We look to the future, because we don't remember the past...
The Center For Education Reform has a nifty online newsletter, and in their June 2002 issue they comment on an audaciously bad NAEP result:
While slight gains were made among fourth and eighth graders from 1994’s low achievement levels, more than 60 percent of all test takers did not even reach basic levels of achievement. Proficiency is what is expected, meaning that students should be able to demonstrate competency over challenging subject matter and be able to use it in real-world situations...While alarming, the news shouldn’t be a surprise (and if it is, you’re not keeping up with the latest news!) A test given in 1999 to Ivy League seniors asking basic questions about our nation’s history was flunked by nearly 80 percent of the test takers, and back in 1986 some of us will recall the horror of learning that only 40 percent of high school seniors actually knew the period in which the Civil War was fought.
I find it very interesting that at the same time that issues related to the Civil War - such as the battle over reparations - are being faught, we aren't educating our kids to even recognize what years the war took place. Funny, but I haven't noticed those demagogues who battle for reparations also battling for tougher standards to increase history knowledge in our youngsters....