ACTA's What Will They Learn?® (WWTL) project is designed to help students choose the best college or university for them. The printed report and its online companion WhatWillTheyLearn.com represent the only assessment of U.S. colleges and universities that focuses on what schools are actually teaching. This report assigns grades to over 1,130…

In the United States, colleges and universities have traditionally undertaken the important task of preparing citizens to participate fully and effectively in the civic, political, and economic spheres of the republican system. They have done so by joining a general education curriculum--common to all students--to an area of specialized knowledge,…

Ten years ago, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gathered data on 100 colleges from the U.S. News & World Report's annual list of "Best Colleges and Universities." ACTA questioned whether these elite institutions were requiring their students to take rigorous, college-level courses in the core areas crucial for…

Historians of American foreign relations are continuing to expand the ways in which they approach the Cold War. The range of perspectives has evolved thanks to the influence of emerging fields and new emphases in history. The end of the Cold War revealed the many ways in which the conflict was a protracted global war. But it also brought a renewed…

The 2012 U.S. presidential election is the perfect opportunity to present a timely civics lesson on how a U.S. president is elected. More important, it offers opportunities for students to reason mathematically about election issues--for example, about how much time and resources the candidates should invest in particular states. The results of…

This study employs the Solomon Four-Group Design to measure student knowledge of the United States government and student knowledge of current events at the beginning of a U.S. government course and at the end. In both areas, knowledge improves significantly. Regarding knowledge of the U.S. government, both males and females improve at similar…

Although the United States Pledge of Allegiance is a ritual in many schools, research on middle school students' views about this tradition is limited. Therefore, this grounded theory study included a survey of 100 middle school students on the Pledge with 33 follow-up interviews. Socialization and counter-socialization served as the theoretical…

Political science students learn the fundamental principles and values about the American political system from American government/politics textbooks. Most of the major textbooks used in these courses utilize the traditional institutional and behavioral approaches to the study of American government and politics, which examines institutions and…

GRADES OR AGES: Grades 10 and 11. SUBJECT MATTER: Social studies, United States political development. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The major portion of the guide is divided into three subunits, each of which is laid out in three columns, one each for topics, activities, and materials. Other sections are in list form. The guide is…

This article explores the drafting of the United States Constitution. The United States Constitution is the longest-lasting written national constitution in the world. Its four parchment pages serve as the blueprint for a government under which more than 290 million Americans live. It holds great significance for the American people and for others…

Designed for Grades 3-5, this lesson plan aims to let the students learn how the Constitution of the United States provided the framework for the country's democratic form of government. Students will learn how the Constitution provided for representation within the government. A short story about the Boston Tea Party gives the background related…

No Child Left Behind and state testing mandate the study of government officials, at local, state, and federal levels, in judicial, legislative, and executive branches. At Wattles Elementary School in Troy, Michigan, test scores indicated that this was a weak area--not surprising since this always has been primarily a high school subject. In this…

A textbook for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students presents lessons on U.S. citizenship education and naturalization information. The nine lessons cover the following topics: the U.S. system of government; the Bill of Rights; responsibilities and rights of citizens; voting; requirements for naturalization; the application process; the…

The goals of this learning packet are to: (1) increase understanding of the Soviet system; (2) enhance appreciation of U.S. constitutionally guaranteed rights; and (3) inform students of how governmental policies of both nations are reflected in the lives of ordinary people. The 17 reproducible lessons are designed to present: (1) the philosophy…

GRADES OR AGES: Grades 8-12. SUBJECT MATTER: Social studies; civilizations. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The guide is divided into 12 chapters, most of which are in list form. It is mimeographed and staple-bound with a paper cover. OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES: No specific activities are mentioned. The guide is intended as an overview of the…