State’s Decision to Eliminate Exams Continues Marginalization of History and Civics Education

In order to sustain the health and vibrancy of our democracy youth must learn about, and be ready to take part in, the U.S. democratic and governance process. This is especially true in an increasingly partisan and politically fractured country. At the heart of the social studies is preparing all youth to emerge as informed and active citizens to undertake our nation’s highest and most mightiest office, that of “Office of Citizen”. Through a strong and meaningful social studies curriculum students learn about our state, nation, and world’s rich diversity, its history, and the many obligations and responsibilities that come with citizenship. Students analyze primary sources in order to grapple with complexity, use evidence to substantiate conclusions, and learn to take informed actions to improve our communities and world.  The social studies provides students with experiences investigate, contextualizing, and thinking through information sources of data, and these skills are paramount in an age of fake news, native advertising, and mounting propaganda. At the forefront of the social studies is empowering youth with curricular experiences that advance the art of deliberation, conversation, and statesmanship when interacting with the views of diverse citizens holding likeminded and dissimilar views.

Knowing that today’s increasingly partisan, multicultural, and technological age demands engaged and informed citizens ready and capable of sustaining our nation’s democracy, I was most disappointed that the state legislature and our governor decided in the recently passed budget bill to eliminate all required state elementary and middle school social studies exams. After all, only 70% of Cuyahoga County voters cast ballots in the 2016 president election (a letter grade of a D), while only 46% of 18-29 year olds showed up (F letter grade). Mandated state assessments in science, math, and language arts went unscathed and unaffected in this bill. Research indicates our current system of testing results in some subjects that “win” and others that “lose”. Subjects not tested often suffer from decreased instructional time, resources, priority, and staffing (Ravitch, 2010). Lawmakers did include in the same budget bill a very weak provision for schools to teach and assess social studies in grades four and six. However, there is no minimum instruction time specified, nor is there a state mechanism in place to ensure this is happening, as the law forbids schools from reporting any social studies assessment data to the Ohio Department of Education.

Unfortunately, our state’s decision to exclude and defund these elementary and middle grades social studies assessments are but one more example of a national trend of states disinvesting in history and civic education. Claus von Zastrow and Helen Janc, in a 2004 study, interviewed 956 elementary principals from four different states and found that almost half of all principals disclosed time devoted to social studies had moderately or greatly decreased due to it not being a tested subject, while the time spent on tested subjects had increased. In Ohio, local researchers found that time spent teaching social studies increased when state-mandated testing were re-introduced introduced (Doppen, Misco, & Patterson, 2008).

The frustration I share with hundreds of Ohio teachers is that social studies, again, has been disproportionally affected and marginalized when compared with other core subjects in the state. Like many families I believe Pk-12 students and educators are over tested in Ohio, which is a product of misguided school district, state, and federal policy. Reforms are needed at all levels to ensure students receive strong and robust learning experiences in all content areas. Instead of wasting millions of tax payer dollars on shoddy state tests in a few cherry picked subjects, meaningful investments should be made that yield greater results for student leaning; such as recruiting, preparing, and supporting high quality teachers, breaking down barriers that lay in their way, and restoring our trust in educators so they have the freedom and flexibility to plan and deliver high quality instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners. Instead of state lawmakers selecting winners and losers, and throwing band aids on a broken assessment system, Ohio should be at the forefront leading our nation to construct homegrown competency and performance-based assessments that model a meaningful and holistic assessment system that prepares all students for college, career, and civic life.

References

Doppen, F., Misco, T., & Patterson, N. (2008). The state of k-12 social studies instruction in Ohio. Social Studies Research and Practice, 3(3), 1-25.

Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. New York, NY: Basic Books.

von Zastrow, C. and Janc, H. (2004). Academic atrophy: The condition of the liberal arts in America’s Public Schools. Council for Basic Education. Retrieved from http://static.ncss.org/files/legislative/AcademicAtrophy.pdf

2014 NAEP Scores in U.S. History, Civics, and Geography and Global Learning?

In the past few weeks, the National Center for Educational Statistics released its 2014 NAEP U.S. History, Geography, and Civics scores. According to its own website, the NAEP is the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. The NAEP tests were administered between January and March 2014 to a nationally representative sample of 29,000 8th graders at more than 1,300 schools. The results of the assessments have been coined “The Nation’s Report Card”.

Much in-line with the scholarship on the marginalization of the social studies post-NCLB, student test scores in History, Geography, and Civics could best be described as a disappointment. Less than one-third of students scored proficient or better on any of the tests, and only 3 percent or fewer scored at the advanced level in any of the three subjects. While reviewing the released test items I found it especially troubling at the difficulty students experienced on those items dealing with the history, geography, or government outside of the U.S. While there is not a World History designated NAEP Exam, it’s interesting to evaluate how well students performed on those few test items pertaining to issues, cultures, histories, and topics outside of the U.S. homeland. Especially, since very few nationally representative data sources exist for researchers trying to better understand what today's youth know about the rest of the world, its people, and issues.

Below, I will review three of these questions I came across on the NAEP Civics Exam. Unfortunately, globally oriented items were not as common on the Geography or U.S. History exams. To review additional released test questions click here.

