SO WHATS NEW IN THE NEW BASALS - A FOCUS ON 1ST-GRADE

The authors examine the first-grade materials in five new basal progra ms submitted for the 1993 Texas state adoption.1 These series are comp ared with program materials currently in use in the state (copyright 1 986/1987). The analysis focuses on features of the pupil texts (e.g., total number of words, number of unique words, readability levels, lit erary quality) and features of the teachers' editions (e.g., program d esign, organization, tone). Results of the analysis indicate substanti al changes in the more recent series. The findings are interpreted in terms of historical trends as well as recent developments in the liter ature-based and whole-language movements. Implications for future rese arch are identified that relate to the study of the implementation and effects of these new programs.