Kate Alexander’s piece in last week’s Austin American Statesman carefully examines how the marketplace for instructional materials in Texas has changed in recent years. Alexander explains that implementation of the Common Core State Standards in 14,000 districts nationwide means that even large states, such as Texas and California, with more than 1,000 districts each, now hold less sway in the instructional materials market. She also discusses the effects of Texas legislation passed in 2011 that gives local districts greater control over the materials they purchase. A Texas public school administrator quoted in the article explained that the legislation created opportunities because it allows districts to select instructional materials that have not been through the state review process, but it also created some substantial challenges as districts now must “wade through the torrent of new options.” Alexander references Learning List as a service that will help publishers and Texas educators “navigate the new market.”