Quality assessment of mathematics textbooks: Identifying and addressing content mistakes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29408/jel.v12i3.34738Keywords:
content error analysis, instructional material evaluation, mathematics education, textbook quality assessmentAbstract
This study examined the quality of government-issued mathematics textbooks by systematically identifying and analyzing content mistakes that may affect mathematical understanding and instructional effectiveness. Using a qualitative descriptive design with a document analysis approach, 16 secondary school mathematics textbooks were analyzed across five error categories: conceptual, procedural, representational, didactic, and technical errors. The findings revealed that all analyzed textbooks contained errors, with technical errors being the most frequent, while conceptual, procedural, and representational errors posed the greatest instructional risk. To extend existing textbook evaluation approaches, this study integrates error-type classification with an instructional severity analysis, distinguishing between major and minor errors based on their potential impact on learning. The results highlight that textbook quality issues are not limited to editorial inaccuracies but also include substantive mathematical and pedagogical weaknesses. This study contributes a severity-informed framework that can support more targeted textbook revisions, quality assurance, and instructional decision-making in mathematics education.
References
Andriatna, R., & Kurniawati, I. (2024). Content of school mathematics textbook: A praxeological analysis on indefinite integral. Jurnal Pendidikan Matematika (Kudus), 7(1), 113-132. https://doi.org/10.21043/JPMK.V7I1.25746
Ashlock, R. B. (2010). Error patterns in computation: Using error patterns to help each student learn. 274. https://books.google.com/books/about/Error_Patterns_in_Computation.html?hl=id&id=ndOiOwAACAAJ
Atanga, N. A. (2021). Assessing the quality of mathematics in cameroon primary school textbooks and its implications to learning. International Journal on Integrated Education, 4(3), 215–222. https://doi.org/10.17605/IJIE.V4I3.1370
Barbieri, C. A., Booth, J. L., & Chawla, K. (2023). Let’s be rational: Worked examples supplemented textbooks improve conceptual and fraction knowledge. Educational Psychology, 43(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2022.2144142
Brousseau, G. (2002). Theory of didactical situations in mathematics. Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-47211-2
Brunner, E., & Star, J. R. (2024). The quality of mathematics teaching from a mathematics educational perspective: what do we actually know and which questions are still open? ZDM – Mathematics Education, 56(5), 775–787. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-024-01600-Z
Cahyono, B., & Adilah, N. (2016). Analisis soal dalam buku siswa matematika kurikulum 2013 kelas VIII semester i berdasarkan dimensi kognitif dari TIMSS [Analysis of mathematics problems in the grade VIII student textbook for the 2013 curriculum, semester I, based on the TIMSS cognitive dimensions]. JRPM (Jurnal Review Pembelajaran Matematika), 1(1), 86–98. https://doi.org/10.15642/JRPM.2016.1.1.86-98
Dorner, C., Ableitinger, C., & Krammer, G. (2026). Revealing the nature of mathematical procedural knowledge by analysing students’ deficiencies and errors. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 57(3), 413–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2024.2445666
Duval, R. (2006). A cognitive analysis of problems of comprehension in a learning of mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 61(1–2), 103–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10649-006-0400-Z/METRICS
Efriyanti, A., B, N. A. Y., Susanta, A., & Irsal, N. A. (2022). Analisis soal materi segiempat dan segitiga SMP kelas VII kurikulum 2013 berdasarkan taksonomi Bloom revisi [Analysis of quadrilateral and triangle problems for grade VII junior high school in the 2013 curriculum based on the revised Bloom’s taxonomy]. Jurnal Penelitian Pembelajaran Matematika Sekolah (JP2MS), 6(1), 136–147. https://doi.org/10.33369/JP2MS.6.1.136-147
Fagbola, B. O., & Onasanya, B. O. (2020). The perception of teachers on the quality of primary school mathematics textbooks in Oyo State, Nigeria. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control, 208, 183–192. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18593-0_15
Fan, L. (2013). Textbook research as scientific research: Towards a common ground on issues and methods of research on mathematics textbooks. ZDM - International Journal on Mathematics Education, 45(5), 765–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-013-0530-6
Fan, L., Cheng, J., Xie, S., Luo, J., Wang, Y., & Sun, Y. (2021). Are textbooks facilitators or barriers for teachers’ teaching and instructional change? An investigation of secondary mathematics teachers in Shanghai, China. ZDM - Mathematics Education, 53(6), 1313–1330. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-021-01306-6
Fan, L., Qi, C., Seah, W. T., & Liu, Q. (2025). Research on mathematics textbooks in relation to curriculum development and instructional reform: recent advances and future directions. ZDM – Mathematics Education, 57(5), 845–857. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-025-01736-6
Fan, L., Zhu, Y., & Miao, Z. (2013). Textbook research in mathematics education: Development status and directions. ZDM - International Journal on Mathematics Education, 45(5), 633–646. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-013-0539-X
Fardian, D., Suryadi, D., & Prabawanto, S. (2025). A praxeological analysis of linear equations in Indonesian mathematics textbooks: Focusing on systemic and epistemic aspect. Journal on Mathematics Education, 16(1), 225–254. https://doi.org/10.22342/JME.V16I1.PP225-254
Harel, G. (2017). The learning and teaching of linear algebra: Observations and generalizations. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 46, 69–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JMATHB.2017.02.007
Juhaevah, F., Upu, H., Bernard, & Talib, A. (2025). Trends and recommendation practices in didactical design for mathematics learning: A systematic literature review. Journal of Scientific Research, Education, and Technology (JSRET), 4(4), 2505–2532. https://doi.org/10.58526/JSRET.V4I4.954
