Elementary Algebra

Reviewed by Jennifer Pursley, Faculty Development Specialist, Pittsburg State University on 5/5/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The texts includes most content covered in an Elementary Algebra course. Each section includes: learning objectives, a readiness quiz, examples, try it now problems, and section exercises. The chapter introduction pages includes real world examples of the chapter’s content. As a student I would find the Key Concepts page of the Chapter Review to be very helpful. The text also includes an answer key and an index.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not see any inaccurate content in the pages I reviewed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is current. Most of the real world examples and exercises in the text are generally stated and will not require frequent updating.

Clarity rating: 5

Mathematical terms are defined in the text and language is used consistently. The index and the key terms at the end of each chapter are also helpful to quickly locate mathematical definitions.

Consistency rating: 5

The layout of the text is consistent. Each chapter includes an introduction, 5-9 sections of content, a chapter review of key terms and concepts, review exercises, and a practice test. Content within each section is consistently organized with: learning objectives, readiness quiz questions, definitions, examples, try it now exercises, media resources, and section exercises.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapters are broken down into sections which is helpful when chunking the content for in-person or online delivery.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The order of the content within the chapters and sections is appropriate. Table of contents has an expected nesting of topics which clearly displays how the content with the textbook is organized.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to navigate using the table of contents. All text (including math type) that I reviewed in this textbook was searchable and selectable and all links appear to be descriptive of their destination and functioned as expected. As a student, I would enjoy seeing more interactives in the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any grammatical error in the content I reviewed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Of the content I reviewed, the materials did not include any offensive language or images. Additionally, several of the word problems include ethnic names.

Comments

Quality textbook. Definitely would consider adopting this text.

Reviewed by Shari Holder, Professor, Community College of Aurora on 7/27/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I reviewed what was said to be "a newer version". The book covers the topics one would want in Community College Elementary Algebra course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I could not find any errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up to date. A few word problems will likely need to be updated to keep up with current prices, trends, etc.

Clarity rating: 4

Definitions are clear, and lots of examples are provided. Some of the vocabulary may be unfamiliar to my English Language Learning students.

Consistency rating: 5

The layout is consistent with each chapter organized in similar fashion.

Modularity rating: 5

The up-front learning objectives and consistency in design make it possible to pull out components for, say, a co-requisite course to a college level course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Topics flow logically.

Interface rating: 5

There aren't any significant issues, but it may be helpful to block off each new section with some color or a picture, so that it breaks things up a bit and gives the viewer a visual rest.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is well-written and free of grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

While I did not see anything insensitive or offensive, my goal is to help students see themselves in the curriculum and/or to see themselves doing mathematics. There are a variety of ethnic names used in the word problems in this text, but I think there could be more. I would like to see pictures of people of color doing mathematics, or working in fields in which mathematics is used. I also noticed a married couple were assumed to be husband and wife.

Comments

I like this book very much - well written and thoughtfully organized. I like the suggestions on mindset in the Math Models section, and that more than one method of factoring trinomials was presented. I also appreciate the plethora of examples and practice problems.

Reviewed by Joseph Polidoro, Adjunct Professor, Berkshire Community College on 6/25/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Appears to completely cover the subject of elementary algebra.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

That which I reviewed was error-free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

I do not believe this text would become obsolete in a short period of time.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is understandable and clear.

Consistency rating: 5

Text appears to be consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

Could easily be reorganized.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are presented logically.

Interface rating: 4

I did not discover any data, text or charts/diagrams that would distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I did not come across any grammatical errors. However, a grammar/spell-check program could be used if so desired.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not find this text to be culturally insensitive.

Comments

Section 1.10 could be optional or in an Appendix.
Chap 3 Solving word problems can be difficult for students. Could be presented later in the text.
Chap 4 graphs - students can sometimes get bogged down with graphs. May not want to cover all sections.
Good idea to have an entire chap on roots/radicals. Many texts just include as part of another chapter.
Many good examples are given right in the body of the text, which is a good thing for the student.

Reviewed by Donna Kalinowsky, adjunct mathematics instructor, Berkshire Community College on 6/4/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book covers all conventional topics in elementary (algebra 1) algebra

Content Accuracy rating: 5

No errors noted

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book is not topical - it should not need to be rewritten any time soon

Clarity rating: 5

Clear explanations and definitions with examples

Consistency rating: 5

The book overall is consistent

Modularity rating: 4

Modularity is difficult for a math book. Certain sections assume familiarity with earlier concepts. A list of prerequisite skills for each section would be helpful

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Order of presentation of topics is logical. It flows

Interface rating: 3

This is my biggest area of concern. This book is somewhat intimidating because of the way it is blocked out. Each chapter should start with a "cover page" that clearly marks the beginning of a new topic, maybe with much larger than usual type face. It's difficult to get a gist of the book and find topics quickly unless you use the table of contents. This gives the impression of a indigestible whole rather than easily digested chunks

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors noted

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book sometimes uses ethnic names in word problems to be more inclusive

Comments

Index is rudimentary.
Lots of space between steps of a problem, which is good - jam-packed text is avoided.
All steps of a problem are shown for complete understanding
Lots of practice problems
Color should be used more often and more effectively throughout to emphasize important points and make the book more inviting - see Lippmann's "Arithmetic for College Students" for excellent example of how color can be used effectively to engage student interest
Key concepts should be highlighted with boxes and boldface type
Each page should include the section title and number, not the chapter title and number at the top of the page for easy reference

Reviewed by Rebecca Scheckler, Assistant Professor/Educational technologist, Radford University on 1/23/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text contains glossaries a the ends of chapters. It would be nice to have a comprehensive glossary at the end of the book. The index has hyperlinks back to the parts of the book that discuss the topic. It would be nice to have hyperlinks from where the term is first used to the glossary. Not all terms are defined when they are used.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

All content seems to be accurate

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Seems to be relevant and possible to be expanded as needed although elementary algebra is not likely to change.

Clarity rating: 5

Lots of exercises (with answers at the back or in context) give the text clarity

Consistency rating: 5

Each chapter seems to be organized identically to other chapters. One exception was the self-check that I did not see at the end of all chapter

Modularity rating: 4

All the chapters are divided into sections and all the subsections have learning objectives. I wish the learning objectives were hyper- links into the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

It looks like the authors put lots of thought into making this textbook flow appropriately

Interface rating: 4

Although the interface is fairly nice there could be more helpful hyperlinks as mentioned previously. I like the hyperlinks in the index. I like that all the exercise and sample tests have answers at the back of the book. Some hyperlinks in the text were not active, I like that every concept was followed by exercises that used that concept. I wish term were hyperlinked to the glossaries and I wish there was a comprehensive glossary. so much can be done in a binary text. Much was accomplished by hyperlinks in this text but more could be accomplished

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I saw no errors in grammar or spelling

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This is tricky. There are two places where culture is obvious, pictures at the beginning of chapters, and word problems. These could have more sensitive to culture. However, this is a very small part of the entire text.

Comments

Generally impressive. This could almost be used to self teach a motivated student.