http://www.ciera.org/library/reports/index.html

James V. Hoffman
Misty Sailors
Elizabeth U. Patterson
The University of Texas--Austin

Over the past decade, basal textbooks have become a virtual lightning rod in the “reading wars” (Pikulski, 1997; Strickland, 1995): Should beginning reading instruction be literature-based or skill-based? Should the language in texts be highly literary or highly decodable? Both sides in the debate have resorted to using state textbook adoption policies as an effective leverage point for change (Hoffman, in press). Educators and politicians in Texas and California in particular have played significant roles in pushing early reading instruction from one extreme position to another through shifts in textbook adoption requirements (Farr, Tulley, and Powell, 1987). The textbook policy actions taken in the states of Texas and California are more than just isolated cases and more than a reflection of the national trends. These actions are shaping a national curriculum for reading. Basal publishers target their product development toward these states, and the programs that are marketed successfully in Texas and California are the ones that are most likely to thrive, with minimal changes, in the highly competitive national marketplace.