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Published: Tuesday, Oct. 02, 2012 / Updated: Tuesday, Oct. 02, 2012 08:41 AM

Test scores show most S.C. students struggle with history, Constitution

Judging by the latest standardized test scores, it would appear most South Carolina teenagers aren’t learning much about U.S. history.

Among the 47,653 middle and high school students who took the state’s end-of-course exam in U.S. history and the Constitution last school year, 47 percent failed. Nearly half of the 25,160 students who passed, did so with a D.

But the reasons why, educators said, aren’t so clear cut.

Since the state added the history test to its roster of end-of-course exams four years ago, it has vexed students and teachers. The failure rate is roughly double that of the other three state EOC exams students must take.

Teachers said they spend a lot of time planning for the test and trying to prepare students, yet each year since 2009, more than 70 percent of students across the state earned a D or an F on it.

Educators point to several factors.

For one, the test is tough. It’s 55 multiple-choice questions covering more than 300 hundred years of history. While teachers know which topics might be covered, they don’t know what will be asked, and they can’t see the test.

When the test is over, teachers see only the scores. There’s no analysis to show whether students were tripped up by specific topics.

“It’s just an awful lot to cover and an awful lot to synthesize and boil down to 55 questions,” said Judy Mobley, director of secondary education for Rock Hill schools. “One of the problems with the test is there’s no feedback on areas of weakness.”

State officials released the latest end-of-course exam results Tuesday.

Each year, schools give the tests to students in four “benchmark” courses – algebra, English, biology and U.S. history and the Constitution. Most test-takers are in high school, but some middle schoolers in advanced classes also take them. The exams count for 20 percent of a student’s grade in the course.

The results, which the state releases publicly minus students’ identifying information, figure in to state and federal accountability ratings.

While scores varied among schools in York, Chester and Lancaster counties, there was a common factor: The U.S. history and Constitution exam gave students the most trouble.

Even Fort Mill and Clover students, who posted higher scores than peers in most districts in all subjects, stumbled in U.S. history.

In Fort Mill, 18.5 percent of students failed the U.S. history exam – the only test with a double-digit failure rate; 19.8 percent got a D.

In Clover, 32.4 percent of students failed the exam, while 25.2 percent got a D.

The test is crammed with questions about specific historical events that students must memorize to get right, Clover schools Assistant Superintendent Sheila Huckabee said.

Given the scope of material, which covers pre-colonial America to the present, coupled with the lack of feedback on student performance, it’s tough to prepare students, Huckabee said.

“It’s really hard to attack this test,” she said. Teachers approach it like, “How can we teach every single thing that could possibly be on this test.”

State education officials said a change in social studies standards, the guidelines detailing what students should know and be tested on in each grade, could make the test more manageable.

Starting this school year, “there are fewer standards, but they are deeper and clearer,” said Jay W. Ragley, spokesman for the S.C. Department of Education.

While the change wasn’t driven by teachers’ frustration with the U.S. history exam, officials considered those concerns, Ragley said.

“We were asking teachers and students to know a lot of facts and details in one year,” Ragley said. It was “too complicated to be asked to be dealt with in a single course.”

Educators who have been using the new standards this school year said they do not appear to differ much from the old ones.

“We feel like we’re pretty much teaching the same information with a few changes,” said Martha Warner, who teaches history to Rock Hill High juniors in the International Baccalaureate program. “It’s a very high-level, difficult test. Typically, our kids in IB and Advanced Placement classes are doing OK on it.”

Warner said she and other teachers meet regularly to strategize ways to help students succeed in the course.

Rock Hill’s three high schools changed the way the material is taught this year. Instead of breaking the material up over one semester-long course that students take as sophomores followed by a second course they take as juniors, teachers now have students for an entire year.

The hope is that teachers can spend more time on troublesome topics and the material will be fresh in students’ minds.

Warner is encouraged.

“We’ve seen some improvement,” she said. “We’re just going to keep plugging away at it. It’s a work in progress. We’re not giving up.”

No surprise

Karen Kedrowski, a Winthrop University political science professor, and Andy Doyle, an associate history professor, see a lot of freshmen from South Carolina high schools in their classes.

Neither was surprised to hear how poorly students performed on the end-of-course exam on U.S. history and the Constitution.

Kedrowski sees it in her freshman American government course.

“I will have 50 percent getting a D or F on the first exam,” she said. “It tells me they’re not mastering the material very well.”

Doyle said most of the freshmen in his survey courses, “come less than fully prepared,”

They lack “basic notions of the First Amendment … and the 14th Amendment,” he said. “The First Amendment and the 14th Amendment in tandem guarantee so many of our basic freedoms.”

Neither blamed high school teachers.

“It opens up a lot of questions,” Doyle said. “To what extent does the testing measure what is truly important?”

The professors pointed to outside factors such as parental involvement and whether 16- and 17-year-olds lack the motivation or skills to excel.

“It’s unfortunate for our students,” Kedrowski said, “because they are coming out of high school not knowing what they’re supposed to know. Or, it’s a bad test.”

End-of-course exam results

On Tuesday, S.C. education officials released the results from end-of-course exams that students took last school year.

Each year, schools give the tests to students in four “benchmark” courses – algebra, English, biology and U.S. history and the Constitution. Most test-takers are in high school, but some middle schoolers in advanced classes also take them. The exams count for 20 percent of a student’s grade in the course.

The results, which the state releases publicly minus students’ identifying information, figure in to state and federal accountability ratings.

