Science Textbooks Full of Errors

R A L E I G H, N.C., Jan. 15 -- Twelve of the most popular science textbooks used at middle schools across the nation are riddled with errors, according to a two-year study led by a North Carolina State University researcher.

The errors range from maps depicting the equator passing throughthe southern United States to a photo of singer Linda Ronstadtlabeled as a silicon crystal.

None of the 12 textbooks has an acceptable level of accuracy,according to N.C. State physics professor John Hubisz, the report'sauthor.

"These are terrible books, and they're probably a strongcomponent of why we do so poorly in science," on standardizedtests, he said.

"The books have a very large number of errors, many irrelevantphotographs, complicated illustrations, experiments that could notpossibly work, and drawings that represented impossiblesituations."

The study was financed with a $64,000 grant from the Lucille andDavid Packard Foundation.

Liberty’s Torch in Wrong Hand

Among the books included in the study was a multi-volumePrentice Hall series called "Science," which has been used byseveral North Carolina school systems.

Errors in some editions of that series, according to Hubisz,include an incorrect depiction of what happens to light when itpasses through a prism, a reversed photo of the Statue of Libertyshowing the torch in the wrong hand, and the Ronstadt photo.

Prentice Hall acknowledges some errors, partly because statesalter standards at the last minute and publishers have to rush tomake changes.

"We may have to change a photograph because of a new contentobjection, and the caption isn't changed with the photograph,"said Wendy Spiegel, a spokeswoman for Prentice Hall's parentcompany, Pearson Education. "But we believe we have the bestpractices to ensure accuracy."

Last year, the company launched a thorough audit of itstextbooks for accuracy and posted a Web site with corrections, shesaid.

Five Hundred Pages of Errors