Research based text materials will probably never dominate the textbook market. To begin with, translating theory and research into practice is a chancy business. There are also creative problems such as the inherent oversimplification involved in textbook writing. Every textbook writer who has been a classroom teacher will acknowledge that such oversimplification exists, especially in areas like brainstorming, discussion, and small group work, where classroom instruction should be fluid and productively digressive. In addition, there are commercial problems. For example, publishers have an understandable stake in producing "recognizable" materials, and big changes represent financial risks to them. Nevertheless some progress is being made--the clones of Warriner and the look-alike anthologies have probably reached their peak. One sign is the National Council of Teachers of English's modest entry into the area of supplementary materials for classroom use. The experimental Student Guide Series will begin in 1985 with two theory/research based books that integrate thinking skills and English language arts. Although publishers are more or less skittish about what they see as innovative approaches, some of them will invest in the development of materials that try to represent the best knowledge about the teaching of English. (HOD)