•    Textbook publishers have little or no financial motivation to ensure accuracy.  They take in billions of dollars of revenues which yield very high profit margins.

    •    The number of textbook publishers has shrunk over the past 50 years, resulting in less competition in the industry.

    •    The users of textbooks (millions of students and parents) are NOT the ones who select the textbooks.

    •    Textbook publishers generally do not employ the profession of "fact checkers".  Most major newspapers and magazines have several fact checkers on their staffs.

    •    Textbook publishers generally have writers and academic reviewers who are NOT penalized for producing erroneous textbooks.  Their contracts don't specify they are to review for accuracy.  Their names and institutions appear in textbooks as if they are endorsing the content and accuracy of the contents.

    •    Academic institutions which have teachers who are chapter writers or academic reviewers for textbooks do not have any policies regarding this pursuit, and especially with regard to accuracy.

    •    Virtually no textbook has a notice to ask readers to provide feedback about errors, contradictions, or gross omissions.

    •    Textbook publishers do not give warranties on accuracy.  Such warranties would have (1) a notice in the textbook for complaints of inaccuracies, (2) a public open review process for accuracy, and (3) the issuance of errata sheets for all identified errors to be inserted into all textbooks in circulation at the publisher's expense.

    •    The number of people who select textbooks for use is very small compared to the number of users.  The users have virtually no control over the selectors of textbooks, let alone the content of the textbooks.

    •    The selectors of textbooks for colleges are generally individual professors or departments.  They generally have no process for reviewing prospective textbooks for accuracy, and do not require warranties on accuracy.

    •    The selectors of textbooks for K-12 are generally state boards of education or individual school districts for government/public schools; school administrators for independent schools; and parents for home-schooled students.  None require warranties on accuracy.

    •    Although there may be legislative goals of accurate textbooks, state boards of education do not have fact checkers or other reviewers who are paid to identify inaccuracies or are penalized for missing inaccuracies.  State boards of education have no processes for (1) receiving complaints of inaccuracies, (2) conducting public open reviews of complaints, and (3) requiring textbooks publishers to correct inaccuracies for the millions of textbooks in circulation.

    •    Textbook publishers make large donations in political campaigns for state and local offices and conduct lobbying campaigns with public officials.   Proponents for accuracy in textbooks are not yet organized in the political arena.   As a result the public suffers from a one-sided battle.

    •    Some textbook publishers are no longer American-owned.  For instance, Saxon Publishers is now owned by Harcourt, which is owned by the Dutch-English firm Reed Elsiver.