Social studies instructional time in elementary schools has declined substantially. Responding to this, the National Geographic Society (NGS) developed a professional learning program called the Elementary Social Studies Community of Practice (ESSCoP). This article describes this program's design and content, as well as evaluates its…

This post-professional development evaluation study (based on in-depth interviews) assessed the experience of ten educators who had participated one year earlier in workshops about the use of museum digital resources through the Smithsonian Learning Lab (SLL) for curricula development. The project focused on creating SLL collections to integrate…

This report describes the Achieve 180 Program in Year 2. The 53 participating schools received Texas Education Agency campus accountability ratings of "Improvement Required" (IR), "Not Rated," or "Former Improvement Required" at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. The 2018-2019 Achieve 180 Program's centralized…

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…

Based on the "Guidelines for Energy Education in Social Studies" developed by the National Council for the Social Studies in 1981, this checklist will enable curriculum planners to weigh their ideas and proposals against carefully developed statements of principles and standards. (RM)

A clearinghouse to evaluate social studies programs in the schools and to disseminate information and advice concerning the content of these programs is needed. (CK)

Surveys the 17 "distinguishing characteristics" listed in the introduction of California's History-Social Science Framework (1988), and evaluates its strengths and weaknesses. Points out inconsistencies and argues that the arbitrary omission of some important items was unnecessary. (GEA)

The Objective-Item Bank presented covers 16 sections of four subject areas in each of four grade levels. The four areas are: Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. The four grade levels are: Primary, Intermediate, Junior High, and High School. The Objective-Item Bank provides school administrators with an initial starting point for…

The Objective-Item Bank presented covers 16 sections of four subject areas in each of four grade levels. The four areas are: Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, and Science. The four grade levels are: Primary, Intermediate, Junior High, and High School. The Objective-Item Bank provides school administrators with an initial starting point for…

This report is the research component of the Center for Civic Education's School Violence Prevention Demonstration Program, a scheme for middle-school-aged students that develops intellectual and participatory skills essential to effective and responsible citizenship. The program is an attempt to draw attention to ways in which civic education can…

The VOICE (Violence Prevention Outcomes in Civic Education) program is one of a series of efforts to help schools develop curricula that can effectively and positively teach key concepts about government, the Constitution, the courts, and the underlying principles of these institutions. A key element of the VOICE program is that these concepts…

Educational evaluation is ideally much broader than the examination of students' work at stipulated intervals. It addresses the selection of objectives, the methodology, the capability of management, the adequacy of data sources, the resources required, and even the alternative educational purposes that could be served. This study evaluates the…

The purposes of this Newsletter are: to summarize the Consortium's recent experience with the Curriculum Materials Analysis System (CMAS); to report the activities of others using CMAS; and to describe available analyses of curriculum materials, including their prices. Most of the analyses were done by teachers and supervisors in work groups…

This document is a guideline for selection and evaluation of social studies curriculum materials developed by the Marin Social Studies Project. Questions are presented which will help in the examination of materials so that specific strengths and weaknesses in the materials can be determined. Consideration is given to the objectives and rationale…