[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8703-S8705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY):
  S. 2721. A bill to amend the National Assessment of Educational 
Progress Authorization Act to require State academic assessments of 
student achievement in United States history, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the American 
History Achievement Act. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by 
the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy. This is part of my effort 
to put the teaching of American history and civics back in its rightful 
place in our school curriculum so our children can grow up learning 
what it means to be an American.
  This is especially appropriate on a day when the September 11 report 
is being released. We tend to think of ourselves as Americans and 
wonder who we are and what we value and what we have to defend at times 
when we are threatened or even frightened. This should be a day when we 
should feel threatened. We are reminded of the challenges we face.
  I am especially glad that Senator Kennedy has joined me in this. 
Senator Kennedy is especially appropriate to be a leading sponsor of 
this legislation. He and his family are, in fact, part of American 
history in a unique way. He, as well as Senator Reid, Senator Byrd, and 
a number of Senators on this side of the aisle have been working hard 
in a variety of ways to support efforts that are appropriate in the 
Federal Government to celebrate our own history.
  This modest bill provides for improved testing of American history so 
we can determine where history is being taught well and where it is 
being taught poorly so that improvements can be made. We also know when 
testing is focused on a specific subject, States and school districts 
are more likely to step up to the challenge and improve performance.
  For example, a number of professors and teachers of history have 
worried that because of the emphasis in No Child Left Behind on reading 
and mathematics, that history would be left behind. There are two 
answers to that. One is, if our citizens cannot read, they are not 
going to know much history, except from watching the History Channel, 
which is a pretty good way, and another answer is there is a specific 
provision in the No Child Left Behind Act, which we call the Byrd 
grants, after Senator Byrd, providing $100 million a year to school 
districts across the country for the teaching of traditional American 
history. Those programs are in full flourish in Tennessee, North 
Carolina, and many parts of this country. They are excellent programs.
  When you combine those with the We the People Project of the National 
Endowment of the Humanities--I attended one of their workshops in 
Nashville on Friday. Forty teachers across the country met at Andrew 
Jackson's home, the Hermitage.
  We are doing more to put this in the rightful place. The bill Senator 
Kennedy and I offer today is one more effort of putting the teaching of 
American history and civics back where it belongs.
  We could certainly use improvement in the teaching of American 
history. According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, 
commonly referred to as the Nation's report card, fewer students have a 
basic understanding of American history than have a basic understanding 
of any other subject which we test, including math, science, and 
reading.
  When we look at our national report card, American history is our 
children's worst subject. Yet, according to recent poll results, the 
exact opposite outcome is desired by the American people.
  Hart-Teeter recently polled 1,300 adults for the educational testing 
service and asked what the principal goal of education should be. The 
top response: Producing literate, educated students who can participate 
in our democracy. Twenty-six percent of respondents believed that 
should be our principal goal. ``Teach basics: math, reading'' was 
selected by only 15 percent as the principal goal of education.
  The late Albert Shanker of the American Federation of Teachers used 
to say our common schools were created for the purpose of teaching 
immigrant children reading, writing, and arithmetic, the three R's, and 
what it means to be an American, so they could go home and teach their 
parents.
  They have forgotten that latter role, more and more. Our children 
don't know American history because they are not being taught. For 
example, the State of Florida just passed a bill permitting high school 
students to graduate without taking a course in U.S.

[[Page S8704]]

history. When our children are not being taught our history, they are 
not learning what is most important.
  According to Harvard scholar Samuel Huntington, a 1987 study of high 
school students found more who knew who Harriet Tubman was than knew 
Washington commanded the American Army in the Revolution, or that 
Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. I am all for 
teaching about Harriet Tubman and teaching about the history of the 
Underground Railroad. My ancestor, the Rev. John Rankin, like Harriet 
Tubman, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. I would like for 
more children to know about them both. But surely children ought to 
learn first about the most critical leaders and events in the 
Revolution and in the Civil War.

  Let me give a couple of examples of how bad things have gotten. The 
fourth grade NAEP test asked students to identify the following 
passage:

       We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are 
     created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with 
     certain unalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, 
     and the pursuit of happiness . . .

