K12 EDUCATION

Peer-reviewed resources, free for every student

OpenStax offers free, high-quality textbooks and curriculum resources for high school and college courses. High schools use them across subjects and pathways to prepare students for college, careers, and post-graduation pursuits.

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WHAT'S INCLUDED

High-quality textbooks and the supports to teach them well

Every OpenStax subject starts with a textbook, written by college faculty and reviewed by subject-matter experts. Free instructor resources come aligned to the content, and the textbook is available in formats built to reach every student.

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Textbooks reviewed by faculty

Each title is written by college faculty and peer-reviewed for accuracy and classroom use. Titles are openly licensed, so you can adapt, condense, or re-sequence them to fit student needs and instructional pacing.

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Instructor resources for every title

Resources vary by title and can include instructional slides, standards-alignment guides, assessments, instructional strategy handbooks, and more. Free educator webinars and OpenStax titles in Google's NotebookLM give you more ways to prepare and teach.

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Accessible formats for all learners

Students read online for free, on any device, with no login required and no expiration date. Print editions are available at low cost. For schools with an LTI-compatible LMS, OpenStax Assignable offers digital practice and homework starting at only $15 per student per semester.

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Free digital library

Find your subject below

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ADD PRACTICE AND ASSESSMENTS

Turn reading into active learning

Assignable is a reading engagement tool that layers materials you won't find in the free book. Written by subject-matter experts, its reinforcement questions and supplemental content, like videos, researcher profiles, and interactive diagrams, give students more than one way to understand the same concept.

Try Assignable today

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FUTURE READY WITH OPENSTAX

Supporting students with the skills for now,
and the habits to keep learning

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The academic skills for advanced coursework

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High schools build readiness when students work from rigorous, college-level materials. OpenStax, a nonprofit initiative of Rice University, publishes textbooks authored by college faculty and peer-reviewed for college-level use, so the work students do in high school matches a first-year course. Educator accounts unlock the full library and instructor resources.

Create your free educator account

A path to a career

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Career and technical programs work best when the academics connect directly to the field students are training for. OpenStax covers the core subjects behind each National Career Cluster, so a student on a health science or business pathway learns from the same college-level material they'll see in a first-year course. Every title is free online, and a growing series of Career Explorer Guides shows students the real careers a subject like biology or statistics can lead to. Assignable adds affordable digital access, and low-cost print editions are available for every title.

Explore print options

A head start on college credit

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Taking higher-level, more challenging secondary courses can help students build effective habits and prepare them for the challenge (and reward) of higher education. Advanced Placement® and dual credit let students earn college credit before they graduate. OpenStax publishes materials aligned to AP frameworks and the same titles used in introductory college courses.

Explore college & career readiness

The habits to keep learning after graduation

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Readiness outlasts any single course. Working through college-level texts in high school builds the reading stamina and comprehension students carry into college and beyond. Assignable helps them stay with the material and build those habits.

Get started now

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BACKED BY MORE THAN CONTENT

Support that goes beyond the book

Research shows that challenging students with more advanced material helps them learn more, but only when teachers have the support to teach it well. OpenStax brings university-aligned content into high school classrooms and backs it with the instructional supports and implementation guidance teachers need to make it work.

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Webinar

OpenStax Explained: 10 questions from K12 educators

Watch the webinar https://openstax.org/webinars/explore/collections/K12 #ff8753

PARTNERS

Affordable courseware to enhance learning with OpenStax textbooks

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RESEARCH

How students learn best shapes every resource we build

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Want to learn more? Explore our blog and webinars.

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“I am an Economics teacher in a title 1 district. OpenStax has allowed me to use AP-level textbooks my school is unable to purchase. Quality curriculum for my students, for free.”

David Wasserstrom
Economics teacher, Ball High School

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Questions & answers

Frequently asked questions

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Are OpenStax textbooks designed for high school courses, or are they college textbooks?

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Both. Most OpenStax titles are peer-reviewed textbooks written for introductory-level college courses, and high schools use them across on-level, advanced, and college-credit classes. OpenStax also publishes materials designed specifically for high school, including implementation support resources and standards-alignment guides that map content to high school teaching frameworks, so teachers can see how each text fits with the standards they teach.

Is OpenStax really free, and how is that possible?

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Yes. Every OpenStax textbook is free to read online and free to download, with no account required and no expiration. As a nonprofit initiative of Rice University, OpenStax provides free resources and affordable tools as a public good, funded by philanthropy, government grants, and earned revenue from technology partners and optional low-cost products like print and Assignable.

What high school courses can OpenStax support?

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OpenStax covers most core high school subjects, including math, science, and social studies, as well as common electives in social sciences, computer science, and business. Because everything is free and openly licensed, teachers aren't locked into using a title as-is. You can teach straight from a single book, pull chapters from several into one course, or drop OpenStax content into what you already use, which means one free library can serve on-level, honors, AP, dual credit, and CTE classes alike.

Can OpenStax be used alongside a school's existing curriculum?

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Yes. Adopting OpenStax is not all-or-nothing. Some schools replace a primary textbook with an OpenStax title, while others use it to fill gaps in a program they already run, add a free option for students who can't afford the assigned book, or give teachers a second source to teach from. Because the materials are free, a school can start with one course or one teacher and expand only if it works.

What does it cost a school or district to adopt OpenStax across multiple courses?

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OpenStax's peer-reviewed textbook content is free online at any scale. A district can adopt OpenStax in one course or across every building with no fees for content, licenses, or individual students. From there, schools can add affordable options that build on that free foundation: low-cost print through our print partner, and OpenStax Assignable, which adds digital practice and assessment starting at $15 per student. The foundation stays free no matter how many courses or students you add, and the paid options are there when a school wants them.

Are OpenStax materials accessible for students with disabilities or IEPs?

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Yes. OpenStax textbooks meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards and comply with the Department of Justice's Title II rule requiring accessibility by April 2026. The approach is proactive and transparent: the online reading experience works with screen readers and text-to-speech, offers text resizing and clear navigation, and renders math and complex graphics in accessible formats, with ongoing work extending those improvements to PDFs, instructor resources, and Assignable. Accessible design helps everyone, from students using assistive technology to those on a phone or in a noisy room, and a VPAT is available for districts that need documentation for procurement. Learn more about OpenStax's approach to accessibility in this blog post.

How does a school get started with OpenStax?

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Start by browsing the library to find titles for your courses, all free to read online right away with no account needed. When you're ready to teach from a title, create a free educator account to unlock instructor resources like slide decks, assessment materials, and standards-alignment guides. There's no adoption process and no approval to wait on, so many teachers start with a single course and expand once they see it work.

Interested in district-wide adoption or implementation support? Connect with our K12 team to discuss your needs.

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Get started

Bring OpenStax resources to your class

Create a free educator account to unlock specialized handbooks, alignment guides, instructional slides, solution manuals, and get started with Assignable: everything you need to adopt OpenStax this term.

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