WASHINGTON — Only about a quarter of eighth-graders showed solid performance or better in U.S. history, civics and geography on tests known as the Nation’s Report Card.
The 2014 results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, released Wednesday, were similar to those four years ago, when the assessments were last administered.
Students did better overall in U.S. history and civics than their peers in the 1990s, when the tests were first given, but geography scores have remained stagnant since 1994.
Among the findings: Less than half — 45 percent — of eighth-grade respondents were able to correctly interpret time differences using an atlas with time zones. Only about a third knew that “the government of the United States should be a democracy” is a political belief shared by most people in the U.S.
Michelle Herczog, president of the National Council for the Social Studies, said the results “point to a need for immediate action.” Tackling issues such as terrorism, human rights, race relations and poverty require a deep understanding of the historical and geographic context, she said.
“How do we, as a nation, maintain our status in the world if future generations of Americans do not understand our nation’s history, world geography, or civics principles or practices?” Herczog said.
Only 18 percent of students demonstrated solid performance or better in U.S. history. The results for geography and civics were slightly better: 27 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
A large share of the eighth-graders who took the test scored at the “basic” level, meaning just partial mastery of the subjects. Only 1 percent of test takers in U.S. history, 3 percent in geography and 2 percent in civics scored in the advanced level.
White and Asian students performed better than their Latino and black peers.
A nationally represented sample of 29,000 eighth-graders from public and private schools took a test in one of the three subjects.
It is administered by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.