  Students were given four choices for the source of that passage: the 
Constitution, the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, 
the Articles of Confederation. Only 46 percent of students answered 
correctly, that it came from the Declaration of Independence.
  The eighth grade test asked, Imagine you could use a time machine to 
visit the past. You have landed in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. 
Describe an important event that is happening.
  Nearly half the students, 46 percent, were not able to answer the 
question correctly, that the Declaration of Independence was being 
signed.
  This legislation aims to help in the effort to do something about 
that. The American History Achievement Act gives the national 
assessment governing board the authority to administer a 10-State pilot 
study for the NAEP test in U.S. history in 2006. The board already has 
the authority for reading, math, science, and writing. The pilot 
program should collect enough data to attain a State-by-State 
comparison of 8th and 12th grade student knowledge and understanding of 
history. That will allow us to know which States are doing a better job 
of teaching American history and allow other States to model their 
programs on those that are working well. This legislation is part of a 
broader effort in the Senate.
  Earlier this year, Senator Reid of Nevada, Senator Kennedy, and I and 
others joined with Senators to pass the American History and Civics 
Education Act, by unanimous vote, to create summer academies for 
teachers and students of American history. Senator Schumer and I have 
introduced a bill to codify the oath of allegiance which immigrants 
take when sworn in as new citizens of the United States. The oath 
should be protected in law just as the national anthem and Pledge of 
Allegiance are.
  Today we are putting a new focus on the teaching of American history. 
Our children are growing up ignorant of our Nation's history. Yet a 
recent poll tells us that Americans believe the principal goal of 
education is ``producing literate, educated citizens who can 
participate in our democracy.'' It is time to put the teaching of 
American history and civics back in its rightful place in our schools 
so our children can grow up learning what it means to be an American.
  Our diversity is a prized value in the United States. But more prized 
is that we have been able to turn all that diversity into one nation. 
Our motto is: ``e pluribus unum,'' not the other way around. It is: 
``one from many.''
  One thing we have in common is our history, and we should teach it. 
This bill takes us one step closer to achieving that noble goal. I urge 
my colleagues to support the legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2721

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``American History Achievement 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) the 2001 National Assessment of Educational Progress 
     assessment in United States history had the largest 
     percentage of students scoring below basic of any subject 
     that was tested, including mathematics, science, and reading; 
     and
       (2) in the 2001 National Assessment of Educational Progress 
     assessment in United States history--
       (A) 33 percent of students in grade 4 scored below basic, 
     36 percent of students in grade 8 scored below basic, and 57 
     percent of students in grade 12 scored below basic;
       (B) 92 percent of students in grade 12 could not explain 
     the most important cause of the Great Depression after 
     reading a paragraph delineating 4 significant reasons;
       (C) 91 percent of students in grade 8 could not ``list two 
     issues that were important in causing the Civil War'' and 
     ``list the Northern and Southern positions on each of these 
     issues'';
       (D) 95 percent of students in grade 4 could not list ``two 
     reasons why the people we call `pioneers' moved west across 
     the United States'';
       (E) 73 percent of students in grade 4 could not identify 
     the Constitution from among 4 choices as ``the document that 
     contains the basic rules used to run the United States 
     government'';
       (F) 75 percent of students in grade 4 could not identify 
     ``the three parts of the federal (national) government of the 
     United States'' out of 4 possible choices;
       (G) 94 percent of students in grade 8 could not ``give two 
     reasons why it can be useful for a country to have a 
     constitution''; and
       (H) 91 percent of students in grade 12 were unable to 
     ``explain two ways that democratic society benefits from 
     citizens actively participating in the political process''.

     SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL 
                   PROGRESS AUTHORIZATION ACT.

       Section 303(b) of the National Assessment of Educational 
     Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9622(b)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)(D), by inserting ``(with a priority in 
     conducting assessments in history not less frequently than 
     once every 4 years)'' after ``subject matter''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3)(A)--
       (A) in clause (iii)--
       (i) by inserting ``except as provided in clause (v),'' 
     before ``may conduct''; and
       (ii) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon;
       (B) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(v) shall conduct trial State academic assessments of 
     student achievement in United States history in grades 8 and 
     12 in not less than 10 States representing geographically 
     diverse regions of the United States.''.

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT GOVERNING BOARD.

       Section 302(e)(1) of the National Assessment of Educational 
     Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621(e)(1)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``and'' after the 
     semicolon;
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as subparagraph (K);
       (3) in the flush matter at the end, by striking 
     ``subparagraph (J)'' and inserting ``subparagraph (K)''; and
       (4) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the following:
       ``(J) in consultation with the Commissioner for Education 
     Statistics, identify and select the States that will 
     participate in the trial State academic assessments described 
     in section 303(b)(3)(A)(v); and''.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 303(b)(3) of the National Assessment of Educational 
     Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9622(b)(3)) is amended 
     by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out subparagraph 
     (A)(v) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 and 2006 and 
     such sums as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal 
     year.''.

