Presented are critical reviews of 18 biology textbooks submitted for consideration by the Texas State Board of Education during 1984. These reviews are provided in three categories: (1) general biology textbooks: "Biology and Human Progress"--Prentice Hall; "Scott, Foresman Life Science"--Scott, Foresman; "Living Things"--Holt, Rinehart, and Winston; "Biology: An Everyday Experience"--Charles E. Merrill; "Biology For Living"--Silver Burdett; and "Biology: The Key Ideas"--Prentice-Hall; (2) academic biology textbooks: "Biological Science: An Ecological Approach"--Houghton, Mifflin; "MacMillan Biology"--MacMillan; "Addison-Wesley Biology"--Addison-Wesley; "Scott, Foresman Biology"--Scott, Foresman; "Heath Biology"--D.C. Heath; "Biology Living Systems"--Charles E. Merrill; "Modern Biology"--Holt, Rinehart, and Winston; "Prentice-Hall Biology"--Prentice-Hall; and "Experiences in Biology"--Laidlaw Brothers; and (3) advanced biology textbooks "Biological Science: Interactions of Experiments and Ideas"--Prentice-Hall; "Biology," 2nd Edition--Saunders; and "Biology," 5th Edition--Addison-Wesley. Each review includes general comments and references to specific page(s) in the textbook. Also included are 10 criteria to evaluate the treatment of science, a brief description of the methods and limits of science, analysis of creationist arguments and their scientific refutation, and testimony (by Bassett Maguire and Steven Schafersman) presented to the Texas textbook committee. (JN)