Reimagining American History Education

One of the foundations of an effective citizen is having strong civic knowledge in addition to civic skills and dispositions. American history is a critical part of that knowledge base. This report looks to the future of American history education. The report grew out of national and state polls that Citizens & Scholars conducted in late 2018 on Americans’ knowledge of the history of their country. The initial poll found that two out of three Americans were incapable of passing the U.S. citizenship test and led C&S to conduct a study of American history education—what it is and what it should become.

This report examines current practice in teaching American history, discusses the research on the most effective ways to learn American history and describes outstanding programs that incorporate these approaches. This is a valuable tool for practitioners looking to better understand the current state of American history education to better envision a future that prepares all students to be well-informed, productively engaged, and hopeful about democracy.