As if the news weren’t bad enough, recent tests show American students are getting worse at history, geography, and civics—and they were pretty bad to begin with. We can fix this, but first we need to understand what the problem is.

Why Kids Know Even Less About History Now—And Why It Matters
By Natalie Wexler

Apr 24, 2020......

Every few years, results from tests that are collectively known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or the NAEP, are released. Predictably, the hand-wringing begins over the dismal scores. Then we go back to doing the same old things we’ve been doing, and the cycle repeats.

The biannual reading and math tests get the most attention, reflecting the prevailing assumption that those “subjects” define the universe of learning. The results released this week are considered less important, but some hands are wringing—and with good reason. Scores in history and geography have declined from five years ago; those in civics are flat. Only 15% of 8th-graders scored proficient or above in U.S. history along with about a quarter in civics and geography. In reading and math, by contrast, about 35% of 4th- and 8th-graders clear that bar—with the only exception being 4th-grade math, where the proportion rises to 40%.

As when a decline in NAEP reading scores was announced last year, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has assumed the role of handwringer-in-chief, calling this year’s results “stark and inexcusable.” What this means, she elaborated, is that “students don’t know what the Lincoln-Douglas debates were about, nor can they discuss the significance of the Bill of Rights, or point out basic locations on a map,”

READ MORE:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2020/04/24/why-kids-know-even-less-about-history-now-and-why-it-matters/

FROM WHAT GUS FOUND IS THAT THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM OCCURING IN MOST WESTERN COUNTRIES... AND LITTLE HAS IMPROVED SINCE 2020.... OF COURSE 2020 WAS THE RABID YEAR OF COVID, BUT....

ON THE WHOLE, GUS BLAMES ADVERTISERS, GADGETS AND TOYS MAKERS, AS WELL AS SESAME STREET... IT APPEARS THAT KIDS DO NOT GROW UP TO LEARN THE NEXT STAGE: DINOSAURS ARE NOT LEGO BRICKS. KNOWING ABC DOES NOT MAKE YOU AN EXPERT ON NEGOTIATING THE END OF A WAR. THERE WAS TIME BEFORE YESTERDAY.... MY GRANDMOTHER WAS BORN 50 YEARS BEFORE THE FIRST AEROPLANE FLEW...

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT — SINCE 2005.

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.