Policymakers Applaud Marginal Gains on History Test

by: Betsy L. Angert

Tue May 22, 2007 at 08:00:00 AM EDT

© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert

Quick, answer these questions.  You are being timed.  However, do not feel pressured.  Do the best that you can.  Our school literally depends on you.  Your performance on these examinations will determine  whether our district or this facility receives Federal funding.  Do not open your test booklet until I tell you to do so.  When you are finished, close the pamphlet, put your pencil down, and sit quietly.  You may begin.The voyages of Columbus changed life in Europe by  . . .
A) introducing new foods and spices to Europe
B) showing Europeans a shorter route to Asia
C) introducing the horse to Spain
D) proving that the Earth was flat

You, dear reader, recall the drill.  We have all experienced the trauma, drama, and thrill of standardized testing.  In recent years, the excitement is expanding.  Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, our children take standardized tests more regularly.  The rewards for doing well are ample.  The punishment for doing poorly is, some say, excessive.  Nevertheless, students must be "accountable."  Scores are scrutinized.  The New York Times states, Students Gain Only Marginally on Test of U.S. History; nevertheless, as a whole, the pupils in this nation improved. 

At least, that is the opinion of officials in the Federal government.

Federal officials said they considered the results encouraging because at each level tested, student performance had improved since the last time the exam was administered, in 2002.

"In U.S. history there were higher scores in 2006 for all three grades," said Mark Schneider, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the test, at a Boston news conference that the Education Department carried by Webcast.

The nation's fourth-graders have shown significant gains in U.S. history and civics test scores, federal researchers reported yesterday, a development that -- coupled with similar recent advances in reading, math and science -- experts attribute in large part to an intense national focus on reading in early grades.

Educators said they were also heartened by significant improvement in 12th-grade U.S. history scores, the first national gain in any high school subject in eight years.  The rise in elementary social studies scores, once considered in the doldrums, drew the most attention.

[M]ore than half of high school seniors still showed poor command of basic facts like the effect of the cotton gin on the slave economy or the causes of the Korean War.

Department administrators prefer to highlight the successes.  These are evident for the most part, only in the lower fourth grade results.

Since 2002, beginning in Head Start programs, and continuing into the twelfth grade, pupils are required to pass rigid and rote examinations.  Students of all sizes, shapes, abilities, backgrounds, and experiences must meet specific minimal standards.  Each scholar is assessed as his or her peers are, even if their background and aptitude vary.  Every educator must be "accountable."  There are no allowances or expectations.  All are judged equally. 

Educators argue against this unyielding system.  Parents complain as imaginative programs are cut.  Pupils are bored; however, these individuals are powerless against the Bush Administration.  Over the years, some schools have chosen to be different and suffer the consequences.

Falls Church School Won't Teach to the Test
By Marc Fisher 
Washington Post
Tuesday, October 12, 2004; Page B01

Teachers grumble and moan about how politicians' love affair with tests has turned education into a grim mission to teach creative young minds how to darken the ovals completely and neatly.

Parents complain about the lost arts and athletics, the exciting labs and imaginative lessons that schools cut out to make way for classes on the art and science of taking standardized tests.

But rarely do public schools take a stand on behalf of the children left behind by the very law that promises to carry them forward.

This summer, Bailey's Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences in Falls Church put down a marker.  A letter sent to every parent said teachers are being forced to spend "valuable instructional time preparing students to take the Standards of Learning tests, to the exclusion of activities that extend and deepen student learning, integrate the arts with content, and allow students to develop and pursue their own questions."

The letter said Bailey's, which as Fairfax County's first magnet elementary school attracts immigrant families from its Culmore neighborhood and more affluent families from across the county, will still teach children how to think like scientists and historians, even though "this is not what standardized tests measure or encourage."

The letter was more than an ideological tract.  It was a warning to parents that in the next few weeks, they may find their school declared failing under the federal government's No Child Left Behind protocols.

The problem is that about 77 percent of Bailey's students are immigrants, many of whom come to school knowing little or no English.  The law requires the school to bring an ever-higher percentage of those students up to grade level each year.  Bailey's, like most schools with large populations of poor or non-English-speaking students, isn't hitting its numbers.

"It's an ax hanging over our heads," says Jean Frey, the principal, who has to explain to parents that if Bailey's is declared failing, the county could fire its teachers, and families would have the right to transfer to another school.

"I have no problem with being accountable," Frey says.  "As a citizen, I want these kids to grow up to be literate problem-solvers."  But she will not shutter her science lab, pull the plug on theatrical productions, or tell teachers to scrap a literature discussion to drill kids on test facts.

