U.S. 8th Graders’ Grasp Of History, Civics Called ‘A National Concern’

ACROSS AMERICA — The nation’s eighth graders’ grasp of U.S. history and civics points to worrisome trend for the future of democracy, according to a national achievement assessment known as the “Nation’s Report Card” released Wednesday.

The lower scores in civics and U.S. history — the latter the lowest recorded since 1994 — “is a national concern,” Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said in a statement.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress report, as the report card is known, reveals the extent to which the pandemic upended learning in subjects beyond math and reading, the traditional measure the assessment by the National Center for Education Statistics.

“What we’ve learned in [U.S. history and civics] is part of the fabric of who we are as Americans. They are essential subjects,” Carr said in a briefing with reporters Tuesday. “They are a critical part of a well-rounded education.

“If we can agree that it’s important that students know the history of this great country, how we got here, and how they can engage in a democratic process, then these results I’m about to share with you are concerning,” she said.

Fourth and eighth graders’ scores in math and reading continued to slide in 2022, reflecting a trend reported last year on academic toll of the pandemic. Combined, the two grades’ scores on math tests are the lowest since the initial assessments in 1990.

At a time of some pessimism about the state of the U.S. democracy, the test results suggest many young people are struggling to understand how government works and the importance of civic participation. Nearly one-third of eighth grade students cannot describe the structure or function of government, according to the results.

“Self-government depends on each generation of students leaving school with a complete understanding of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, but far too many students are struggling to understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government functions, and the historical significance of events,” Carr said in a statement.

The data “further affirms the profound impact the pandemic had on student learning in subjects beyond math and reading,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

Kerry Sautner, the chief learning officer at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, told NPR’s Sequoia Carrillo the lower scores didn’t come as a surprise after the report last fall showing math and reading slides. She noted history and civics comprehension hinges on a solid foundation in reading comprehension.

“When we saw the reading scores drop, it kind of felt like, ‘well, that’s a little prelude to what you’re going to see in civics and history,’ ” she said, noting that scores declined across multiple subjects.

She said the question for education leaders and policymakers is, “How are we going to mitigate this when we have significant drops in everything?”d

Many U.S. schools aren't doing enough to reverse the trend, history and civics educators say.

About 68 percent of eighth graders said they are taking classes mainly focused on U.S. history. That’s compared with 72 percent of students in 2018. And only about half of eighth graders report taking a class mainly focused on civics and or government, which remains mostly unchanged compared to 2018, according to the report.

“We’re not putting a value there, and we’re not saying this is something that they really need to be active, informed and engaged in as they grow,” Sautner told The Associated Press.

The CivXNow Coalition, a civics education advocacy group, reported last year that 38 states require a stand-alone civics course to graduate high school and only seven states require civics in middle school.

Patrick Kelly, a government teacher in South Carolina, said he has seen a growing emphasis on ensuring students are doing well in reading and math, and rightfully so.

“But every minute that you redirect to one place, it’s got to come from somewhere else. And so if literacy interventions don’t have a connection to social studies, then we lose ground in social studies instruction,” he said.

The lower scores could further bolster the revival of the school choice debate, driven largely by culture wars and curriculum battles, as well as pandemic learning slides. About a dozen Republican-led state legislatures have taken up — and in some cases signed — voucher-style proposals that create education savings accounts.

Cardona said in his statement the assessment “tells us now is not the time for politicians to try to extract double-digit cuts to education funding, nor is it the time to limit what students learn in U.S. history and civics classes.”

“We need to provide every student with rich opportunities to learn about America’s history and understand the U.S. Constitution and how our system of government works,” he said. “Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.