geoff: Eighth grade U.S. History
and civics test scores dropped
last year to their lowest levels
ever recorded by the department
of education.
These are just the latest
declines among subjects tested
since the pandemic.
John yang has a look at what's
behind the numbers.
John: Geoff, we've talked before
about the drop in math and
reading test scores during the
pandemic.
But this is our first look at
eighth grade test scores in
U.S. History and civics during
that period.
About 40% of eighth graders
scored below basic in the
subject.
And a third of them scored below
basic in civics.
Patrick Kelly teaches advanced
placement U.S. Government in
blythewood, South Carolina,
outside Columbia.
He sits on the governing board
of the national assessment of
education progress, which
administers these tests.
Mr. Kelly, you had an op-ed
piece in "Usa today" the day
these scores came out.
You said you were not surprised
by the results at all.
Why is that?
>> Yeah.
I mean, it's one of those things
where it's still disconcerting
and disappointing to see the
scores.
But as the social studies
teacher, I've been doing this
for 18 years and what I've seen
over the course of my career is
what I would call
marginalization of social
studies instruction in the
United States, where it's been
pushed to the side to devote
increased time and resources to
subjects like math and reading,
which of course are critically
important, but when you
marginalize a subject area like
social studies, you can't be
surprised when you see results
like what we see this week on
this exam.
John: And what's been driving
that shift?
>> I think there's a lot of
things that we can point to. I
mean, one of them is very
clearly around state
accountability systems and
education.
We tend to value what we measure
and both under no child left
behind and the every student
succeeds act, states in order to
receive title I have to
administer assessments in
reading and math in grades three
through eight, as well as once
in high school.
But there's never been a
requirement for social studies.
And especially in the last
decade, I've seen states,
including my own state, walk
away from prioritizing that.
That shows that instructional
time and access to high-quality
curriculum matters when it comes
to achievement.
Students need to have dedicated
time every school year to have
access to high quality social
studies instructions, not every
two or three years like often
happens with U.S. History and
civics instructions.
They need consistency.
And we need to really focus on
recruiting our best and
brightest in teaching to best
serve our students, but
especially in social studies.
We need to have an urgent call
to arms to get really talented
individuals who are passionate
about their suspect -- subject
to convey that passion to their
students.
John: Given the drop in reading
skills, a reading test scores,
do you think that there's a link
there? Because obviously in
history and civics you're
reading it's critical thought
you're reading a material and
absorbing it.
>> Absolutely, especially on
this nape assessment, because to
score nape proficient, a student
really has to show command of
content, but also command of
skills, analysis of primary
sources and being able to
evaluate different perspectives.
And those are things that are
connected to literacy skills.
I think it also gives us a
unique opportunity when we think
about enhancing social studies,
curriculum to marry instruction
of literacy and social studies.
My students in ap U.S.
Government read what I consider
to be some of the greatest works
of American literature.
It is not fiction, it is a
letter from a Birmingham jail.
It's the opinion in brown versus
board of education.
These are seminal literary
achievements in American
society, and if we infuse those
into literary or reading
instructional environments, we
can help students find relevance
in their reading instruction
while getting social studies
learning during their literacy
block.
John: There's been a lot of
emphasis in recent years on the
stem subjects, science,
technology, engineering, math
.
In terms of preparing students
for the workforce, high-paying
jobs and industry that is going
to lift the United States,
what's the argument for why they
should know history and civics?
>> When we're talking about
history and civics, we're
talking about our collective
trajectory as a society.
On every syllabus I have ever
handed out to my ap U.S.
Government students I lead it
, with the James Madison quote
that a people who mean to be
their own governors must arm
themselves with the power that
knowledge brings. We live in the
longest running Republican
form of government in world
history.
But that's something that has to
be sustained from generation to
generation.
And if each subsequent
generation has not armed
themselves with the power that
knowledge brings a collective
, knowledge of our shared
history and a collective
knowledge of our institutions
and political processes and how
to engage in respectful civic
discourse, then we won't be able
to sustain into the future the
gift that prior generations gave
us of a democratic framework to
govern our society.
John: You talked about a
collective knowledge of the
history of the United States,
but history and social studies
have become very politicized in
recent years and recent days.
Do you worry that some states
will restrict what can be taught
in the classroom?
>> Well, I think that what the
survey data from the nape exam
shows us is this is not the
moment to be restricting history
instruction we need to be going
.
The opposite direction.
I think we need to realize that
struggling with the hard parts
of our history can also help us
struggle with the hard moments
we face in society right now by
not giving students the
opportunity to wrestle with the
challenging aspects of our
history, we're not giving them a
chance to exercise the muscles
they need to take on the
challenges they will face as the
future leadership in our
country.
John: Patrick Kelly, a
government teacher at Blythe
wood high school in Blythe wood,
South Carolina. Thank you very
much.
>> Thank you so much for having
me.
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