MDE Task force recommends dropping the US History test

The Mississippi Department of Education Accountability Task Force has recommended that the US History test be dropped from the state assessment model. Students will not be required to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of United States history prior to graduation. Ironically, in the same presentation the task force quotes the vision of the Mississippi State Board of Education as

 

"To create a world-class education system
that gives students the knowledge and skills
that will allow them to be successful in
college and the workforce and flourish as
parents and citizens.” To do so, the state
must “provide leadership through the
development of policy and accountability
systems so that all students are prepared to
compete in the global community.”

 

I bolded the word citizen. It appears that the vision in truth does not include citizenship education. We evaluate what we value. If we don't evaluate history, that is an indication that we don't value history. The public schools were established to help build a more civil society. Schools must be more than preperation for college and career. We should help develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions our young people need to fully participate in our democracy. A knowlege of history, historical thinking skills, and a belief in the fundamental principles of our nation are essential and should be learned in school.

 

The reason for dropping the test is that many students fail the test and it isn't included in the national model. I thought the purpose of assessment was to identify areas for improvement, not areas to drop from the curriculum. If students are failing the US history test then we should improve instruction. We should also realize that the US history test is not the sole responsibility of the 11th grade American history teacher. The knowledge and skills tested on the US history test should be taught in all grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. Maybe students are failing the test, because they have limited experience in social studies subjects in elementary school because it's not tested at the lower grades.. Their time in 7th and 8th grade history may also have been reduced to give more time for instruction in tested subjects. The narrowing of the curriculum in elementary grades may be impacting student ability to pass the test.

 

There has been a documented reduction in social studies instruction in elementary classrooms in the past ten years. (Anderson, 2009; Heafner & Fitchett, 2012; Mertler, 2011; McMurrer, 2008 ). This has been attributed to the fact that social studies is not tested under No Child Left Behind. The unfortunate reality is that in many schools if a subject is not tested, it's not taught. What will happen to US History in high school if it's not tested? Are we as a state saying that understanding our history is not important?

 

Why school? Is it to provide the workers to business and students to college only? What about the vibrancy of our democracy? What about citizenship?

 

You can view the report from the task force here https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxyZWJlbHNvY2lhbHN0dWRpZXN8Z3g6NTA2Zjc5MGU2OTIyNjE0Yw

 

I urge you to contact the MDE and your state legislators and ask them if they support dropping the US history test and deemphasizing history in the curriculum.

 

Here is the contact information for the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents who are responsible for the document Contact information for MASS -- http://www.superintendents.ms/contact/