As Presidents' Day approaches, we at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute have a wake-up call for many states regarding our country's history. A new study, which we published today, examines state standards for U.S. history and finds that the majority of states ? 28 to be exact ? have mediocre-to-terrible standards in this critically important subject. History standards in these 28 states receive D or F grades. And the national average across all states is a D. That's not exactly a pretty picture.
Among the few bright spots in the study, South Carolina was the only state to receive a straight A. And six others ? Alabama, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York and the District of Columbia ? receive A-minuses. States with weak standards would be wise to look to these seven.
Academic standards, of course, set forth what a state's young people are expected to learn in a given subject as they pass through grades K-12. As we've said many times, standards in and of themselves are not a cure for our education ills. But they are certainly an essential place to start. And this study shows that many states have a great deal of work to ensure that they have solid standards for U.S. history.
Please check out the study. You'll see that we have broken out the individual state reviews for your convenience. Find out how your state fared!