Mississippi schools flunk American history

JACKSON - Mississippi is among 23 states given a grade of "F" for its U.S. history education standards by a Washington think tank.

The report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute examined comprehensive historical content, sequential development and balance in each state's history curriculum. Only six states earned an "A."

Mississippi's score was 40 percent, mostly because the state emphasizes "a very vague thematic approach" rather than chronology in its American history curriculum, said Kathleen Porter, the institute's associate director of research.

"Usually, what happens with thematic approaches, the focus is not on history, but on themes," Porter said. "A cultural interaction theme might mention a few events while teaching culture.

... It's not really teaching solid American history."

Mississippi's kindergarten through 12th-grade history curriculum is targeted at "meaningful themes" so that students can understand the context of events, said Bonita Coleman-Potter, an associate state superintendent of education.

"When you look at something as expansive as history, you have to think of a way to make it digestible," said Coleman-Porter, who is with the Office of Academic Education. "I think the (state's) framework in and of itself lends itself to objectivity."

She said Mississippi's curriculum was set in 1998 and will be reviewed this year by a panel that includes teachers, as it is every five years.

The state is also looking at adding a U.S. history exam to subject-area high school tests under the state's accountability system, she said.

The Fordham Institute report is part of its "Back to Basics: Reclaiming Social Studies" project that has the goal of revitalizing social studies education, Porter said.

"It's part of this larger issue in this post 9/11 world: what are students learning about this nation and why it's worth defending," she said.

Maryann Graczyk, president of the Mississippi American Federation of Teachers, said the state's curriculum needs to include a "sequence of specific and honest history."

"Placing it in chronological order gives you the scope of the way things happened in the past and allows you to view events in terms of their impact on future events," she said.

In 2001, 57 percent of high school seniors who took the National Assessment of Educational Progress standardized test lacked basic knowledge of American history.

"It is troubling that so many students do not have a basic understanding of U.S. history," said Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.

The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday announced $98.5 million in federal Teaching American History grants, including about $900,000 for the Jackson Public School District, Cochran said.

A U.S. Senate committee is meeting today to discuss problems with textbooks, especially history, and a proposed Senate bill would provide money for improving U.S. history education.