CA Assembly Votes to Limit Textbook Size to 200 Pages

Yesterday the CA State Assembly passed a bill that would outlaw textbooks in California schools that are over 200 pages. Before becoming law it must receive Senate approval and then be signed by the governator.

AB 756 would force publishers to condense key ideas, basic problems and basic knowledge into 200 pages, then to provide a rich appendix with Web sites where students can go for more information.

My question: Why couldn't you keep the textbooks the same size and still include the "rich appendix" with websites, etc? Two hundred pages seems a mite bit thin.

On one level, I sort of think this is a good idea. I'd like to see schools use more e-texts and improve on the dated large textbook model with laptop computers and e-books. In fact, I think that one of the best applications for e-books would be for K-12 textbooks or for large college-style readers made up of collected essays.

With that said, a 200-page limit seems a little, well, arbitrary. Also, it doesn't seem to be the most straightforward way of reaching the end goal of greater integration of the internet and e-books.

UPDATE
See Ed's post, which indicates that this bill could be applicable to novels, short story anthologies, and other works of literature.

Comments

[tito]

While the pros/cons of this approach to text design can be debated, I'd like to know why it is within the realm of politicians to decide what is best?
How about we leve this to a department of education, school boards and teachers --- oh yeah, the guvernator doesn't buy into the mamby pamby ways of such "special interests".

[ed]

The definitions in the law are a LOT worse than presented in the Bee article. See my most recent post.

[Dave Munger]

200 pages? How big are the pages? What size type? Heck, I can fit the complete works of Shakespeare on *one* page, if the piece of paper's big enough.

[miranda elizabeth]

I seem to be alone in being a pro-reading, pro-education person who thinks this is a good idea. Two reasons: in most high school and even college classes that I've been in, the whole book isn't covered; the teachers use it as an outline, fill in their own notes, and cover what they think they should test on. Also, the textbooks are prohibitively heavy... back problems I had in high school were directly related to my course load. The more "serious" classes often had more than one text, usually of at least 800 pages, library-bound hardcovers. I took each course once a day, five days a week. Say I took home materials for at least four courses on any given night? For comparison, go to a bookstore and pick up four thick photography books from the art section. Or four comprehensive hardcover cookbooks. Now keep 'em in a bag on your shoulder or back for a half-hour, walking around.

It's not light.

I always thought that it would be better if all junior high and high school textbooks were published in 2 volumes, for exactly this reason: one of these books isn't too unreasonable to cart around, but almost nobody ever has to carry ONLY ONE. Why carry around all that information if you only need a bit of it at a time?

[karapcik]

Gimping books to 200 pages? This is complete and utter bullshit. How homogenized will school texts become under this plan? Isn't the point of education to promote extrapolation rather than rote learning? Learn for life, not for tests...at least that is what I thought.

Also nice to point all these other options(Ebooks, net, etc.) but just remember that not everyone out there has access. Issued books should be complete enough that anyone can get their work done with just the books provided (research papers aside).

Short education now and we will all be in trouble in 10-15 years.

[Ashton]

I think this law is an excellent idea. Textbook size does not equal quality of material contained within. As an example just look at the size of a textbook in most other industrialized countries. They are usually half the size of ours if not smaller and yet most of their students score higher on standardized testing than US students. Why is that? I wish more states would have the guts to stand up to textbook publishers and pass laws like this.