Focuses on the development of materials to help textbook adoption committees evaluate the instructional quality of commercially developed basal reading programs. Describes the development of the Adoption Guidelines Booklets. (Author/NH)

Describes reading-textbook evaluation and selection processes and argues that improved basal readers are likely to be developed if textbook adoption procedures improve. States that basal reader evaluation criteria and procedures should be developed and applied by those professionals most directly responsible for the teaching of reading. (Author/NH)