Results of the Nation’s Report Card on United States History were released on June 14, 2011, demonstrating that many American students do not know their own history. According to the National Center For Educational Statistics, less than half of all 12th grade students performed “at or above” the basic level. Testing reflected the scores of approximately 30,000 4th, 8th, and 12th graders, with high school seniors demonstrating the most dismal results. Overall, some gains were noted in the lower grades but not significantly since 1996. Part of the blame rests with less class time devoted to the study of U.S. history as compared to Math, Science, and writing skills.
Sample Questions Impacting the Lack of Basic Knowledge
The first sample question on the 12th grade test refers to U.S. assistance to Great Britain against Nazi Germany in 1940. The question presents a poster for analysis with four potential answers. In the poster, a large boot with a swastika emblem is about to crush the Statue of Liberty. The choices are China, Japan, Germany, and Italy. The phrase at the top of the poster reads, “Help Britain Defend America.”
In 1940, Britain’s greatest enemy was Nazi Germany. The phrase and the swastika emblem are clues. Yet only 79% of students demonstrated a level of “proficient” on the overall test. Sample questions included an analysis of Frederick Jackson Turner’s “Frontier Thesis,” the Korean War, and the colonial era Triangular Trade.
Possible Reasons for Poor Student Performance in U.S. History
Besides insufficient class time devoted to the study of U.S. history, other factors may influence poor performance. Many U.S. history classes never cover contemporary events, seldom reaching the mid-20th Century. In North Carolina, for example, U.S. history, taught in the 11th grade, omits the colonial and Revolutionary War periods entirely.
Poor high school testing performances also impacts students bound for college. Most institutions require one or more units of history as part of core studies. This is typically a survey course in either U.S. history or Western Civilization. Some colleges are substituting Global Studies, the latest incarnation in what once was World history or World Cultures. The single greatest problem impacting college freshmen taking a history survey class is the lack of high school preparedness in the subject.
Another possible reason for poor testing performance may reflect class room pedagogy. University education programs graduate new teachers that amassed numerous credits in how to teach effectively, but who took relatively few courses in history itself. The lack of history knowledge among professional high school teachers severely impairs the learning process, and this is something students can easily detect the first week of school.
Factors Impacting Poor 12th Grade Test Results
According to the Nation’s Report Card, 72% of high school seniors taking the U.S. history test studied American history in their junior year. Thus, the one year lapse may have played a role in lower overall scores. Other than history electives, many high schools do not require any program of history studies in the 12th grade. According to the charts provided by the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress), however, the variance in average scores based on grade levels was not significantly different.
Reaction to the Report on History Education in America
John Hechinger, writing in Bloomberg (June 14, 2011), comments that, “U.S. students may know more about Lady Gaga than Abraham Lincoln.” In May 2010, teen idol Justin Bieber, during an interview, didn’t know the word “German.” The Huffington Post asked, “…couldn’t he squeeze in a few minutes to learn what “German” means?” (May 6, 2010)
On May 17, 2011, the National Coalition for History sent emails to supporters urging them to contact members of Congress when it was reported that, “Legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would eliminate the Teaching American History grants program at the U.S. Department of Education.” This proposed legislation is H.R. 1891.
Critics with strong history backgrounds reacted to the report card with calls for a greater emphasis on “basic” knowledge and chronological studies. Although the purposes of historical study have varied throughout the decades, the overriding conclusion is that history provides a guide for the present and the future and defines a national purpose and resolve. This was made apparent in early June 2011 with Sarah Palin’s revisionist rendering of Paul Revere’s midnight ride.
The National Report Card on U.S. history studies should force state education departments to reform curricula, ensuring that all students graduate with a basic knowledge of history, geography, and civics (NAEP Civics Education Report published May 4, 2011). All three disciplines impact the role of good and responsible citizenship.
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