Before they would start to give up after first quarter. More of them reference their books regularly and they feel as though they can master the material. I supplement a little, but the book gets right to the 'meat' of the material. I still have the old book around if there comes a topic that we need a little more detail on. The grades are not any higher in class but the atmosphere has improved.
Perception is everything.
I really tried a few years back to switch, got the new texts and started the year with them. Campbell texts out of storage. I also tell them to review their Chemistry with the chapters on basic chemistry, water and organic chem. For the most part, it's a good indicator. I have been very happy with the text.