69ý

Standards & Accountability

Most States Earn Poor Grades for World-History Standards

By Kathleen Kennedy Manzo — June 13, 2006 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Only a few states expect schools to give students a grounding in world history, this at a time when more policymakers and business leaders are calling on high schools to prepare students for competing in a global economy, an analysis of state academic standards concludes.

Eight states—California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia—earned A’s for their academic standards in world history, while 33 states earned D’s or F’s.

is posted by the .

“A handful of states did really well, and two-thirds of states did really badly,” said Walter Russell Mead, a historian and foreign-policy expert who conducted the study for the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a research organization that advocates strong academic course content and school choice. “This does not bode well for students’ future [in the global marketplace] or for their world literacy.”

Mr. Mead, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, analyzed state standards in world history as well as the content of exams in the subject for the Advanced Placement program, the SAT II, and the New York state regents. Those exams received high ratings.

Eurocentric Content

Most standards documents, the study found, are vague in the content that students are expected to learn, and they are organized around themes instead of the chronological approach that the Washington-based foundation and many historians favor. Moreover, most state standards emphasize European history while neglecting content on Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

See Also

“At a time of intense national debate about immigration and assimilation, many states do not seem aware that there are countries and cultures south of the Rio Grande,” according to the report.

The report brings some needed attention to the inadequate focus on world history in the curriculum, said Peggy Altoff, the president-elect of the National Council for the Social Studies. But the deficit is part of a larger problem in history and social studies education, she said.

“They’ve brought attention to the fact that world history is not being taught,” said Ms. Altoff, a K-12 social studies supervisor in Colorado Springs, Colo. “But it’s part of a larger package of social studies subjects that is not being taught either.”

A version of this article appeared in the June 14, 2006 edition of Education Week as Most States Earn Poor Grades For World-History Standards

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Standards & Accountability State Accountability Systems Aren't Actually Helping 69ý Improve
The systems under federal education law should do more to shine a light on racial disparities in students' performance, a new report says.
6 min read
Image of a classroom under a magnifying glass.
Tarras79 and iStock/Getty
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Standards & Accountability Sponsor
Demystifying Accreditation and Accountability
Accreditation and accountability are two distinct processes with different goals, yet the distinction between them is sometimes lost among educators.
Content provided by Cognia
Various actions for strategic thinking and improvement planning process cycle
Photo provided by Cognia®
Standards & Accountability What the Research Says More than 1 in 4 69ý Targeted for Improvement, Survey Finds
The new federal findings show schools also continue to struggle with absenteeism.
2 min read
Vector illustration of diverse children, students climbing up on a top of a stack of staggered books.
iStock/Getty
Standards & Accountability Opinion What’s Wrong With Online Credit Recovery? This Teacher Will Tell You
The “whatever it takes” approach to increasing graduation rates ends up deflating the value of a diploma.
5 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty