. (MKM)

Advocates using the cloze procedure and varying the criteria of success, according to the group, in order to determine the readability of instructional materials. (MKM)

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)

Examines obvious and covert efforts of censorship on young adult novels and the publishers' reluctance to provide more realism. Concludes by urging teachers to counteract those forces through diligent consumer education. (HOD)

Argues that educators faced with community concerns over the selection of instructional materials should devise an instrument to measure the attitudes of school board members (who represent the community) and teachers concerning the choice of reading materials dealing with controversial subjects. Includes a copy of such a survey instrument. (FL)

Presents a checklist developed by the International Reading Association's Committee for Basic Education and Reading, which is designed to help teachers select materials to meet the special needs and interests of adult basic education learners and to make objective judgments based on a clear evaluation process. (MKM)

Presents criteria to help teachers choose textbooks for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) composition students, based on how well each text teaches users to write argumentative essays (a form foreign to many ESL students). Evaluates 14 textbooks using these criteria. (SR)

Provides information that can help educators meet challenges to instructional materials, looks at who the challengers are, discusses the nature of censorship, and suggests ways to handle challenges. (NKA)

Discusses a study designed to explore teachers' attitudes toward text selection, focusing on text characteristics and reasons for a particular selection. (AEA)

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

Shows how a number of readability measures developed in English were applied to a textbook written in Hindi. Emphasizes that the more recent approaches to readability that focus on syntax, conceptual difficulty, and organization are a teacher's best help in selecting materials for students. (SR)

Presents ERIC documents that examine what goes into the textbook selection process, the outside influences on book selection, and some criteria that are used in the selection of books. (MKM)