State curriculum for U.S. history flunks evaluation

[sonias]

AAS 2/16/11
State curriculum for U.S. history flunks evaluation

Texas is among 28 states to receive a failing grade on its U.S. history curriculum for public schools, according to an evaluation by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute being released today .

The Washington-based think tank, a nonpartisan group that studies national education trends, gave Texas a D, down from a C in 2003, the last time the group assessed history standards.

The State Board of Education revised Texas' history curriculum last spring in a highly publicized — and according to the report, "blatantly partisan" — overhaul.

The report accuses the board of displaying "overt hostility and contempt for historians and scholars" in considering curriculum changes. Though Texas bucks a national trend toward curricula that "tilt leftward," report co-author Sheldon Stern said, the typical Texan independence is not to students' benefit.

"You have a 180-degree change in Texas, where they're trying to resurrect the old triumphal narrative in which everything in American history is wonderful, as opposed to the left-wing narrative, in which America is uniquely evil," he said. "In the end, who suffers is the students, because they don't learn real history at all."

No surprise unfortunately.

:(

[sonias]

1. Texas Social Studies Standards Receive Failing Grade

Texas Tribune 2/16/11
Texas Social Studies Standards Receive Failing Grade

A report from a national, conservative education think tank says social studies standards in Texas are "an unwieldy tangle" of "misrepresentations at every turn" that give students a "politicized distortion of history."

(snip)
Most states' standards aim for political balance or tilt leftward, the report says, but Texas's curriculum is singled out as an exception — it's on the "leading edge of conservatism."
(snip)
An excerpt from the findings:

Throughout the Texas standards, dozens of references (even the title of the high school economics course) offer a drumbeat of uncritical celebration of “the free enterprise system and its benefits”—resembling, in an inverted historical echo, Soviet schools harping on the glories of state socialism. Native Americans, disproportionately discussed in many other states, are almost totally missing. Slavery is downplayed and segregation barely mentioned—omissions pointedly noted by former U.S. education secretary (and Houston superintendent) Rod Paige. 16 Members of the SBOE also showed themselves determined to inject their personal religious beliefs into history education. “Judeo-Christian (especially biblical law)” and “Moses” are, incredibly, listed as the principal political influences on America’s founders. The separation of church and state, a much-debated and crucial concept in the drafting of the state constitutions (1777–1781) and the federal Constitution (1787), is simply dismissed.

Texas on the leading edge of conservatism, or in other words - leading in stupidity. Judged by their "own" or at least "friendly" to their cause think tank. :eyes:

:kick:

[BearArms]

2. Yep, absolutely no surprise.

The conservatives couldn't care less about scores or the truth. Building an uneducated population is a perfect way for the Republicans to stay in power.

[sonias]

3. Welcome to the DU Texas forum, BearArms!

:hi:

[sonias]

4. Conservative Think Tank Slams TX Standards

Texas Freedom Network 2/16/11
Conservative Think Tank Slams TX Standards

TFN PRESIDENT: FORDHAM ANALYSIS CONFIRMS THAT NEW SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS ARE A DISASTER FOR TEXAS SCHOOLS

A conservative think tank’s analysis confirms what the Texas Freedom Network has been saying for months: new social studies standards adopted by the State Board of Education last year are a disaster for Texas schools and students, TFN President Kathy Miller said today.

“This analysis adds to a growing chorus of criticism aimed at state board members who deliberately and arrogantly substituted their own political biases for facts and scholarship throughout the standards,” Miller said. “It’s hard to imagine a more damning indictment of the way the board has politicized and manipulated the education of Texas kids over the past several years. Political agendas – from the left or the right – simply have no place in our kids’ classrooms.”

The conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute released its analysis today. “The State of State U.S. History Standards 2011” analyzes U.S. history curriculum standards from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report gives Texas a grade of “D” for its standards.

:kick: