Author asks: Who is properly responsible for the direction of education, the makers of instructional materials or those who work with the materials in the classroom? (SP)

Article relates the findings of a 1971 National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) study of a series of textbooks, which found the situation unsatisfactory. Author requests that more study be done on the subject. (JB)

Presents information on textbook design and marketing practices, and their consequences for textbook content; recommends that selection committees firmly define the role of the textbook in curriculum, and adapt published materials to their school system's unique requirements. (MCG)

This paper addresses a decline in educational standards and discusses the role of curriculum. After defining the problem, it presents the evidence, pointing to the following factors: (1) decreasing student achievement after the fourth or fifth grade; (2) a curriculum that reflects and perpetuates this decline, e.g., by setting course requirements…