[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 16, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6197-S6198]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself and Mr. Kennedy):
  S. 1414. 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. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Alexander 
this year in introducing the American History and Civics Achievement 
Act. The 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 importance of civic 
responsibility. It contains no new requirements for schools, but it 
does offer a more frequent and effective analysis of how America's 
students are learning these important subjects.
  The NAEP U.S. History and Civics results released today, for example, 
show that 86 percent of America's high school seniors cannot explain 
why this country was involved in the Korean war.
  Nearly all eighth graders struggle to explain how the fall of the 
Berlin Wall affected our foreign policy.
  Nearly 75 percent of eighth graders cannot explain the historical 
purpose of the Declaration of Independence.
  We can't allow this trend to continue. While some progress has been 
made in improving student achievement in these subjects, too many 
students are still unable to grasp their importance.
  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 of the 
defining events in our Nation's history can be a catalyst for civic 
involvement.
  Instilling such appreciation, and teaching the values of justice, 
equality, and civic responsibility should be an important mission of 
our public schools. Thanks to the hard work of large numbers of history 
and civics teachers in classrooms throughout America, we are making 
progress. 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 improve students' understanding 
of both of these subjects, and see to it that they are not left behind 
in their classrooms.
  Good standards matter. They are the foundation for teaching and 
learning in every school. With the right resources, time, and 
attention, it is possible to develop creative and effective history and 
civics standards in every State.
  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 studying history, geography, and government.
  That type of innovation deserves special attention in our schools. 
Making it happen requires a focus on good standards and student 
achievement, which we're proposing today. But it also 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 in 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--every 4 years. NAEP is the gold 
standard for measuring progress by students and reporting to the Nation 
on that progress. It makes sense to measure the knowledge and skills of 
children on the NAEP more frequently than every 5 or 6 years, to obtain 
a more timely picture of student progress and better address gaps in 
learning.
  The bill also proposes 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 will ensure that States with model

[[Page S6198]]

standards, as well as those whose standards are still under 
development, will 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 is 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 with 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 
and Civics Achievement Act is an important effort to reach that goal, 
and I urge my colleagues to support it.
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