Unanswered question: Has focus on math and reading squeezed out civics?
By Kimberly Beltran
Friday, February 15, 2013
The impetus for a new national study on civics education in K-12 schools was to evaluate claims that classroom focus on math and reading skills was squeezing out traditional study of citizenship in America.
The conclusion, said researchers from the Center on Education Policy, is murky because too little data is available on the subject.
Further, the team found little difference in performance between the overall civics achievement of pupils from charters schools or their counterparts in traditional settings.
The findings should still set off some alarm bells, the study authors said, because the “lack of research leaves the nation at a disadvantage” when it comes to understanding the level of civics knowledge, instruction and engagement in the nation’s youth.
“In recent years, researchers and advocacy groups have pointed to evidence suggesting that schools are giving insufficient attention to civic education,” researchers wrote. “With the emphasis on raising student achievement in English language arts and mathematics to meet the accountability requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, many school systems have reduced instructional time for other subjects, such as social studies and civics (Center on