Question	Student Performance
2014 Civics Exam (sample item dealing with World Affairs) ·     Explain how at least two of the following three global interactions benefit countries o   Trade o   Treaties and agreements        o   Humanitarian aid	Only 62% of 8th graders successfully answered this question
2014 Civics Exam (sample item dealing with World Affairs) What do the current governments of Canada, France, and Australia have in common? A. They are controlled by the military. *B. They have constitutions that limit their power. C. They have leaders with absolute power. D. They discourage participation by citizens in public affairs.	Only 64% of 8th graders successfully answered this question
2014 Civics Exam (sample item dealing with World Affairs) The cartoon below appeared in 2007. What point was the cartoonist making? *A. Pakistan is not truly democratic because one person holds too much power. B. Pakistan is a democracy because it has different branches of government. C. Democracy is not as important in countries where most people are of the same background. D. Pakistan would be more democratic if it had a congress instead of a parliament. Nick Anderson Editorial Cartoon used with permission of Nick Anderson, the Washington Post Writers Group and the Cartoonist Group. All Rights Reserved	83% of 8th graders successfully answered this question

Teachers Matter: From a Forever Grateful Student

I want to start this post by saying something teachers don’t hear enough of, that teachers  matter.  This message of hope is clouded in the realities of standardization, high stakes assessments, program disinvestment and teacher accountability.  How do I know that teachers matter? I know because they showed me so. 
 

Growing up my dad, mother, and three siblings lived in the upstairs of my grandma’s house on West 117^th and Lorain in Cleveland. My mom was unable to work, and my dad fought everyday to keep what we had.  For middle school, I attended Cleveland’s Carl F. Shuler and later Wilbur Wright Middle School.  At both schools, I was frequently absent and really didn't "like" school.  Of course, this reflected poorly and I didn’t do well academically.  No one in my family ever graduated from college, and both my older brother and younger sister would latter drop out of school all together (even though I couldn't be prouder of them and both would latter go back for their GED).  Where I lived, I knew no one with a college degree as very few people even graduated from high school.  

 

With the odds stacked against millions of youth in low-income households, again, I want to reiterate teachers matter. As a high school student at John Marshall High School, I was put on the “let’s hope and pray this kid graduates track”, as I still struggled with attendance.   Marshall required students to take at least one year of foreign language.  I remembered my older brother saying something about a “cool” tattooed French teacher he had, and I decided to take French over the alternative Spanish course.   On the first day of French class, I walked in and behold it wasn’t the “cool” teacher my brother had described.  This teacher had no tattoos and was very organized.  Mrs. Rae (the instructor) had placed name tags on the desk for every student. Mind you, there were over thirty kids in this one class. In fact, throughout the entire first day of class she actually called us by our first name.  This was quite an accomplishment as most of my classes were large (think kids sitting on tables and heating fixtures large), and you could tell that most teachers were just trying to survive on the first day.   But Mrs. Rae seemed uncannily calm, collected, and reassuring.  While it was clear the course was going to be tough, she kept reiterating how she was going to be there with us every step of the way. 
 

In all honestly, I wasn’t a spectacular student in her class. She sat me in the front near her desk, and I frequently found myself dazing out. It was almost as if she was speaking a foreign language at times.  I remember her calling on me during one class, and trying so hard not to mess up the pronunciation of “Comment tally vous”.  But of course, I butchered the phrase and everyone laughed.  Later that night, I received one of the most surprising yet important phone calls of my life.  I remember the phone ringing and my mom saying, “Ohh really. Wow, thank you for telling me and this is good news.  Do you want to talk to Brad?”  My mom passed me the phone, and as to my surprise it was Mrs. Rae.  “Brad, I just wanted to call to let you and your mom know that you’re doing a wonderful job in class. I’ll see you tomorrow.”  My breath had been taken away and I was stunned. Why didn’t she talk about my frequent absences, her having to move my seat next to her desk, or my poor performance in class?

 

Later on in life, I would learn it was because Mrs. Rae knew I had been told my whole life what I wouldn’t or couldn’t do but she wanted to let me and my family to know what I could do.  To her, that phone call was an investment.  It was an opportunity for her to say, “hey Brad, you matter and can do anything you put your mind to”.   After that phone call I tried- I tried like hell to do better in her class. But, the subject just didn’t come easy for me and I was definitely outshined by others in the class. My attendance was a little bit better, and I found myself going the extra-mile to meet with Mrs. Rae before and after class to get help on assignments.  She knew I was struggling in class, and throughout our conversations she learned more about me, my family, and the challenges we faced. 
 

I know that teachers matter and they can open the world to their students.  On May 19th, 1998, during the homeroom announcements, the school’s principal announced the names of school-wide award recipients.  These awards were given to the really smart kids for highest GPA, most likely to succeed, student of the year, and in other areas.  Needless to say, during this announcement I zoned out and paid little attention.  However, I’ll never forget when the school’s principal read “French student of the year, Brad Maguth”. What? No Way?  I was shocked, my friends were shocked, and yes, so was my homeroom teacher. I knew that this had to be a mistake or some sort of cruel prank.   After homeroom, I went to Mrs. Rae’s class to see what was going on.

Mrs. Rae congratulated me, and said that I was most deserving of the award. She said that I had demonstrated the most progress throughout the year, and that she was so proud of me. She also wanted me to know that the award came with a $100 reward.  She handed me a check for $100 dollars.  This check had her name, personal address, and signature on it.  I would later use this check for my university housing deposit.
 

 

I never asked Mrs. Rae why me, as I didn’t want her to say it was out of sympathy for me or my family’s struggle.  I’ve thought about this question “why me?” for a while now and it’s traveled with me throughout my entire professional career (to NYC, London, and Beijing).   I’m still unclear as to the answer, but I do know that Mrs. Rae changed my life.  Even though I wasn’t the most academically qualified or talented, she believed in me. While there were students with better grades and who performed better in class, she knew this little award could be my big break.  Thank you, Mrs. Rae for investing in me- at a time when no one, not even I, saw potential. 

Despite my poor academic track record and my inconsistent classroom performance, this teacher invested her time, per patience, her money, and her sense of promise within me.  This teacher mattered, and I’ve carried and will carry that investment with me forever.