Instructors Say Social Studies Suffering Because of No Child Left Behind Act

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Social studies have become an unintended casualty of the federal "No Child Left Behind Act" because of emphasis placed on other subjects, educators say.

Some fear that students' knowledge of history and government will shrink as schools spend more time bringing up their math and reading scores to comply with federal requirements.

"The worst thing that has ever happened to social studies has been the No Child Left Behind law," said Al Frascella, a spokesman for the National Council for the Social Studies.

"We had to work so heavily on social studies," Talley said. "We had to make sure they got everything."

That was back when Missouri required fourth-graders to be tested in social studies as part of the accreditation system. Now, social studies material is being woven into courses that focus on literacy skills.

"The message being read by the local districts, state school boards and superintendents is it (social studies) is not important because the law didn't include it," Frascella said. "What isn't tested isn't taught, and we are seeing that all across the country."

The Council for Basic Education conducted a national study in 2003 that found three-in-10 principals surveyed said their schools were spending less instructional time on social studies. That was especially the case in elementary schools with large numbers of minority students.

Jack Jennings, the director of a Washington think tank, said schools that serve many low-income students were under pressure to meet proficiency goals in reading and math. That means spending less time on social studies, he said.

"You are going to have kids who are ignorant about large parts of the world," Jennings said. "Today many soldiers are going to Iraq without knowing where it is."

But some educators think elementary students are getting plenty of social studies instruction.

"If Johnny can't read, how is he going to get into (social studies)? I don't believe they are really missing out," said Melinda Madden, an instructional coach at Blenheim.

Elementary and middle schools are feeling the biggest impact of the social studies decline, because that's still a subject high school students have to take to graduate. Kansas requires three credits in social studies and government to graduate, and Missouri requires two units of social studies.

Kansas City School District Supt. Bernard Taylor, a former social studies teacher, said it's no secret why teachers are spending more time on math and reading and less on history.

"They are high-stakes tests," Taylor said. "No one can be naive enough to believe that's not happening."