Scores varied among schools in York, Chester and Lancaster Counties. To see full results, visit: http://ed.sc.gov/data/eocep/

Here’s a look:

EOC; test-takers; %A; %B; %C; %D; %F

Rock Hill schools

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 1574; 18.7; 23.8; 22.5; 20.3; 14.7

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 1500; 78.7; 22.9; 13.3; 17.6; 16.9; 29.3

English 1; 1444; 11.2; 22.6; 22.9; 21.1; 22.2

U.S. history and the Constitution; 1188; 1.8; 6.6; 19.1; 25.9; 46.5

Fort Mill schools

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 882; 46.8; 21.9; 19.0; 8.7; 3.5

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 824; 50.1; 15.0; 15.7; 10.3; 8.9

English 1; 860; 25.5; 31.3; 20.7; 12.7; 9.9

U.S. history and the Constitution; 728; 10.2; 21.4; 30.1; 19.8; 18.5

Clover

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 612; 30.4; 24.5; 23.5; 14.5; 7.0

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 525; 43.4; 14.7; 13.5; 14.5; 13.9

English 1; 634;14.7; 26.3; 26.7; 17.8; 14.5

U.S. history and the Constitution; 488; 4.7; 16.2; 21.5; 25.2; 32.4

York

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 433; 15.5; 22.4; 28.2; 19.9; 14.1

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 336; 19.0; 13.1; 22.0; 18.8; 27.1

English 1; 428; 9.8; 20.3; 27.8; 20.1; 22.0

U.S. history and the Constitution; 362; 3.0; 10.8; 21.0; 28.7; 36.5

Chester County

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 435; 8.0; 19.5; 28.3; 26.7; 17.5

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 504; 12.9; 9.9; 15.7; 15.7; 45.8

English 1; 473; 5.7; 9.7; 20.3; 24.1; 40.2

U.S. history and the Constitution; 379; 2.9; 9.2; 16.1; 21.4; 50.4

Lancaster County

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 1158; 11.3; 18.7; 20.8; 24.7; 24.5

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 1633; 18.1; 13.3; 18.8; 19.8; 30.0

English 1; 881; 10.9; 20.4; 19.4; 18.8; 30.4

U.S. history and the Constitution; 825; 1.0; 5.2; 13.2; 17.6; 63.0

South Carolina

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2; 57618; 20.0; 19.5; 22.5; 19.7; 18.3

Biology 1/Applied Biology 2; 55918;27.4; 14.6; 17.9; 16.3; 23.7

English 1; 55930;13.4; 20.8; 20.6; 19.3; 26.0

U.S. history and the Constitution; 47653; 3.0; 8.5; 17.5; 23.8; 47.2

Test your U.S. history knowledge

The S.C. end-of-course exam in U.S. history and the Constitution has vexed high school students since they first started taking the multiple choice test of 55 questions four years ago.

While teachers are not allowed to see the exams, the state has released a few sample questions intended to give educators an idea of how questions are worded.

See if you can ace the short sample test below. Answers are below the questions. No peeking.

Questions

1. Emily was born in the colonies. Her parents emigrated from England in the early 1700s. Her parents came because they were searching for freedom of religion and because her father wanted to work in a large city and make money by exporting agricultural goods. In which colony did Emily’s family live?

A. Massachusetts

B. Pennsylvania

C. Connecticut

D. Georgia

2. George Mason wrote in 1787 that “The purse and the sword must not be in the same hands.” Which principle in the U.S. Constitution best reflects the concern expressed in this quotation?

A. due process of law

B. popular sovereignty

C. separation of powers

D. independent judiciary

3. How did the concept of manifest destiny affect the relationship between the United States and Mexico?

A. It inspired the defense of the Alamo.

B. It discouraged settlement in California.

C. It helped the United States justify the annexation of Texas.

D. It prevented the United States from taking control of the Gulf of Mexico.

4. What did the Mexican Cession, “Bleeding Kansas,” and John Brown’s Raid have in common?

A. All were examples of Manifest Destiny.

B. All provoked increased debate over slavery.

C. All were sparked by conflict with Native Americans.

D. All helped Democrats win the ensuing presidential election.

5. Which philosophy of the early 1900s is expressed in the following quotation? “Nature’s cure for most social and political diseases is better than man’s.” –Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University

A. socialism

B. communism

C. Social Darwinism

D. Gospel of Wealth

6. Which weakness in the American economy of the 1920s contributed to the Great Depression?

A. High taxation kept consumer spending at a low level.

B. The richest Americans speculated in the stock market.

C. Easy access to credit allowed many Americans to spend more than they earned.

D. Businesses were unable to find enough skilled workers to operate new production machinery.

7. Read the headlines below and answer the question that follows.

• U.S. Enters Korean War without Congressional Declaration

• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution Approved

Which political trend in the United States in the post-World War II period is reflected in these headlines?

A. the increase in judicial activism

B. the growing power of the presidency

C. the upsurge in the domestic anti-war movement

D. the rising threat of internal communist uprisings

8. How did the American workplace change as a result of scientific and technological breakthroughs after World War II?

A. Wages for most workers increased, but wages for managers decreased.

B. Opportunities for minorities to move into managerial positions expanded.

C. The number of factory jobs expanded due to the development of the assembly line.

D. The number of white-collar jobs increased, but the number of blue-collar jobs decreased.

9. What was a military outcome of Operation Desert Storm in 1991?

A. The elimination of Kuwait’s oil resources in Iraq

B. The capture of Baghdad by United Nations forces

C. The occupation of Iraq and Kuwait by allied ground troops

D. The forced removal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait by coalition forces

Answer Key

1. B

2. C

3. C

4. B

5. C

6. C

7. B

8. D

9. D