Next Generation Science Standards The Future Of PreK-12 Instructional Materials Adoptions In U.S. Education

Next Generation Science Standards sparks school interest in new science resources--hands-on and interactive

Stamford, CT /PRNewswire/ - Acceptance of Next Generation Science Standards in the states has spurred interest among school districts in adopting new science instructional resources, according to new education research from Simba Information.

Those materials range from textbooks—yes, even print textbooks—to e-books to more complex digital programs with multiple moving parts.

"Strong interest in hands-on instruction and experimentation, particularly in the elementary grades, drove development of programs with a variety of materials and no traditional textbooks," said Kathy Mickey, senior analyst and managing editor of the Education Group at Simba Information. "For instance, Pearson's new Interactive Science program for K-5 features digital materials, readers, kits, activity books and a CD of science songs. School Specialty's FOSS Science has always been—and continues to be—a kit-based, hands-on program."

Where traditional textbooks are fading in elementary schools, digital programs come with work-texts—commentary in consumable print formats—and those have been popular. Traditional print more often remains in demand in high school subjects like biology and chemistry, according to the research compiled in 2016 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2017 Outlook, the new education market research report from Simba Information.

Research for the report also shows developing trends in how schools are buying and using instructional materials. No more one textbook per student. Schools are buying components—not necessarily entire programs—from different publishers and mixing then up, and they are sharing extensive classroom sets among several classrooms.

Simba's annual instructional materials adoption scorecards for more than a decade have provided exclusive research on statewide sales in particular subjects. For the 2016 analysis, Simba focused on science adoptions held in four states and the first year of the California English language arts adoption.

In addition to individual state sales data by publisher, the 2016 National Instructional Materials Adoption Scorecard and 2017 Outlook details information the PreK-12 education landscape in which instructional materials adoptions take place, provides a grounding in the instructional materials adoption process, and previews the landscape of and trends in textbook adoptions in 2017 through 2020.

Additional information on the report can be found at www.simbainformation.com or by calling 888-29-SIMBA.

About Simba Information
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