mission of our nation’s schools, says
the Campaign for the Civic Mission
of Schools’ Ted McConnell. The
NAEP civics assessment shows that
only 25 percent of U.S. students could
demonstrate proficiency in civics,
which basically shows no improvement
since 1998, McConnell points out.
A large civic learning gap between
black and Hispanic versus white and
suburban students remains.
“This gap is a situation that
threatens to, in effect, disenfranchise
citizens through a lack of opportuni-
ties to develop civic skills and knowl-
edge,” warns McConnell. “Today it
But one indicator of its growing
importance is that PISA, which
compares the education systems of
65 countries, will add a financial
literacy component to its 2013 test.
Fifteen-year-old students from
19 countries or cities—including the
United States; Poland; and Shanghai,
China—will take the assessment,
which will include financial literacy
topics such as managing bank accounts
and credit and debit cards; under-
standing taxes, savings, and financial
risks and rewards; and understanding
consumer rights and responsibilities
in financial contracts (Robelen,
the 2009 National assessment of Educational
progress (NaEp) High school transcript study,
shows a link between taking a rigorous high
school curriculum, including higher level science
and math classes, and higher achievement.
seems we have lost sight of educating
for citizenship in favor of education
for the workplace. That is a very dan-
gerous situation for a constitutional
democracy dependent on the ‘will of
the people’ and the participation of
all citizens.”
Because of the economic down-
turn in recent years that included
the failure of major U.S. banks and
foreclosures on millions of houses,
some educators and especially mem-
bers of the business sector are calling
for teaching financial literacy in the
schools. In fact, economics has made
some inroads into the high school
curriculum during the last several
decades, typically as an elective.
2011, March 1). Under the Obama
administration’s well-rounded education funding plan, it’s impossible
to predict whether the larger pot of
money would translate into more
funding for economic education.
Science and Math Are
Part of a Well-Rounded,
Rigorous Curriculum
One recent report, America’s High
School Graduates: The 2009 National
Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) High School Transcript Study,
shows a link between taking a rigor-
ous high school curriculum, including
higher level science and math classes,
and higher achievement. The report
compared data from the 2009 12th
grade NAEP assessment (a periodic
snapshot of U.S. school performance)
and student transcripts and found
that students who took a rigorous cur-
riculum, which includes precalculus
or higher math; courses in biology,
chemistry, and physics; and a foreign
language in addition to English and
social studies scored at NAEP’s
“proficient” level, which shows solid
academic performance. Those enrolled
in a less rigorous curriculum—for
example, one without a foreign
language, or topping out math with
algebra II—typically averaged
“basic” NAEP scores, which indicates
only partial mastery of fundamental
knowledge and skills.
