This 271-page book examines standards-based curricula and their implementation in the middle school science grades. A large portion of the book is devoted to curriculum program summaries, including overview, focus, format, rigor, equity, developmental appropriateness, teacher resources, and suggestions from teachers who have taught the curriculum.

The purpose of this resource is to outline a process that will help educators recognize high quality middle-grades science curriculum. The resource presents a set of principles to guide curriculum decisions and inform the selection of instructional resources. The principles are illustrated with vignettes about teachers and administrators who have been through the process.

The target audience is "reform-minded teachers, school principals, and district administrators" (p. 4). "Though it is geared toward [curriculum] selection at the district level, the process described can also serve as a model (with some modifications) for smaller-scale selections - for schools, for example, or even for individual teachers" (p. 65).

Guiding Curriculum Decisions is divided into five sections (an Introduction and four chapters) that take the reader from thinking about new science curriculum, to searching for curricula that match their needs, to implementation. The Introduction discusses current trends and problems in middle-grades science education, provides a framework for discussing curriculum quality, and explains the organization of the remainder of the guide. The framework of the manual's selection criteria centers around three areas: academic rigor, equity, and developmental appropriateness.

Chapter 1 uses the components described in the Introduction to construct four critical questions for evaluating curricula. To illustrate the use of these questions, this section includes several vignettes of teachers' experiences with different types of curricula.

The second chapter uses the conceptual framework developed in the Introduction and first chapter to suggest a practical step-by-step process for evaluating, testing, and eventually selecting a curriculum.

To show the end result of such a process, Chapter 3 provides detailed profiles of eleven science curricula, all of which are considered to "reflect the philosophy and approaches advocated by the [National Science Education] Standards and Benchmarks [for Science Literacy]" (p. 87). Each of the eleven examples discusses in detail how it exhibits the components of the curricula framework (academic rigor, equity, and developmental appropriateness) and provides a sample lesson. Information on associated teacher resources and support, such as print materials and professional development, is also supplied.

The final chapter is a list of curriculum materials and additional resources which districts may wish to consider as part of their standards-based reform. The authors caution that these materials have not been reviewed in depth, but enough information is given to allow readers to decide if they wish to seek them out.

This resource is an excellent introduction to the curriculum adoption process. Professional development providers could use it in a pre-service or in-service session on reviewing curriculum resources and developing rigorous review criteria. It could be used to help a curriculum committee organize its work and establish criteria for evaluating potential resources. This guide may also be used with administrators and school board members that may not be aware of the time, resources, and professional development needed to make a thoughtful curriculum choice.

The authors note that the complete process of curriculum review suggested in this resource would require many committee meetings, extensive piloting of curriculum of potential classroom materials, and a lot of time. It is far more complex than the customary review of traditional textbooks and should be started at least one year before curriculum decisions are required.

Users may be tempted to skip the beginning of this resource and look directly at the sample curricula in the back. The authors warn against this, for if districts hastily adopt a science curriculum and find that it does not well suit their needs, then precious time, money, and resources will be lost.