- Are textbooks really a big business?
- How much does Texas spend for textbooks?
- Who are the principal beneficiaries of sales of textbooks?
- Who pays for public school textbooks?
- How long have textbooks been an important business?
Are textbooks really a big business?
Yes, although the publishing world is rapidly changing with new technological developments. Here are a couple of recent, national statistics:
- K-12 annual instructional materials market: $7 billion to $8 billion.
- Textbook sales for US K-12 education: $5.2 billion in 2009.
Textbook prices have increased markedly over recent years. The General Accounting Office reported that textbook prices rose 186% in the U.S. from 1986 to 2004.
History books are among the most expensive. A new copy of the 2008 edition of The American Pageant by David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey was offered on Amazon in May 2010 for a stunning $143.46. And a new student edition of McGraw-Hill’s American Journey was offered for $95.32. Other new copies were offered at $90 each. Even with discounts for schools, the average cost of textbooks for high schools is $75-$100 each.
How much does Texas spend for textbooks?
- In recent years, the state of Texas has expended about a half billion dollars per year for K-12 textbooks. For example, a textbook budget of $570 million in 2003.
- Texas appropriated $758 million in 2010 for textbooks and new reading instructional materials.
Who are the principal beneficiaries of sales of textbooks?
A small number of educational textbook publishers. According to the American Textbook Council, the once diverse world of numerous textbook publishers is now dominated by “four defensive, revenue-driven multinational corporations - Pearson, Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt and McGraw-Hill.” The reduced competition keeps book prices high.
Who pays for public school textbooks?
The taxpayers of the school district or state where the books are purchased.
How long have textbooks been an important business?
By the 1890s public school students outnumbered those in private academies, and textbook sales correspondingly grew then and in ensuing decades. Sales boomed from $7.4 million in 1897, to $17.3 million in 1913, to $131 million in 1947, and to $509 million in 1967 (Source: Twentieth Century Textbook Wars by Gerard Giordano [2003]).
