Mathematics textbooks and state curriculum standards : an analysis of the alignment between the written and intended curricula

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 24, 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.This study documented the alignment between state curriculum standards and the treatment of fraction concepts and computation in popular elementary and middle grades mathematics textbooks. Grade-level Learning Expectations (GLEs) from the five most populous states that use a system of statewide textbook adoption and the five most populous states that are "open territory" comprised the state sample, while two popular elementary (K-6) textbook series and two popular middle grades (6-8) textbook series represented the textbook sample. Results revealed varying degrees of alignment across the ten state GLEs and four textbook series. At the elementary level, alignment was stronger between the GLEs from the "big three" textbook adoption states (CA, TX, FL) and textbook instructional segments than between the other seven state's GLEs and the textbooks. At the middle grades, the opposite effect was true. The proportion of GLEs from textbook adoption states aligned to the elementary series is significantly greater than the proportion of GLEs from non-adoption states, while a non-significant relationship in favor of the nonadoption states was found for the middle grade series.Includes bibliographical reference