Comparative analysis of Russian language textbooks for primary school using quantitative methods

Despite the intense scientific and practical interest in assessing the textual content quality of a school textbook, there is still no transparent algorithm and objective criteria for such evaluation. This article aims to outline objective linguistic criteria for textbook text assessment using quantitative methods on the example of one of the main components of a Russian language textbook, i. e. exercise texts. The analysis was performed on the material of 8 lines of modern Russian language textbooks for primary school and 1 line of the digital educational service Yandex Textbook . The research employed the methods of automatic natural language processing, statistics, and corpus analysis of texts. As a result, we propose an algorithm for analysing the text library of a Russian language textbook according to the criteria of structural and lexical complexity, genre, stylistic and thematic diversity, and the degree of correspondence between the text library and the current state of the Russian language. The obtained results form an idea of the textual content of a modern Russian language textbook for primary school. Moreover, they highlight the specific features of text selection for modern traditional and digital Russian language textbooks and resources. Finally, the research outcomes raise questions concerning the methodological optimality of certain authorial decisions when compiling the text library of a textbook. The results of the study will be useful to authors of school textbooks on the Russian language and specialists in educational and methodological work.