Fifty-seven students out of 111 in a majors-level organic chemistry class contributed to reviews of four selected chapters in six organic texts (Brown and Foote, Carey, Ege, Jones, Solomons and Fryhle, Wade). The results are summarized as average grades (GPAs) for layout, clarity, organization, and overall effectiveness for each of the four chapters from each text. The numerical ratings reveal differences among the texts, although not large, as well as differences among the chapters for a given author. Selected student comments are also presented, and the complete set of comments can be found on the Internet.

The student evaluations were remarkably thoughtful and made a significant contribution to what might ordinarily be considered solely a faculty task. Students approach a text from a perspective very different from that of a typical instructor. The following practical features stood out as being especially important for the students in coming to grips with the sometimes overwhelming amount of material in a typical organic chemistry course: adequate solved in-chapter problems, effective presentation of mechanisms, tables and summaries that facilitate learning and review, supportive layout and graphics, and various "helping hand" features that alert students to common misconceptions or offer problem-solving hints.