The results of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress, commonly known as the Nation's Report Card, revealed that U.S. students were making little progress in their understanding of geography and how people change, and are changed by, their natural environment. Only 23% of fourth-graders, 30% of eighth-graders and 21% of 12th-graders knew enough to be considered "proficient" or "advanced" on the national exam, given in January-March 2010. "Proficient" means students have a solid understanding of challenging material.
Fourth-graders showed a slight improvement since the geography exam was last administered, in 2001, and since it was given in 1994. The scores of eighth-graders remained unchanged, while 12th-graders made no progress from 2001 and slipped behind their peers in 1994.
The results, which come on the heels of similar disappointing scores on the national history and civics exams, prompted various explanations and laments from educators. Some blamed students' obsession with technology, which they said reduces facility with maps. Others said the social sciences, especially geography, are getting pushed out of the curriculum because of the intense focus on math and reading demanded under the federal No Child Left Behind education law.
Geography "is losing out to the zero-sum game that results from high-stakes testing," said Roger Downs, a geography professor at Pennsylvania State University who spoke during a news conference at which the results were announced. "As the economic and cultural forces of globalization and the impacts of global environmental change are felt by everybody everywhere, the case for geography seems both obvious and inescapable."
But Jack Buckley, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the exam, said the time 12th-graders spent in social-studies class and studying the subject had increased over the past decade. "There's not a lot there to tell me why," he said of the results.
Shannon Garrison, who sits on the National Assessment Governing Board, which develops the exam, said geography was an "unclaimed subject" in middle and high school. "In many districts and schools, the responsibility for teaching geography is unclear," she said.
The exam was given to a representative sample of 7,000 fourth-graders, 9,500 eighth-graders and 10,000 12th-graders in public and private schools. It is scored on a scale of 0 to 500 points. The scores are then broken into "below basic," "basic," "proficient" and "advanced."
Geography is one of eight subjects covered by the assessment program. Students are also tested in math, science, economics, reading, writing, history and civics. The tests date to the 1960s.
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