Nearly all of the nation’s eighth graders fell behind in U.S. history and Civics in 2022 compared with 2018 on the National Assessment for Education Progress, also called the Nation’s Report Card.
Declines were expected because of the shift to remote teaching and the loss of instruction time during Covid lockdowns. But for these subjects, experts also worry friction over what students are taught in American history classes, especially about race and slavery, are a factor.
Even as test scores point out the problem, teachers continue to teach complex history lessons on race and slavery.
The test results follow a national plunge in reading and math performance among fourth- and eighth-grade students from the same year. Reading and math are getting much of the attention this year as teachers across the country focused on helping students catch up in those subjects.
Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES is worried that subjects like history and science may become an afterthought. That fear is compounded by the fact that fewer students took courses solely focused on U.S. history last school year than in the past, which may have contributed to the drop.
Carr said, “Whether students know U.S. history and civics is a national concern. A well-rounded education includes a grounding in these democratic principles.”