Friday, June 17, 2011

Sad State of Affairs in US Education System

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Blog editor
How can our children grow up to be our future leaders if they don't even know their own countries history. We must be diligent and require our education system, to teach the true history of our country, whether good or bad. How can we go forward, if we don't know where we've been. History repeats itself so we can learn from this and not repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Get involved in your local school systems and see what your children are being  taught. If you don't think that the school your children go to is doing an adequate job, then go to your local school board meeting and tell them what you think. Get other parents involved, for this is the only way that a change will be made.
 Samuel Burns
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Forgotten History

  • June 16, 2011 7:55 pm ET


Continue reading on Examiner.com Forgotten History - Wilmington Education | Examiner.com 




As Wade Malcom reports, the Chronicle of Higher Education found that Delaware General Assembly is tied with New Mexico for the 3rd lowest percentage of legislators that have a bachelor’s degree.  As Wade points out, there are endless jokes to come from this (sarcasm) “startling revelation” but another recently released report is more of a problem not just for Delaware but for America as a whole.  While it’s no surprise that our Delaware legislators are less educated than most other states, a new report out from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reveals some startling evidence of a belief long held by many Americans, we are forgetting where we came from and how we got here. 
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has put out “The Nation’s Report Card” on the subject of U.S. History in 2010.  The study finds that there has been little improvement or change in the knowledge of America’s history across grade ranges and it also finds that even the top percentiles of students score just over 50% on the scale.  The assessment was done of 4th, 8th, and 12th graders across America and across the gender, race and socioeconomic scales.  The students were graded on a scale with 3 major categories of success: Basic, Proficient, Advanced
4th Grade
Among 4th grade students, only 20% are at or above a proficient (working) level and 27% of 4th grade students do not meet even a basic understanding of U.S. History.  That means 27% of American 4th graders cannot explain the purpose of the Bill of Rights or identify what changed for African Americans after the Civil War.  An advanced level of understanding for a 4th grader (2% of 4th graders meet this goal) means that they can tell you 2 reasons why people immigrate to the U.S. or they can identify a picture of Abraham Lincoln and give 2 reasons why he is important.  The following is a sample of a 4th grade question in the Proficient category:
The map shows canals in the United States in the 1800s.  An important result of the building of canals in the United States was that:
  1. Slavery spread to the western states.
  2. People stopped building railroads.
  3. More people traveled to California to farm.
  4. Trade increased among the states.
    The answer is D. 66% of 4th graders answered this question INCORRECTLY.
8th Grade
Only 17% of students in 8th grade reached a level of proficient or above and 31% scored below basic.  That means that only 17% of 8th grade students can identify what the 1st Amendment protects and only 1% (advanced skill level) of them can tell you why Richard Nixon resigned.  Here is a sample of an 8th grade level question in the proficient category:


At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, northern and southern delegates debated whether or not slaves would be counted as part of the state’s population.  Disagreement over this question led to bitter tensions among delegates.  To resolve the question referred to in the passage, delegates agreed to:
  1. Include all male slaves in population totals.
  2. Include no slaves in population totals.
  3. Count each slave as three-fifths of a person in population totals.
  4. Count slaves in the southern states but not in the northern states.
    The answer is C.  41% of 8th graders answered this question INCORRECTLY.
12th Grade
America’s seniors are even less proficient at their grade level than Elementary and Jr. High students with 55% below even a basic level and only 12% of students meeting a proficient skill level.  That means only 12% of students understand why the U.S. entered into World War I.  If you think that is bad, try the following question, from the advanced category where only 1% of U.S. seniors ranked
During the Korean War, United Nations forces made up largely of troops from the United States and South Korea fought against troops from North Korea and:
  1. The Soviet Union
  2. Japan
  3. China
  4. Vietnam
    The answer is C.  78% of high school seniors answered this question INCORRECTLY.
Perhaps more startling than all of this is the following statistic of 8th graders. 
Percent of students in 8th grade who have NOT studied a particular period of history since they started Middle School:
Before 1815: 11%
1815-1865: 18%
1865-1945: 27%
1945-Now: 37%
Given Delaware’s ranking near the bottom of all 50 states in terms of education results, it’s a fair assumption that these statistics are an accurate assessment of the historical knowledge of Delaware students.  In the end, these statistics confirm what many of us already knew; we are forgetting who we are and where we came from.  We are forgetting the good and the bad about America and about our nation’s history.  Without that solid foundation of knowing what we’ve done right and what we’ve done wrong, how can we ever expect to advance as a society?  If we don’t know the expectations of our founders and our forbearers, how can we live up to them?  I will leave you with a single quote from Noah Webster (yes, the guy who wrote the American dictionary):
“Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country.”
Noah Webster, On the Education of Youth in America, 1788
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If you would like to read the full report go to the link below.

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