Katakara, D. K., Banzi, W., & Kamuhanda, D. (2024). Correlation between the level of ICT use and student teachers’ perception of lecturers’ instructional strategies in teaching and learning mathematics. The International Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Learning, 31(2), 71–87. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-7971/CGP/V31I02/71-87
Lenz, K., Reinhold, F., & Wittmann, G. (2024). Transitions between conceptual and procedural knowledge profiles. Patterns in understanding fractions and indicators for individual differences. Learning and Individual Differences, 116, 102548. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LINDIF.2024.102548
Mayer, R. E. (2014). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning, Second Edition, 43–71. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139547369.005
Midgett, C. W., & Eddins, S. K. (2001). NCTM’s principles and standards for school mathematics: Implications for administrators. NASSP Bulletin, 85(623), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/019263650108562305
Movshovitz-Hadar, N., Zaslavsky, O., & Inbar, S. (1987). An empirical classification model for errors in high school mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 18(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.5951/JRESEMATHEDUC.18.1.0003
Newman, A. (1977). An analysis of sixth-grade pupil’s error on written mathematical tasks. Victorian Institute for Educational Research Bulletin, 39, 31–43. https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1573105976160816128
Ngunjiri, M. (2022). The role of assessment in mathematics classrooms: A review. International Journal of Advanced Research, 5(1), 156–160. https://doi.org/10.37284/IJAR.5.1.887
Norberg, M. (2023). Young students’ meaning-making when working with mathematics textbooks – A multimodal study focusing on the designed and the discovered. Research in Mathematics Education, 25(2), 194–218. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794802.2022.2045624
Pimm, D. (1990). Problems of representation in the teaching and learning of mathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 21(1), 91–99. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00311018
Pranyoto, E. B., & Sujadi, A. A. (2015). Analisis kesalahan buku pelajaran matematika SMP kelas VII kurikulum 2013 terbitan Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia 2013 [Error analysis of the grade VII junior high school mathematics textbook for the 2013 curriculum published by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia in 2013]. Union: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Matematika, 3(2), 207-216. https://doi.org/10.30738/.V3I2.314
Pratama, G. S., & Retnawati, H. (2018). Urgency of higher order thinking skills (HOTS) content analysis in mathematics textbook. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1097(1), 012147. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1097/1/012147
Radatz, H. (1979). Error analysis in mathematics education. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 10(3), 163. https://doi.org/10.2307/748804
Rezat, S. (2024). Research on curriculum resources in mathematics education: a survey of the field. ZDM – Mathematics Education, 56(2), 223–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-024-01559-X
Sandelowski, M. (2000). Focus on research methods whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health, 23. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240X(200008)23:4
Sievert, H., van den Ham, A. K., & Heinze, A. (2021). The role of textbook quality in first graders’ ability to solve quantitative comparisons: a multilevel analysis. ZDM – Mathematics Education, 53(6), 1417–1431. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11858-021-01266-X
Singh, P., Yusoff, N. H. M., & Hoon, T. S. (2020). Content analysis of primary school mathematics textbooks and its relationship with pupils achievement. Asian Journal of University Education (AJUE), 16(2). https://doi.org/10.24191/ajue.v16i2.10286
Sugiarni, R., Herman, T., Suryadi, D., Prabawanto, S., & Abdullah, K. H. (2024). A bibliometric review of mathematics textbooks research. Journal of Scientometric Research, 13(2), 396–405. https://doi.org/10.5530/JSCIRES.13.2.31
Tarr, J. E., Reys, B. J., Barker, D. D., & Billstein, R. (2006). Selecting high-quality mathematics textbooks. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 12(1), 50–54. https://doi.org/10.5951/MTMS.12.1.0050
Tularam, G. A., & Hassan, O. M. (2025). Persistent misconceptions in algebra: A critical analysis of errors with implications for teaching and further research. Journal of Social Sciences, 21(1), 38–50. https://doi.org/10.3844/JSSP.2025.38.50
Vangsøe Færch, J. (2025). Fractions and their representations: a textbook analysis using Duval’s four registers. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 69(7), 1537–1553. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2024.2434820
Vygotsky, L. S. (2019). Mind in society. Mind in Society: Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/J.CTVJF9VZ4
Wijaya, T. T., Cao, Y., Xiao, X., Rahmadi, I. F., & Gong, Y. (2025). Perspectives of secondary school teachers on the strengths and limitations of digital mathematics textbooks: An exploratory research in China. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 270-. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04541-4
Wijayanti, D., Lutfi, A., Wijaya, T. T., & Bah, O. (2025). Mapping research on Indonesia’s government mathematics textbooks: current insights and potential directions. Cogent Education, 12(1), 14-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2560052
Yacob, K., & Landani, Z. M. (2020). Textbook evaluation from students’ perspective: Mathematics for matriculation-algebra. Academic Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 4(2), 1–9. https://journal.uitm.edu.my/ojs/index.php/AJoBSS/article/view/5397
Zeynivandnezhad, F., Saralar-Aras, I., & Halai, A. (2024). A refined framework for qualitative content analysis of mathematics textbooks. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 20(3), em2412. https://doi.org/10.29333/EJMSTE/14284
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 M. Zainul Arifin, Kamaliyah Kamaliyah, Rahman Nul Hakim, Martin Suhendra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with the Jurnal Elemen agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
Jurnal Elemen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
