It’s Not Just Math and Reading: U.S. History Scores for 8th Graders Plunge

National test scores released Wednesday showed a marked decline in students’ knowledge of U.S. history and a modest decline in civics, a sign of the alarming scope of the pandemic, which is hurting student performance in nearly every academic field.

The pandemic plunge in US history accelerated a downward trend that began nearly a decade ago, reaching this recent nadir at a time when the topic itself was causing increasing political division.

A growing number of students fail even the basic standards of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a rigorous national exam administered by the Department of Education. About 40 percent of eighth graders scored “below basic” in U.S. history last year, compared to 34 percent in 2018 and 29 percent in 2014.

Only 13 percent of eighth graders were considered proficient — demonstrating proficiency on challenging subjects — up from 18 percent nearly a decade ago.

Questions ranged from simple – knowing that 19th century factory conditions were dangerous, with long hours and low wages – to complex questions. For example, only 6 percent of students were able to explain in their own words how two ideas from the Constitution were reflected in the “I Have a Dream” speech by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The dip in civics performance was smaller but notable: it was the first drop since the test was administered in the late 1990s. About 22 percent of students were proficient, up from 24 percent in 2018.

President Biden’s education secretary, Miguel A. Cardona, seized on the results and admonished politicians for trying to limit education in history, often on race topics, a trend that played in dozens of statestypically Republican controlled.

“Now is not the time,” he said, adding that “banning history textbooks and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction.”

The results, from a national sample of about 8,000 eighth graders in every subject, follow with math and reading scores also falling during the pandemic. In all subjects, declines were often caused by the worst-performing students, a trend that worries federal officials enough that they are now considering rewriting test questions to estimate what these students are missing.

Historically, impaired reading comprehension may have played a role in student achievement.

But experts also pointed to a continued de-emphasis on social studies education.

Since the implementation of No Child Left Behind in the early 2000s and its update during the Obama administration, federal policy has required states to test students for reading and math. Periodic testing is also required for science.

There is no such mandate for social studies. (Many state policies around testing and accountability also do not include social studies.)

While some experts have criticized standardized tests as limited in effectiveness and harmful to students, most generally agree: What gets tested determines what gets taught.

Instruction time for social studies turned down following the implementation of No Child Left Behind, a pattern that was reinforced during the pandemic when schools had to sort through academic losses, resulting in a greater focus on reading and math.

“It doesn’t bode well for the future of this country and the future of democracy if we don’t teach more social studies,” said Kristin Dutcher Mann, a history professor at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock who helps with training social studies teachers in middle and high schools. At one point, she said, older elementary school students in her community were given an hour of social studies each day. Now, she said, “they’ll be happy if they get 30 minutes twice a week for social studies.”

(The National Council for the Social Studies recommends a minimum of 45 minutes of daily instruction in elementary school and a similar equivalent in middle and high school.)

The instruction has also changed.

Students spend far less time memorizing state capitals or the preamble to the constitution — information they can easily google — and instead focus more on key skills, such as distinguishing between primary and secondary source documents. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, said Dr. Dutch Mann. Students must learn to think critically.

But she said emphasis can contribute to a troubling lack of background knowledge. Even during her lectures, she said, she has noticed a “rapid and very significant decline” in what students know about history and geography — such as the fact that Africa is a continent, not a country.

A basic understanding of history and civics is critical for students to become engaged, informed citizens, especially amid misinformation on social media platforms, said Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of Tufts University’s CIRCLE Centeran organization aimed at social involvement of young people.

She quoted a recent TikTok campaign against an Alaska oil projectresulting in a misplaced petition calling on President Biden not to sell Alaska.

“You need some basics to understand what’s even verifiable: ‘Does it even fit loosely with what I’ve been taught?'” she said, pointing out that the president has no executive power to sell a state.

As US trust in institutions declines new lowsbut with a young turnout and political commitment upwardsmany see this as a crucial time to re-emphasize history and civics.

Sheila Edwards, a history teacher at a Los Angeles County high school, said students had bombarded her with detailed questions about the Second Amendment after recent school shootings. On the day of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, she had to come up with a new homework assignment to spark her students’ interest in the news.

“Kids seem to be more interested in history and civics than ever before,” she said.

Audio produced by Jack D’Isidoro.