Currents

Don't Know Much about History

Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005

Is social studies another unintended casualty of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)? Nationwide, instruction in history, geography, civics, and economics is being squeezed out as schools feel the pressure to meet proficiency goals in reading and math. Al Franscella, a spokesman for the National Council for the Social Studies, asserts that “what isn’t tested, isn’t taught.” Currently, the NCLB requires testing in math and reading, with science to be added soon. Though President Bush proposed that history be included in the initial legislation, congressional leaders stripped out social studies standards to garner bipartisan support for the law. The disparity in social studies instruction is most pronounced at the elementary and middle school levels, where many schools must weave social studies material into courses that focus on literacy skills.