FAQs About Textbooks and Textbook Adoption
- How do errors occur?
- Textbooks are supposed to be written by experts. How do factual errors occur?
- How are errors corrected?
- Why aren't errors corrected?
- Why aren't corrections made more quickly?
- Who writes textbooks anyway?
- Who determines the content of textbooks?
How do errors occur?
Users generally report three kinds of errors. First are spelling, grammatical,
typographical, or other such errors. These errors have minimal, if any,
impact on student learning.
Next are factual errors. Regrettably, mistakes happen, but they are relatively
rare in modern textbooks. Every single fact must be supported by multiple
external references before it can be included in textbook copy. In some
instances, what appear to be factual errors are, in fact, typographical
errors. For example, the numbers in a date are transposed or the answer
to a problem is entered incorrectly.
Lastly, there are differences in interpretation of facts, a major source
of reported "errors." In fact, these are not errors but differences of
opinion. They can be as simple as a disagreement over which U.S. President
was elected by the widest margin. Was it Richard Nixon or was it Franklin
D. Roosevelt? Nixon had the largest popular vote margin in 1972; FDR won
the largest percentage of electoral votes in 1936. Such differences of
opinion happen because reasonable people sometimes disagree on how to interpret
the facts.
To prevent errors from slipping into textbooks, publishers utilize multiple
stages of fact checking and editing by authors, experienced editors, academics,
and independent reviewers.
Dozens of people review a manuscript and all the data that accompany it-such
as maps, charts and graphs, equations and formulas-during the development
of a textbook. When publishers discover an error, they correct it as soon
as feasible.
Textbooks are supposed to be written by experts.
Textbook publishers do rely on authors and other experts, but no system
designed and implemented by human beings is perfect. It is important to
understand that textbook publishing is an extremely complex process. Each
page passes through numerous hands, including authors, writers, fact-checkers,
editors, reviewers, designers, page makeup specialists, digital file managers,
and more. These professionals proof each page numerous times, but occasional
errors slip through in spite of all these checks.
Let's put this matter in perspective. A ninth-grade history textbook might
contain 900 pages of instructional content with an average of 20 facts
per page. If that book were found, for example, to have 25 mistakes, including
typographical and factual errors, it would still be 99.9% correct. Is that
perfect? No. Are publishers striving for perfection? Yes.
That's why we have created the Accuracy e-line. It will enable our customers
to help us continually improve the quality of our products.
How are errors corrected?
The goal of the development team-which includes editors, proofreaders,
independent reviewers, and others-is to identify and correct content problems
early in the development process. The aim is to have first printings that
are as clean as possible, even though they are not intended for classroom
use.
The quality-control process continues after the first printing. Independent
proofreaders and content experts read the books for accuracy, including
checking all references and illustrations, and make suggestions for changes.
State textbook committees, teachers, and teams of reviewers may also have
suggestions for alterations or corrections. Errors identified during this
phase are corrected, and books are then printed for classroom use.
As teachers and students begin using the textbooks, an occasional error
may still be found. If so, publishers incorporate the necessary changes
into subsequent printings.
Why aren't errors corrected?
Errors are corrected. The process is ongoing and begins as soon as a mistake
is discovered, but it does take time.
Why aren't corrections made more quickly?
Publishers correct the error as soon as feasible. It is important to understand
that printing a textbook is not like printing a magazine or a novel. Numerous
factors must be considered, such as school calendars, textbook adoption
cycles, and the fact that only a handful of printers in the entire United
States have the type of presses needed to produce textbooks. Time on these
presses must be reserved months in advance.
There are all kinds of new technologies out there, like "Spell Check" and "Grammar
Check" and web-based search engines that let you verify facts. Why don't
publishers use these?
The educational publishing industry continually invests in state-of-the-art technologies,
but there's only so much a computer can do. The writing and editing that go into
creating a textbook call for precise human judgment, and no automated system
can replace that.
For example, consider the sentence "The earth is flat." Every program for checking
grammar and spelling would find this sentence completely accurate. It requires
a person to see that such a statement is just plain wrong.
Who writes textbooks anyway?
Textbook writing is a team effort that is guided by state curriculum requirements
for every subject. Within this framework, authors, scholars, and writers conceive
the idea for a book, frame a scholarly approach, and write the manuscript. Publishers
direct a team of editors, content experts, and reviewers who evaluate the manuscript
for accuracy of content, appropriateness of writing style for grade level, adherence
to state curriculum guidelines, and effectiveness of the pedagogy.
Who determines the content of textbooks?
Publishers use state and local curriculum standards to determine the broad content of a textbook. Textbook publishing is a highly competitive industry, though, and publishers follow dramatically different approaches in the learning materials they publish. Most publishers conduct exhaustive research, including learner verification and focus group studies, to define the content that should be in a textbook. Publishers also rely on the expertise and extensive classroom experience of their authors, development staff, and reviewers to craft content that is accessible to students. Effective content, includes the important concepts that all students need to learn, addresses variable learning styles, and incorporates teaching and learning techniques that help ensure student mastery. Each publisher determines the approach it believes will be most effective in the classroom and most competitive in the marketplace.