Few Middle School Math Textbooks Will Help Students Learn, Says AAAS' Project
2061 Evaluation
January 22, 1999
Anaheim, Calif.—In a rigorous analysis of 12 middle school mathematics
textbooks, only four recently published series received high ratings, while
the other more well-established textbooks were rated as unsatisfactory, according
to Project 2061, the long-term math and science education reform initiative
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (see Attachment
A Adobe PDF - 49 KB 
or HTML).
"The good news is that there are excellent math textbooks now available
for middle school students. It is imperative that these books become the textbook
of choice in more classrooms if we are to reach our goal of developing students
who are math and science literate," stated Dr. George Nelson, director
of Project 2061.
The evaluation was conducted by independent analysis teams made up of classroom
teachers and college and university faculty who had extensive knowledge of
mathematics content and of research on teaching and learning. Using a procedure
developed by Project 2061, the analysts evaluated textbooks on how likely
they are to help students achieve six key learning goals from Project 2061's
landmark Benchmarks for Science Literacy. These benchmarks are
consistent with the widely accepted standards developed by the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics. The benchmarks deal with number and geometry concepts
and related skills, as well as algebra equation concepts, and algebra graph
concepts (see Attachment B Adobe PDF
or HTML).
A key feature of the Project 2061 evaluation is its analysis of how successfully
the textbooks supported teachers in their efforts to help students learn.
The analysis teams reviewed specific instructional strategies that textbooks
provide for each benchmark idea or skill. To evaluate the quality of these
strategies, the analysts applied a set of 24 research-based instructional
criteria (see Attachment B) to specific
lessons, activities, teacher notes, assessments and other evidence. (See Attachment
C
for examples from highly and poorly rated textbooks.)
"AAAS conducted this study because we know that textbooks are the critical
link to implementing the curriculum. Carrying on the mantle of leadership
that we assumed a decade ago in publishing Science for All Americans,
Project 2061 has made a major contribution to education reform efforts with
this standards-based textbook analysis," stated Dr. M.R.C. Greenwood,
Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and President of AAAS.
Good News:
- There are a few excellent middle-grades mathematics textbook series.
- The best series contains both in-depth mathematics content and excellent
instructional support.
- Most of the textbooks do a satisfactory job on number and geometry skills.
- A majority of textbooks do a reasonable job in the key instructional areas
of engaging students and helping them develop and use mathematical ideas.
Bad News:
- There are no popular commercial textbooks among the best rated.
- Most of the textbooks are inconsistent and often weak in their coverage
of conceptual benchmarks in mathematics.
- Most of the textbooks are weak in their instructional support for students
and teachers.
- Many textbooks provide little development in sophistication of mathematical
ideas from grades 6 to 8, corroborating similar findings of the Third
International Mathematics and Science Study.
- A majority of textbooks are particularly unsatisfactory in providing a
purpose for learning mathematics, taking account of student ideas, and
promoting student thinking.
"States and school districts are bombarded with information from textbook
publishers claiming their materials are aligned with benchmarks and standards.
The Project 2061 analysis gives busy educators the solid information they
need to make informed choices about which textbooks will help their students
improve their understanding of and skills in mathematics," stated Dr.
Gerald Kulm, who led Project 2061's evaluation. "It's important
to note that our analysis describes a textbook's potential for helping
students learn—to be used effectively, excellent materials require excellent
and well-trained teachers."
As benchmarks and standards for student learning become the focus of education
reform efforts in more states and school districts, textbooks play an increasingly
important role. The National Education Goals Panel, for example, has characterized
textbooks as "the nation's de facto curriculum," calling for "an
independent and credible 'consumer reports' review service" to inform
educators, policymakers, and the general public about "the degree to
which instructional materials are aligned with challenging academic standards…."
This evaluation answers that call.
A summary of the ratings of each of the 12 textbooks is found in Attachment
A (see Adobe PDF - 49 KB
or HTML)
Findings from the middle school math textbook evaluation were released at the
AAAS Annual Meeting in Anaheim, CA, on January 22. Drafts of the technical
reports on each of the textbooks are available from Project 2061. This analysis
is the first in a series of evaluations of mathematics and science textbooks
to be conducted by Project 2061. The benchmarks-based approach to evaluation
was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation. Funding for
the middle school math book evaluation was provided by the Carnegie Corporation
of New York.
Browse
the Evaluation of Middle Grades Mathematics Textbooks.
*
The listed attachments are in portable document format (PDF). If you do not
have the Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0 required for viewing the files, you can
download the reader free of charge from the Adobe web site.
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Contact
Information:
Mary
Koppal
(202) 326-6643
