[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 48 (Wednesday, April 20, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4031-S4033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 860. 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 civics, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, today I am introducing the ``American 
History Achievement Act'' and am pleased to be joined in this effort by 
the senior Senator from Massachusetts. This is part of my effort to put 
the teaching of American history and civics back in its rightful place 
in our

[[Page S4032]]

schools so our children can grow up learning what it means to be an 
American.
  The ``American History Achievement Act'' gives the National 
Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) the authority to administer a ten 
State pilot study of the National Assessment of Education Progress 
(NAEP) test in U.S. history in 2006. They already have that authority 
for reading, math, science, and writing. The bill also includes a new 
provision that would permit a 10-state pilot study for the Civics NAEP 
test if funding is available.
  This modest bill provides for improved testing of American history so 
that 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 
that when testing is focused on a specific subject, states and school 
districts are more likely to step up to the challenge and improve 
performance.
  We could certainly use improvement in the teaching of American 
history. According to the National Assessment of Education Progress 
(NAEP), commonly referred to as the ``Nation's Report Card,'' fewer 
students have just a basic understanding of American history than have 
a basic understanding of any other subject which we test--including 
math, science, and reading. When you look at the 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 conducted a poll last year 
of 1300 adults for the Educational Testing Service (ETS), where they 
asked what the principal goal of education should be. The top response 
was ``producing literate, educated citizens who can participate in our 
democracy.'' Twenty-six percent of respondents felt that should be our 
principal goal. ``Teach basics: math, reading, writing'' was selected 
by only 15 percent as the principal goal of education. You can't be an 
educated participant in our democracy if you don't know our history.
  Our children don't know American history because they are not being 
taught it. For example, the state of Florida recently passed a bill 
permitting high school students to graduate without taking a course in 
U.S. history.
  And when our children are being taught our history, they're not 
learning what's most important. According to Harvard scholar Samuel 
Huntington, ``A 1987 study of high school students found that more knew 
who Harriet Tubman was than knew that Washington commanded the American 
army in the Revolution or that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation 
Proclamation.'' Now I'm all for teaching about the history of the 
Underground Railroad--my ancestor, the Reverend John Rankin, like 
Harriet Tubman, was a conductor on the Underground Railroad--but surely 
children ought to learn first about the most critical leaders and 
events in the Revolution and the Civil War.
  Let me give a few examples of just how bad things have gotten:
  The 4th grade NAEP test asks 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; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit 
of happiness. . . .'' Students were given four choices for the source 
of that passage: (a) Constitution, (b) Mayflower Compact, (c) 
Declaration of Independence, and (d) Article of the Confederation.
  Only 46 percent of students answered correctly that it came from the 
Declaration of Independence. The Declaration is the fundamental 
document for the founding of our Nation, but less than half the 
students could identify that famous passage from it.
  The 8th grade test asks students to ``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. They 
must wonder why the Fourth of July is Independence Day.
  We can't allow this to continue. Our children are growing up without 
even learning the basics of our Nation's history. Something has to be 
done. This legislation aims to help in that effort.
  The pilot program authorized in the bill should collect enough data 
to attain a state-by-state comparison of 8th and 12th grades student's 
knowledge and understanding of U.S. history. That data 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. It will also put a spotlight on American history that 
should encourage States and school districts to improve their efforts 
at teaching the subject.
  I suspect that the pilot program will tell us that history programs 
like those of the House Page School, right here on Capitol Hill, are 
the model to follow. On January 25, the College Board announced that 
the House page school ranked first in the Nation among institutions 
with fewer than 500 pupils for the percentage of the student body who 
achieved college-level mastery on the advanced placement exam in U.S. 
history. The page school achieved this result not only by teaching 
American history, but also because teachers highlight American history 
in all of their classes--from science to literature--as well as taking 
students on field trips around the Washington area, from Monticello to 
the American History Museum here in Washington, to historical sites in 
Philadelphia. The House Page School's success is evidence that we can 
succeed in teaching our children the history of this great Nation. I 
suspect we will uncover more effective models for the teaching of 
American history with the enactment of this legislation.
  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. 
This bill takes us one step closer to achieving that noble goal. I urge 
my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I'm pleased to join Senator Alexander 
again this year in introducing the American History Achievement Act. 
This bill is part of a continuing effort to renew the national 
commitment to teaching history and civics in the Nation's public 
schools. It lays the foundation for more effective ways of teaching 
children about the Nation's past and the value of civic responsibility. 
It contains no new requirements for schools, but it does offer a more 
frequent and effective analysis of how America's schoolchildren are 
learning these important subjects.
  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 
and what it takes to engage in our democracy. An appreciation for the 
defining events in our nation's history can be a catalyst for civic 
involvement.
  Helping to instill appreciation of America's past--and teaching the 
values of justice, equality, and civic responsibility--should be an 
important mission of public schools. Thanks to the hard work of large 
numbers of history and civics teachers in classrooms throughout 
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 both 
of these subjects, and see to it that they are 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

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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 three 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 also a serious threat 
to these goals.
  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 and civics. 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, geography, or 
government 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 civics, and raise the standing of 
these subjects 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 and civics, through a new State-level pilot 
assessment of these subjects under NAEP. The assessment would be 
conducted on an experimental basis in 10 States, in grades 8 and 12. 
The National Assessment Governing Board would ensure that States with 
model 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 their standards. It's our hope that states will 
also be encouraged to undertake improvements in their history curricula 
and in their teaching of civics, and ensure that both subjects are 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 and about 
the skills needed to participate in our democracy. The American History 
Achievement Act is an important effort toward that goal, and I 
encourage my colleagues to support it.
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