This mixed methods study of explanatory sequential design researching two elementary and two middle school campuses will present information on the amount of instructional time allotted to social studies in Texas schools and whether integrating social studies instruction with another subject, is feasible and produces positive assessment results.…

As a condition of receiving federal funds, the Every Student Succeeds Act requires state education agencies to implement statewide assessments in mathematics and English language arts every year in third through eighth grade and once in ninth through 12th grade. The federal law also requires a science assessment once in each of three grade spans:…

As a condition of receiving federal funds, the Every Student Succeeds Act requires state education agencies to implement statewide assessments in mathematics and English language arts every year in third through eighth grade and once in ninth through 12th grade. The federal law also requires a science assessment once in each of three grade spans:…

Geography at elementary and middle schools in Louisiana, USA., remains a social studies strand along with civics, economics, and history, with no state-required geography course at any level. But because schools may require more geography than the state standard, this research examines the extent to which K-12 students are exposed to geography in…

This article is about a year-long teaching and research project conducted with 696 4th graders (mostly 10-year olds) and their 36 teachers in Wyoming/USA. The researchers employed an action research approach. They planned and taught a two-day, Wyoming-themed, interdisciplinary unit, "We Are Wyoming", which integrated Social Studies,…

Civic learning for all students seems like a reasonable and important aim for all schools to achieve. If we believe that the future of our American democracy depends on a citizenry that is informed, engaged, and responsible, what better place to create future citizens than in schools? The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools…

This article is the third in a larger study of schooling during the Great Depression that seeks to elucidate specific examples of elementary social studies teaching and learning in the South during this time, particularly in Arkansas. Responding to Christine Woyshner's (2009) concern that histories of social studies should look beyond national…

There is a timely movement afoot to secure the rightful place of social studies as a core part of curriculum at a time when it is increasingly compromised across the nation. The authors present a model that accepts the call to consider the enterprise of social studies research and broaden it to address the needs of the day. They offer a brief…

There is much debate over the impact of high stakes testing as well as a growing body of research focused on both the intended and unintended consequences of these tests. One claim of both the popular media and education researchers is that high stakes tests have led to curricular narrowing--the idea that school time is increasingly allocated to…

This qualitative study examines the distinguishing themes of cultural responsiveness in state- and federally-derived document-based learning materials. Two data sources--"Teaching with Documents" articles in Social Education and Document Based Questions on New York State 11th-grade U.S. History and Government Regents exams--were examined…

Public schools stress the need for students to become informed and engaged citizens, however social studies instruction is becoming marginalized in many elementary schools today, the very area where they learn citizenship and about the world around them. This study seeks to: understand the reason for the loss of instructional time for social…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress--commonly called "The Nation's Report Card"--tells a dismal story: Only 2% of high school seniors in 2010 could answer a simple question about the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" decision. And it's no surprise. Across the country, state educational…

Background/Context: In response to state-level test-based accountability and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, school administrators increasingly view centralized curriculum and prescribed instructional strategies as the most direct means of increasing student performance. This movement toward standardization reduces teachers' autonomy and…

This manual has been prepared for all New Mexico Statewide Assessment Program (NMSAP) assessment administrators, teachers, school specialists, and principals. It includes information about the following topics: PED contacts, New Mexico Standards Based Assessments (SBA), Grades 3-8 and 11; New Mexico High School Competency Examination (NMHSCE);…

Measuring History complements the cases presented in Wise Social Studies Practices (Yeager & Davis, 2005). Yeager and Davis highlight the rich and ambitious teaching that can occur in the broad context of state-level testing. In this book, the chapter authors and I bring the particular state history tests more to the fore and examine how…