The Teaching of American History: Promise and Performance

Research Study

The appalling results of de-emphasizing the study of U.S. history in elementary and secondary schools have become painfully obvious in recent years.

In the most recent round of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only one fourth of American schoolchildren tested as proficient in their knowledge of U.S. history. A study in Arizona found that only 3.5 percent of high school students could pass the test of civic knowledge given to immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens.

An analysis of adults’ knowledge of the American Revolution and the Founding of the United States exposed the sad reality that while 60 percent of respondents knew how many children “Jon and Kate” of reality-TV fame have, only slightly more than one-half could correctly identify James Madison as the “Father of the Constitution.”

Over the past 20 years, prominent voices, including the Bradley Commission and organizations of history scholars, have urged education policymakers to bolster American history instruction, particularly by increasing the level of content knowledge of those who teach K-12 history. A common recommendation is for teachers of history to be required to have majored in history in college. Yet, overwhelming evidence suggests that only a small minority of history teachers have majored in the subject, and some have taken little more than a few survey courses.

A key problem lies in the process of teacher certification, which is controlled by state departments of education in cooperation with colleges of education. A basic problem is that history is often tucked under the umbrella of social studies – a mishmash of everything from global studies to sociology, in which critical figures and lessons from American history are often overlooked. Indeed, in some cases, it is possible to gain certification as a social studies teacher without having studied any history. Researcher Sarah Drake Brown has observed that states “often bury their low requirements {for history} amidst claims of high standards.”

Some bright spots do exist, such as the Teaching American History Grant Program, adopted by Congress in 2001. It has enabled local school districts to partner with colleges, libraries, museums, and nonprofit history and humanities organizations to enhance history teachers’ knowledge and appreciation of American history. However, school reformers need to do much more to restore history as a vital subject in American education.

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