Scores in U.S. history and civics for eighth-graders are down across the country.
The data comes from recent results of an assessment known as the "Nation's Report Card."
This year's history scores are the lowest recorded since the assessment began in 1994, and the new data mark the first-ever drop in civics.
National Assessment of Educational Progress Commissioner Peggy Carr called the results a "national concern."
"Self-government depends on each generation of students leaving school with a complete understanding of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship," Carr said in a statement. "But far too many of our students are struggling to understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government functions, and the historical significance of events. These results are a national concern."
NCES Acting Associate Commissioner Dan McGrath said the results show few eighth-graders are reaching higher levels of achievement.
"The percentages of students performing below the NAEP Basic level rose in both U.S. history and civics," he said. "Only 13 percent of eighth-graders were at or above the NAEP Proficient level for U.S. history. That's the lowest proportion of eighth-grade students reaching that level out of any subject assessed by the NAEP program. And only about a fifth of students were at or above the NAEP Proficient level in civics, which is the second-lowest proportion of students reaching that level in any subject."
In U.S. history, there were declines since 2018 across all performance levels except for the very top-performing students (those at the 90th percentile).
The history assessment measures students' knowledge and understanding of U.S. history in all its complexity — its major themes, periods, events, people, ideas, and turning points. The assessment examines students' understanding of historical chronology, differing perspectives across time, and their grasp of historical facts and contexts.
Eighth-graders' U.S. history score declined five points on the 0-500 scale, from 263 in 2018 to 258 in 2022, continuing a downward trend that began in 2014. Scores declined across all four themes of U.S. history: change and continuity in American democracy (Democracy, a 5-point decline); gathering and interactions of peoples, cultures, and ideas (Culture, a 5-point decline); economic and technological changes (Technology, a 5-point decline); and the changing role of America in the world (World Role, a 3-point decline).
Forty percent of eighth-graders performed below the NAEP Basic level in U.S. history in 2022, which was higher compared to 2018 (34%). Meantime, 13% of eighth-graders scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in U.S. history, down from 15% in 2018.
In civics, scores declined for lower- and middle-performing students (those at the 10th, 25th, and 50th percentiles), but did not change for higher-performing students (at the 75th and 90th percentiles).
The civics assessment measures students' knowledge of American government as well as their ability to participate in civic activities. It encompasses three central, interrelated components: (1) knowledge and understanding of key aspects of the American political system and the principles of American democracy; (2) the intellectual and participatory skills needed to apply civic knowledge for effective citizenship; and (3) civic dispositions, such as understanding the rights individuals have and the responsibilities of individuals to their community.
Eighth-graders' performance declined 2 points on the 0-300 scale, from 153 in 2018 to 150 in 2022.
"This was the first decline ever recorded by the civics assessment," the NAEP said.
Thirty-one percent of eighth-graders performed below the NAEP Basic level in civics in 2022, which was higher compared to 2018 (27%). Meantime, 22% of eighth-graders scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in civics in 2022.
The results also follow recent national declines in reading and math among students in grades four and eight.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the results underscore the "profound impact the pandemic had on student learning."
"Now is not the time for politicians to try to extract double-digit cuts to education funding, nor is it the time to limit what students learn in U.S. history and civics classes," Cardona said in a statement. "We need to provide every student with rich opportunities to learn about America’s history and understand the U.S. Constitution and how our system of government works. Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction."
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