Should History be Included in NCLB?
In March 2007, a statement composed by a consortium of professional organizations, including the Teaching Division of the American Historical Association (AHA) and the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) urged Congress to add history (along with civics/government, economics, and geography) to subjects already covered under “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB). What follows is a shortened version of this group’s statement (focusing on sections with special bearing on the history curriculum; other parts of the statement bear more broadly on social studies) along with five responses from teachers, historians, and educators. We asked our respondents to focus on whether the assessment and monitoring that accompanies NCLB would have a beneficial or negative impact on the history curriculum and student learning. (See the full Consortium statement at http://www.socialstudies.org/advocacy/working_group_nclb_statement).
Working Group of Social Studies Discipline Organizations (abridged statement)
How do we measure the success of the US education system? Many would answer with "data," i.e., evidence that indicates that our students are prepared for their roles as citizens, as members of a 21st century workforce, and as participants in our democracy. In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, setting laudatory goals that included attaining proficiency in math and reading by 2014, narrowing the achievement gap, and having well-prepared, highly qualified teachers in every classroom. In doing so, an unintentional consequence of implementation arose, one that involved the marginalization of the core social studies disciplines— civics/ government, economics, geography, and history. While NCLB identifies each of these as "core" for the highly qualified provisions of the law, they are not included in the basic program requirements, an anomaly that is resulting in an increased "civic achievement gap."
Evidence of the civic achievement gap is rampant ...These indicators of civic engagement need to be addressed to the same extent as the indicators of the academic achievement gap.
The key attributes of good citizenship include knowledge of the core social studies disciplines, as well as skills, attitudes, and behaviors. Recognizing the role of US citizens in world affairs and the realities of a global economy, our students must be prepared for a culturally diverse environment that requires the capacity for economic and political cooperation. ….However, the narrowing of the curriculum unintentionally fostered by NCLB has resulted in fewer resources, fewer contact hours with students, and fewer opportunities for professional development in civics/government, economics, geography, and history….
Data also indicate a deficiency in students' knowledge of history. This lack of knowledge of the basic content of history and of historical thinking skills results in a loss of the nation’s memory of past ideas, events, and important personalities, and their collective impact on the development of the United States. The study of history enables students to “understand how the present world we inhabit is the result of choices people have made and convictions they have held.”
Our members urge Congress to reverse the marginalization of the social studies—and narrow the civic achievement gap—by including provisions for standards, assessment, and professional development in the reauthorization of NCLB. The future of our democracy depends on it.
Responses:
Teaching History Well is the Answer by Carol Berkin, Historian
Historians should be offering assistance to teachers, going into classrooms and talking to students. ... We should listen to teachers and provide them with what they want and need. We should write books for elementary school students and high school students, or at least be willing to collaborate on them
We Don’t Want History Left For Last by Kelly Clark, Teacher
Standardizing social studies, as part of the NCLB testing process, is more of an onion than an apple. It has multiple layers and each has to be peeled to be understood.
Let’s Teach History, Not Watch the Scoreboard by Max W. Fischer, Teacher
Education should be about helping students make sense of their surrounding world. Integrating the well told story of the past into our students' reality is the authentic charge of our discipline. Standardized testing does not measure that. It does, however, function well as an auditioning tool for 'Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?'
Testing Increases Attention to History by Patrick Manning, Historian
Our main point was that if history is to be a high-priority subject in the public school curriculum, then it must be tested and evaluated, as math and reading have been. While there has been no formal survey, anecdotal evidence convinced us that keeping history on the list of subjects to be tested increases attention to the subject and ultimately improves teaching in it. On the other hand, removing history from the list of subjects to be tested means fewer class hours spent on teaching history, along with lowered and irregular standards and expectations
There are Other Ways to Improve History Education by Michelle Davidson Ungurait, Curriculum Director
The federal and state governments should invest in a mandate to change the current English language arts assessments to include a defined and designated non-fiction component, tied to a state’s mandated history/social studies curriculum framework. ... English language arts and social studies departments at every level would have to collaborate to help students become fluent in the varied literacies required in today’s world.
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