Assessing Textbooks

1. Text Difficulty

1.1. "Goldilocks Test"

1.1.1. "too hard"

1.1.2. "too easy"

1.1.3. "just right"

2. Readability Formulas

2.1. Assumption 1: Sentence length; longer sentences=difficult to read; shorter sentences=easier to read

2.2. Assumption 2: unfamiliar words make text harder to read

2.3. Long words are more likely to be unfamiliar (Fry)-->Fry readability formula is one of the most popular

3. Consumer Judgments

3.1. Preview text while planning

3.2. Observe students interacting with the text

3.3. View student reaction to reading assignments

3.4. FRAMEWORK for adopting a text? Figure 4.11: Content and Utility

3.4.1. Content: Does the content complement the curriculum?

3.4.2. Utility: How good are the activities at the end of the chapters?