Assessments of Textbook Usage and the Relationship to Student Course Performance

The authors conducted two studies regarding student textbook preferences; the first developed an original measurement tool (the Collegiate Student Assessment of Textbooks CSAT), including an examination of the relationship between student textbook preferences with learning- and grade-oriented attitudes. The second study was a large-scale national study administering the CSAT and the Textbook Assessment and Usage Scale (TAUS; Gurung and Martin 2011 Gurung, R. A. R. and Martin, R. 2011. Predicting textbook reading: The Textbook Assessment and Usage Scale. Teaching of Psychology, 38: 22–28. Google Scholar) to introductory psychology students; a portion of the study includes actual student course performance data. CSAT and TAUS subscale comparisons indicate (a) converging validity, (b) significant relationships to percentage of textbook read, and (c) relationships between GPA and expected course grades. An indirect link appears between the effect of pedagogical aids, percentage of textbook read, and actual course outcomes. The authors discuss a possible moderating variable and the potential benefits from continued study of textbook pedagogical aids and student performance.