     SEC. 6. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

       Section 113(a)(1) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 
     2002 (20 U.S.C. 9513(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``section 
     302(e)(1)(J)'' and inserting ``section 302(e)(1)(K)''.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it's a privilege to join Senator 
Alexander in introducing the American History Achievement Act. This 
bill is part of a continuing effort to renew the national commitment to 
teaching in the Nation's public schools. It lays the foundation for 
more effective ways of teaching children about the Nation's past. The 
bill contains no new requirements for schools, but it does offer a more 
frequent and effective analysis of how America's schoolchildren are 
learning American history.
  Our economy and our future security rely on good schools that help 
students develop specific skills, such as reading and math. But the 
strength of our democracy and our standing in the world also depend on 
ensuring that children have a basic understanding of the Nation's past.
  Helping to instill appreciation of America's past should be an 
important mission of public schools. Thanks to the hard work of large 
numbers of history teachers in classrooms throughout

[[Page S8705]]

America, we're making progress. Results from the most recent assessment 
under the NAEP show that fourth and eighth graders are improving their 
knowledge of U.S. history. Research conducted in history classrooms 
shows that children are using primary sources and documents more often 
to explore history, and are being assigned historical and biographical 
readings by their teachers more frequently.
  But much more remains to be done to advance the understanding of 
American history, and to see that the teaching of history is not left 
behind in classrooms.
  A recent study by Dr. Sheldon Stern--the Chief Historian Emeritus at 
my brother's Presidential Library--suggests that state standards for 
teaching American history need improvement. His research reveals that 
22 States have American history standards that are either weak or lack 
clear chronology, appropriate political and historical context, or 
sufficient information about real events and people. As many as 9 
States still have no standards at all for American history.
  Good standards matter. They're the foundation for teaching and 
learning in every school. With the right resources, time, and 
attention, it's possible to develop creative and effective history 
standards in every State. Massachusetts began to work on this effort in 
2000, through a joint review of history standards that involved 
teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, and university 
professors. After monthly meetings and 3 years of development and 
revision, the State released a new framework for teaching history in 
2003. Today, our standards in American history and World history 
receive the highest marks.
  School budget problems at the local level are obviously a serious 
threat to these goals. Last week, 7,500 school districts received 
notice of an impending $237 million overall cut to their budgets, to 
take effect this fall. These cuts further exacerbate the current 
funding crisis under the No Child Left Behind Act. Unfortunately, 
courses in history or the humanities are often the first to go.
  Other accounts report that schools are narrowing their curriculums 
away from the social sciences, arts, and humanities, in favor of a more 
concentrated approach to the teaching of reading and math in order to 
meet the strict standards of the No Child Left Behind Act.
  Meeting high standards in reading and math is important, but it 
should not come at the expense of scaling back teaching in other core 
subjects such as history. Integrating reading and math with other 
subjects often gives children a better way to master literacy and 
number skills, even while learning in a history or geography lesson. 
That type of innovation deserves special attention in our schools. 
Making it happen requires added investments in teacher preparation and 
teacher mentoring, so that teachers are well prepared to use 
interdisciplinary methods in their lesson plans.
  Our bill today takes several important steps to strengthen the 
teaching of American history, and raise the standing of history in 
school curriculums. Through changes to the National Assessment for 
Educational Progress, schools will be better able to achieve success on 
this important issue.
  First, we propose a more frequent national assessment of children in 
American history under the NAEP. For years, NAEP has served as the gold 
standard for measuring the progress of students and reporting on that 
progress. Students last participated in the U.S. history NAEP in 2001, 
and that assessment generated encouraging results. But the preceding 
assessment--with which we can compare data--was administered in 1994--
too long before to be of real assistance.
  It makes sense to measure the knowledge and skills of children more 
frequently. This bill would place priority on administering the 
national U.S. history NAEP assessment, to generate a more timely 
picture of student progress. We should have an idea of children's 
knowledge and skills in American history more often than every 6 or 7 
years, in order to address gaps in learning.
  The bill also proposes a leap forward to strengthen state standards 
in American history, through a new State-level assessment of U.S. 
history under NAEP. The assessment would be conducted on an 
experimental and pilot basis in 10 States, in grades 8 and 12. The 
National Assessment Governing Board would ensure that States with model 
history standards, as well as those that are still under development, 
participate in this assessment.
  Moving NAEP to the state level does not carry any high stakes for 
schools. But it will provide an additional benchmark for States to 
develop and improve American history standards. It's our hope that 
States will also be encouraged to undertake improvements in their 
history curricula and ensure that American history is a beneficiary and 
not a victim of school reform.
  America's past encompasses great leaders and great ideas that 
contributed to our heritage and to the principles of freedom, equality, 
justice, and opportunity for all. Today's students will be better 
citizens in the future if they learn more about that history. The 
American History Achievement Act is an important effort toward that 
goal, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.
                                 ______