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"I really like the bit about visual design that isn't distracting or chaotic," Findell said. "I've opened too many textbooks that are like walking into a video arcade. ... You want the graphics there to support the mathematical ideas, rather than just being, 'Wow, what a cool picture.' Skip to the next page."

Special Populations Findell said "one of the most important contributions" of the publishers' criteria was clearly stating that instructional materials should be consistent with the common core's call to provide all students the opportunity to learn and meet the same standards. As the document explains, "Thus, an overarching criterion for materials and tools is that they provide supports for special populations such as students with disabilities, English-language learners, and gifted students." Findell told me: "We have an unfortunate history in this country of identifying some students as not yet ready for grade-level instruction and then giving them something less—often much less. In other words, we notice students who are behind, and we slow them down. We usually do it out of compassion, but the consequences are devastating for students." So he said a "crucial message" about common-core implementation is that all students receive grade-level instruction, even if some students need additional support.