Ana Taboada Barber, professor and associate dean of research, innovation and partnerships, and Sarah McGrew, assistant professor, weigh in on the declines in eight-grade civics and history scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
In U.S. history and civics, the NAEP tests students’ faculty knowledge—asking multiple choice questions, for example, about how the electoral college works. It also measures students’ ability to analyze, interpret and critique texts, skills that are also assessed on the NAEP reading test, says Taboada Barber.
