When a school system selects a textbook for their students to use in math, they have no idea if that particular book has a positive or negative record of success from previous classes. Most of the time schools are just guessing which book is the best one to use. There is no current database that shows which books are performing better than others in the classroom.
Choose wisely: some math books raise test scores more than others #dyscalculia
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Textbooks are not consistent and far too expensive.
Maybe we should have some way of knowing which books work, and which ones don’t. Independent research has shown that the textbook, “California Math,” consistently produced the best test scores of its students. This book is no longer sold. Teachers need a consistent way to gauge the effectiveness of a textbook before they make the decision to buy it.
Author Quote
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Also, education reformers, take note: Polikoff said the measurable impacts of adopting this textbook on student test scores were as significant as — if not more significant than — the impacts of other commonly-touted-but-controversial policy changes, such as using teacher evaluations in layoff decisions or expanding school choice.
"Key Takeaways:
1
The research into textbooks is lacking, and teachers rarely have the choice of what they teach.
2
When they finally tried to compile information, they realized some textbooks assisted scores while others did not.
3
The high cost of textbooks are often a block in getting the ‘best’ ones for your learners.
