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 A new study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute gave Illinois’
civics and U.S. history education standards failing grades. The Fordham study
assigned letter grades for each state’s civics and U.S. history standards.
Illinois brought home an F in U.S. history and an F in civics: these failing
grades placed Illinois 44th on the ranking of states.
The Fordham Institute’s study reported that students, not just in Illinois but
across the nation, suffer from bad civics and U.S. history education. The
Fordham Institute concluded that 75% of students in America lack proficiency in
U.S. history and 85% lack proficiency in civics.
The Fordham Institute’s conclusions mirrored other researcher’s claims. The
Brown Center found that civics knowledge lagged in eighth grade students despite
improvements in math and reading.
 Illinois suffers from a lack of clarity and specific content within the state’s
civics and U.S. history standards, according to Fordham’s analysis. Illinois’
civics standards scored 1 out of 7 points for content and rigor and 1 out of 3
points for clarity and organization. Illinois’ U.S. history standards scored 2
out of 7 points for content and rigor and not a single point for clarity and
organization. Fordham offered a list of the good and bad qualities of Illinois’ civics
standards. The state’s civics standard succeeded in its clear outline of the
“inquiry skills” that students should learn: This was Fordham’s only compliment
for civics education in Illinois.
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Notably, Illinois’ standards failed to guide
teachers with a list of specific civics concepts. Massachusetts and
Washington, D.C., provide each grade with recommended civics topics
like the branches of government, the Constitution and Supreme Court
cases. Illinois’ standards, instead, offer a series of unspecific
goals for elementary students. Illinois’ guidelines for high school
students offer similar vague objectives and make no mention of the
recent civics class required in all Illinois high schools.
The singular commendable quality of Illinois’ standards, according
to Fordham, was the state’s emphasis on history-related research.
The standards in Illinois didn’t provide teachers with a detailed
roadmap of American history. Many other states provide teachers with
a list of monumental figures, events and laws. In Illinois the
standards make no mention of specific parts of U.S. history, like
the War for Independence, the Civil War or the Great Depression.
The Fordham Institute advised Illinois to make the following changes
to their standards: teaching more civics in elementary school,
adding details which suggest topics for teachers to cover and
testing more rigorously in high school.
For Illinois and the country, the stakes are greater than they
appear. As explained by Rebeca Winthrop, a senior fellow at the
Brookings Institute, improving civics education will be necessary if
students hope to combat the political misinformation found across
the internet. An informed electorate is also essential in terms of
holding accountable elected officials and government agencies, two
groups which are notoriously corrupt
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