Educational Research Analysts
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2005 7th grade Health textbook ratings
Texas has approved three major publishers' 7th Grade Health books for 2005 local adoption. They rank as follows:

Better

 Health & Wellness  ( Macmillan, 2006 )
  • Slightly more stress on use of refusal skills to resist sexual activity
  • Heavy emphasis on parental values in teen decision making
  • Limited current data on pollution and conservation
  • Minimal discussion of self-esteem
  • Heterosexual definitions of marriage and family
  • Usually respects the personhood of the preborn child
  • Only 1 invasive student exercise

Fair

 Teen Health, Course 2  ( Glencoe, 2005 )
  • Somewhat less emphasis on use of refusal skills to resist sexual activity
  • Weaker reinforcement of parental values in teen decision making
  • Treatment of pollution and conservation needs upgrading, updating
  • Self-esteem component involves ethical conduct but not real-world competition
  • Never mentions marriage; "couple family" definition includes same-sex pairings
  • Usually denies the personhood of preborn babies
  • 7 invasive student exercises

Poor

 Decisions for Health, Level Red  ( Holt, 2005 )
  • Least emphasis on use of refusal skills to resist sexual activity
  • Fails to prioritize parental values in teen decision making
  • Almost nothing on pollution and conservation
  • Extensive self-esteem coverage cites character, omits competitiveness
  • Heterosexual definitions of marriage, family; briefly normalizes homosexuality
  • Almost always depersonalizes preborn children
  • Most intrusive: 12 invasive student exercises

We can e-mail or snail mail full documentation for this ranking. Our seven one-page, side-by-side comparison charts briefly contrast these books' treatment of the above seven topics. Click here to request these charts. Publishers tout their texts' teaching aids. We stress their subject matter content. Publishers tell you their strengths. We include their weaknesses.

This evaluation covers student texts and Teacher's Editions only. It does not assess their ancillaries, which were not part of the official submissions and which Texas never approved. Local school districts and individual teachers will have to monitor the ancillaries for age-inappropriate material and lapses in editorial judgment.

No publisher funded these reviews. We have no financial stake in any textbook company. Unlike publisher sales reps, we have no monetary interest in textbook adoption decisions. Our support comes from concerned individuals and a few small foundations, which to our knowledge have no ties to the textbook industry.