States Reduce Focus on Social Studies, Civics

 

 

 

 

 

” All 50 states have social studies standards, but only 21 test students on the topic and nine require students to pass them to graduate, according to a new Tufts University analysis of state K-12 civics requirements.

“States say civic education is important, but very few test on it,” said Cheryl Miller, manager of the American Enterprise Institute’s Program for American Citizenship. “That communicates something to teachers, administrators, parents, and students about the importance of this subject.”

The survey, the first of its kind in five years, also found states define the subject broadly, including in it topics such as civics, government, history, and geography. “

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