"The testing itself is enormously time-consuming," Frey says.  "We give up over two weeks in May to the tests.  So, the rest of the year, we try very hard not to do 'SOL Prep Time,' like many schools do.  How important is it to know how to fill in ABCD?  I don't do that very often as an adult."

At last gleams of light have come, & I am almost convinced (quite contrary to opinion I started with) that species are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable.

When we as a society believe or accept that conclusions are unchallengeable, we no longer strive to challenge the minds of our children.  We state No Child will be Left Behind; yet most are when American students learn to improve their memories while forfeiting their mental capacity. 

The technique that interprets scores as success or failure is often referred to as "teaching to the test."  This method is frequently questioned.  The Bailey's School was not the first or only institution to reject the practice.  This instructional method has its supporters and its detractors.  Each argument may be apt and well stated.  However, I believe the question is of greater concern than the answers might be.  I think what is most important is that we "teach to the individual."  As we evaluate further, we might better understand why the rise in scores is of little consequence in the real world.

Educational experts understand that students are well served if instructors are sensitive to the needs of their pupils as the unique persons they are.  Learning modalities must be addressed.  Relevancy needs to be realized if a student is to authentically acquire knowledge. 

Giving grades, assessing moments, and memories does not establish or ensure that what was "learned" will last for a lifetime.  Yet, under the current system grades not depth are crucial.

The ability to analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and create is no longer as important as the details are.  Critical thinking skills, those that develop through discussion take time and discipline.  Teachers no longer have the minutes or hours needed for genuine instruction.  They can only assist students in understanding the process of elimination in the event that the "fact" escapes you. 

Let us truly assess what occurs when we do not teach critical thinking skills. The recent History and civic scores are revealing.

A sampling of what eighth-graders know about U.S. history:

64 percent identified an impact of the cotton gin

43 percent explained goals of the Martin Luther King Jr. march

1 percent explained how the fall of the Berlin Wall affected foreign policy

A sampling of what eighth-graders know about civics:

80 percent identified a notice for jury duty

63 percent determined an instance of abuse of power

28 percent explained the historical purpose of the Declaration of Independence

Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress reports

It seems the incentive to succeed on strict and binding evaluations left educators with few choices.  Courses were cut.  Curriculums adjusted, and schedules were changed.

A number of studies have shown that because No Child Left Behind requires states to administer annual tests in math and reading, and punishes schools where scores in those subjects fail to rise, many schools have reduced time spent on other subjects, including history.  In a recent study, Martin West, an education professor at Brown, used federal data to show that during 2003-4, first- and sixth-grade teachers spent 23 fewer minutes a week on history than during 1999-2000.

The best results in the history test were also in fourth grade, where 70 percent of students attained the basic level of achievement or better.

The tests, known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, divide achievement levels into basic, proficient and advanced.  The 2006 history assessment had the highest percentage of 12th-grade students scoring below basic of any subject tested in 2005 and 2006.

[O]nly 1 percent of students at any grade level scored at the advanced level.

The history test was given to a national sample of 29,200 fourth, 8th- and 12th-grade students.  Among the results were these:

¶Some 47 percent of the 12th graders performed at the basic level or above.  In 2001, 43 percent were at or above basic.

¶Sixty-five percent of eighth graders achieved the basic level or better, up from 62 percent six years ago.

¶Seventy percent of fourth graders attained or exceeded the basic level, compared with 66 percent in 2001.  Even this result, however, left 30 percent who, for instance, lacked an ability to identify even the most familiar historic figures or explain the reasons for celebrating national holidays.

"It's heartwarming that the test organizers have found positive things to say, but this report is not anything to break out the Champagne over," said Theodore K. Rabb, a professor of history at Princeton who advocates devoting more classroom time to the subject.

The civics exam was given to a national sample of 25,300 4th, 8th, and 12th graders.  Seventy-three percent of fourth-grade pupils performed at the basic level or better, up from 69 percent in 1998, the last time the civics exam was administered.  The scores of 8th and 12th graders showed no change.

"What is most discouraging is that as students grow older and progress through the grades towards adulthood and eligibility to vote, their civic knowledge and dispositions seems to grow weaker," said David W. Gordon, superintendent of the Sacramento County School District in California, who is a member of the board that sets policies for the test.

"When students know how to read and comprehend," Ms. Spellings said, "they apply these skills to other subjects like history and civics."

In Washington, Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, reintroduced a bill on Wednesday based on the premise that the National Assessment gave history short shrift, testing it every five to seven years instead of every other year as with reading and math. Their legislation would require national history tests every four years, with more students tested.

David McCullough, John Hope Franklin, Douglas Brinkley and dozens of other prominent historians have sent Congress a petition urging the bill's passage.

References, Resources.  Read Carefully.  There may be a test . . .