Students' History Knowledge Lacking, Test Finds

The results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often referred to as the nation's report card, were more encouraging for fourth- and eighth-graders, who showed modest gains in their knowledge of U.S. history. But even with their improvement, just 67 percent of fourth graders and 64 percent of eighth graders demonstrated basic knowledge of U.S. history. Meanwhile, fewer than one in five students in both grades were deemed proficient in the subject.

The exam, administered last year to a nationally representative sample of 29,000 students, found that many students knew neither the basic facts of American history nor understood their importance.

"What this report card is telling us is that too many of our public school children are still struggling in this critical core subject area," said Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige. "And the higher their grade in school, the lower their understanding in history."

Only 39 percent of the nation’s 12th graders could correctly write a short essay, for example, adequately explaining two advantages the South had over the better-armed North during the Civil War. Only 39 percent of eighth graders knew that the biggest factor leading American colonists to form the First Continental Congress was their frustration with laws passed by the British Parliament. And just 57 percent of fourth graders knew that a major cause of the Civil War was the split between the North and South over slavery.

Officials who oversee the national test described the performance on the test as"abysmal," particularly for high school seniors.

"Since the seniors are very close to voting age or already have reached it, one can only feel alarm that they know so little about their nation's history and express so little capacity to reflect on its meaning," said Diane Ravitch, a historian and member of the National Assessment Governing Board.

The disappointing results on the history exam came after many states around the country have developed content standards intended to closely guide how history is taught to students in the classroom. The creation of standards and holding students and educators accountable to them through regular testing is a cornerstone of the Bush administration's education reform effort.

Moreover, the NAEP results showed no significant difference in test performance between students whose teachers reported adhering closely to content standards, and those who had none to follow. Asked to explain that today, Paige said: "I don't have any explanation for that at all."