The Virginian-Pilot
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Second-graders in Virginia study ancient China, Egypt and the American Indians. In third grade, they study Greece, Rome and the West African empire of Mali.
If the state follows through on its plans, critics say, those lessons themselves could become history.
The state board of education is considering eliminating the Standards of Learning history exam given to third-graders, freeing approximately $380,000 a year to shore up other subjects. Critics contend that without the test, teachers won't have any incentive to include history in the curriculum.
"If there's no stick at the end... then the resources are going to be going into areas that are being tested," said Bill Obrochta, director of education at the Virginia Historical Society.
At a meeting Monday in Richmond, the board asked Superintendent of Public Instruction Patricia Wright to put together a plan by June that would scrap the more-than-a-decade-old SOL exam on third-grade history. I ts material would be incorporated into passages on the third-grade reading SOL.
The history material wouldn't be tested as content, Wright said. But she said she hopes the move would allay fears that the department is downplaying the subject.
"We can't create a reading test that tests the SOLs in social studies specifically, because then it wouldn't be a reading test," she said. "But what we can do is draw on those topics to create reading passages. That sends a strong message to our teachers that this content is very important.
"The last thing I want to do is minimize the teaching of social studies," she said.
Virginia's third-grade history test is cumulative, measuring student s' knowledge of topics they studied from kindergarten, when they cover Pocahontas and Abraham Lincoln, through third grade, when they get to Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon and representative democracy.
In addition to the third-grade test, students currently take four more tests in history or social studies before they reach high school.
Virginia is one of the few states that administers standardized history and social studies tests. Under the federal No Child Left Behind act, states are required to test students only in reading, math and science.
If third-grade history testing is cut, the effect on school curricul a probably won't be immediate, said Cynthia Sparks, director of assessment and accountability with Chesapeake public schools.
But Sparks, who taught history for 17 years and was the school division's director of social studies, said teachers tend to concentrate their teaching where their scores are weak.
"Over time, social studies could get hurt," she said.
The board is expected to vote on the plan in June.
Alicia Wittmeyer, (757) 222-5216, alicia.wittmeyer@pilotonline.com
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Dropping 3rd grade history test
Lets see. Drop extra curricular activities. Drop recess. Drop sports programs. Now drop our kids history tests. Kinda like police in Tidewater, they couldn't pass the math so they dropped that part of the test so cadets could pass it. I'm impressed. I feel so much safer with an un-educated policeman on the beat. They know enough math to ride around talking on their cell phones but can't pass math. They probably cut math from their schooling too just to save money. What else will be cut to create more available funds? Does no-one out there have a better idea. For those of you that sit on your butts and come up with these ideas, get off your ass and join the real world. Slowly but surely you are diminishing our childrens education and not providing what they need to survive in their adult lives. I am surprised our state or federal government would allow this to happen. Are the teachers behind this? Do parents really not care enough, are they standing up and screeming loud enough? Ok, I got it. Lets make it a racial issue and someone will listen. The word 'Children' doesn't make big enough headline!!
Private school
I pulled my child out of the public school system. My child was in accelerated classes in a Portsmouth Middle School. She often complained of classroom disruptions that hindered any learning. That was in the accelerated classes! It was worse in the hallways. Moving her to a private institution was the best thing I could have done for her. They teach the old fashioned way many of us in our 40's and 50's grew up on. My teen is now properly challenged intellectually in a safe environment. I wish I'd done it six years earlier.
The cities have clamored for the federal monies. These funds come with strings attached. Sol’s are the scourge of our education system. The teachers have their hands tied. Many actually want to teach but have restrictions stymieing any chance of reaching a 'few' kids. Yes, I said it. The 'No Child Left Behind' policy is crippling our society. Not everyone is destined to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer. Some will become ditch diggers despite the government’s best efforts. We are fast becoming a third world nation.
Why not?
We might as well stop teaching our kids history and government as it will not apply to Obamas new America. That's what's wrong now too many of our citizens have no clue as to our history, what the basics of our government are and how they apply. A calculator will do the math but there is no substitute tool for knowing and understanding history and it's lessons.
SOL
remember that SOL's are only the minimum of what students should know. The joke is that a student can retake high school SOL's over and over again until they pass them. So they don't know the minimum-that's the problem not some 3rd grade SOL test that doesn't even matter for grade promotion or even for graduation. Scrap the whole SOL thing-save alot of money-get back to basics-quit living in my pocket when you graduate only knowing the minimum
Gee
We need to just get back to the basics! Reading, Writing, Math!!! Hig schoolers can do very liitle of this. Get rid of the SOL. Let's get back to basic teaching!
absolutely not
A savings of $380,000 is not enough to stop teaching History and Geography to our kids. How could they even consider such a thing? History and Geography is like the "root" of this county and the world, it should not be cut from our kids.
What a joke
I think the SOL is a waste of time and money anyway. We have forced it down our children's throat so badly that the students hv enot lerned proper problem solving or basic skills in school. All they learn is the SOL test. Imagine if in order to pass the exam to be a doctor you were given the test to study and only the test. Yay you pass the test. the you have a patient with a disease that was not included as one of the questions. What now???? that is what is happening to our Children!
3rd grade SS SOL
I am a teacher, and I have taught grades K-5, and really the main problem with the social studies curriculum for the earlier grades (K-3) is that it is not developmentally appropriate. Often the facts they are supposed to learn about are more abstract and difficult to understand. For example, in grade 2, they are supposed to learn about Ancient Egypt and China (nevermind that they don't know their own addresses). But here's the problem: at that age, they often equate such concepts as fairy tales and fiction. When I taught K, the kids are supposed to know about Pocahontas (SOL). After teaching it, my brightest student, who read on a 5th grade level, came up to me and said she believed in Pocahontas, just as she did the Tooth Fairy. So to test them on the content at the younger age really isn't developmentally appropriate. When I did SOL review for 3rd grade, all the kids could remember about Ancient Egypt were the mummies, b/c there was a cartoon out about a mummy. Simply put: they are too young, and shouldn't be expected to know these things. If we want to test them to make sure SS is being taught, then test them on concepts that they should know, like their hometown, home state,
Do AWAY with ALL of the SOL tests
The SOL's were put in place by people who never had to take them.
My generation did not take them and for the most part everyone turned out fine. Teachers are now caught up in "teaching the test". It's pathetic to think that you can pass all of your classes but not graduate from high school because you cannot pass the SOL's!
History and other subjects
I have a child in 4th grade and one in 6th grade. Their handwriting is aweful. When I questioned why the school doesn't teach handwriting I was informed that it's not a TESTED SOL. Therefore, if they do away with the history test, what's to say the teacher's will teach that subject?