I am a proponent of a total education….especially in history and civics for without a knowledge of these essentials then an educated citizenry will be pliable to the ideas and programs of authoritarianism…..as we see today in our beloved country.
I bring all this up because of something I read the other day about our children and their knowledge…..
For instance…..you know the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware on his way to the successful attack in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War…..a recent study found that many students struggle to identify the standing man in the small boat….(hint: It was George Washington)
Far too many American students are failing to learn the basics about their country’s history and how their government operates, according to the assessment known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” The average history score among eighth-graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) dropped five points between 2018 and 2022 to 258, the lowest on record, NPR reports. In 1994, the first year of assessment, the average score was 259. Civics scores also dropped for the first time in the assessment’s history. According to the findings, only 14% percent of American eighth-graders are proficient in US history and 22% are proficient in civics.
Far too many American students are failing to learn the basics about their country’s history and how their government operates, according to the assessment known as the “Nation’s Report Card.” The average history score among eighth-graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) dropped five points between 2018 and 2022 to 258, the lowest on record, NPR reports. In 1994, the first year of assessment, the average score was 259. Civics scores also dropped for the first time in the assessment’s history. According to the findings, only 14% percent of American eighth-graders are proficient in US history and 22% are proficient in civics.
NAEP carries out the assessment on a nationally representative group of students from more than 400 public and private schools every four years. Results released last year showed steep drops in reading and math scores. Peggy G. Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, called the history and civics results a “national concern,” the Washington Post reports. Too many students, she said, are struggling to “understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government works and the historical significance of events.”
The NAEP found that around 68% of eighth-graders are taking classes focused on US history, down from 72% in 2018, AP reports. Around half were taking classes focused on civics or government. In a statement, US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the report “further affirms the profound impact the pandemic had on student learning in subjects beyond math and reading,” though the Post notes that the decline in history scores began in 2014. Cardona added: “Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction.”
This says it all and the best example of how destructive moronic programs that limit education have become.
Students are no longer teach what it means to be American…..a good education is a unifying characteristic which teaches students that we are all in this together…..nit the crap they are forced to teach these days.
It’s the same here, chuq. One of my twin sy stepdaughters asked me if I had served in WW1.
They learned so little about history, they thought the Holocaust was in the nineteenth century. I despair! (Thy are both 34 years old!)
Best wishes, Pete.
The information you have provided is accurate. I will grant you that! The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a nationally representative assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. The NAEP 2022 U.S. History Assessment found that the average score for eighth-graders was 258, which is below the proficient level of 300. This is the lowest average score ever recorded for eighth-graders on the U.S. History Assessment. The NAEP also found that only 14% of eighth-graders are proficient in U.S. history.
There are a number of factors that may be contributing to the decline in U.S. history scores. One factor is that fewer students are taking classes focused on U.S. history. In 2022, only 68% of eighth-graders were taking classes focused on U.S. history, down from 72% in 2018. Another factor is that the pandemic has had a significant impact on student learning. The NAEP found that students who were learning remotely during the pandemic had lower scores on the U.S. History Assessment than students who were learning in person.
The decline in U.S. history scores is a cause for concern. A strong understanding of U.S. history is essential for civic engagement and for making informed decisions about the future of our country. The NAEP findings suggest that we need to do more to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn about U.S. history.
What I want to know is “What earthly good will it do for students to know History because if they ever get into a position to serve as an elected official, they will do what all politicians do… they will feather their nests and protect their jobs and forget about whey they got elected in the first place.
If we are going to have better scores on History tests then we need to stop making “History” elective and make it mandatory.
I agree it should be mandatory as well as civics…..it should be taught at all levels….I think it would help people learn what made this country great and how the destruction is coming from ignorance. chuq
“Students are no longer teach what it means to be American…..”
I’m not sure that they are no longer being taught this but rather, does anyone even know what being an American is these days? I sure the hell know that the guy driving by in his pickup truck tailing the oversized American flag from his back bed… has a far different idea than me hauling the trash to the street for pickup.
In Saner Thought 
It’s the same here, chuq. One of my twin sy stepdaughters asked me if I had served in WW1.
They learned so little about history, they thought the Holocaust was in the nineteenth century. I despair! (Thy are both 34 years old!)
Best wishes, Pete.
It is so sad to see the generations coming up know so little of history and civics….so sad chuq
The information you have provided is accurate. I will grant you that! The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a nationally representative assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas. The NAEP 2022 U.S. History Assessment found that the average score for eighth-graders was 258, which is below the proficient level of 300. This is the lowest average score ever recorded for eighth-graders on the U.S. History Assessment. The NAEP also found that only 14% of eighth-graders are proficient in U.S. history.
There are a number of factors that may be contributing to the decline in U.S. history scores. One factor is that fewer students are taking classes focused on U.S. history. In 2022, only 68% of eighth-graders were taking classes focused on U.S. history, down from 72% in 2018. Another factor is that the pandemic has had a significant impact on student learning. The NAEP found that students who were learning remotely during the pandemic had lower scores on the U.S. History Assessment than students who were learning in person.
The decline in U.S. history scores is a cause for concern. A strong understanding of U.S. history is essential for civic engagement and for making informed decisions about the future of our country. The NAEP findings suggest that we need to do more to ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn about U.S. history.
What I want to know is “What earthly good will it do for students to know History because if they ever get into a position to serve as an elected official, they will do what all politicians do… they will feather their nests and protect their jobs and forget about whey they got elected in the first place.
If we are going to have better scores on History tests then we need to stop making “History” elective and make it mandatory.
I agree it should be mandatory as well as civics…..it should be taught at all levels….I think it would help people learn what made this country great and how the destruction is coming from ignorance. chuq
“Students are no longer teach what it means to be American…..”
I’m not sure that they are no longer being taught this but rather, does anyone even know what being an American is these days? I sure the hell know that the guy driving by in his pickup truck tailing the oversized American flag from his back bed… has a far different idea than me hauling the trash to the street for pickup.
And there is the problem….without knowledge we have tribes that think theirs is the ‘true’ America…..chuq
You may be talking about the trash driving the pickup with an American Flag in his back bed ….
The answer to your question is, “It is American to be everything the radical right is not.
Hehe.. wasn’t the analogy I was intending there.. but I get what you mean, John.
Thanks Doug, I really like hearing from you.