Introduction
Park Elementary School (PES) is a suburban school located in northwest Georgia. PES is an America’s Choice School using a workshop model of instruction that holds students to high standards in English language arts and mathematics. As one of 64 schools in the district located northwest of the Atlanta metro area, PES is surrounded by a diverse community which is reflected in the schools demographics. The school boasts a student population of 780 with the largest ethnic group being Hispanic/Latino (51%). The second largest ethnic minority at PES is African-American at 39%. All other ethnic groups comprise the other 10% (see Table 1) ( 2012; February 20, 2013).
| Ethnic Group |
Percent |
Count |
| American Indian or Alaskan Native |
0.4% |
3 |
| Asian |
1.4% |
11 |
| African American |
39.2% |
306 |
| Hispanic/Latino |
50.6% |
395 |
| Multiracial |
1.2% |
9 |
| White/Caucasian |
7.2% |
56 |
| Total |
100.00% |
780 |
PES is a Title I school with 94% of students participating in the free and reduced lunch (FRL) program. Thirty-four percent (34%) of the school’s population are English learners. Thirty-eight percent (38%) participate in an early intervention program (EIP); while eight percent (8%) are students with disabilities and require special education services (“2010-2011 Report card,” 2011).
Social Studies and Mission Statement
The social studies section of the Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) states that at the most basic level social studies is about people. GADOE mentions that from the social studies content that Georgia students gain the knowledge to be effective and productive citizens (“Social Studies,” n.d.). PES reflects this exact verbiage in their mission statement that says that structures are put into place that allows students to become productive members of society. The theme of citizenship is revisited in the school’s beliefs as one area where high expectations are set. The idea that social studies is about people is woven into PES’s belief that all students and school personnel should celebrate cultural and ethnic diversity (“School mission statement and beliefs,” n.d.).
Social Studies Data
Since the inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in 2001, PES has seen its social studies scores decline from relatively decent meets and exceeds scores on the CRCT at the beginning of the last decade, to what can only be described as rather dismal scores over the last half of the decade. Social studies scores were stable and increasing from 2003-2004 to 2007-2008 (“Report card,” 2012).
PES saw scores start to decline in the 2008-2009 school year. In the case of 3rd grade, the decline was steep and sudden, falling from a high of seventy-nine percent (79%) meets and exceeds to thirty-nine percent (39%) meets. Fifth grade scores show a similar sudden decrease in meets and exceeds and an increase in student percentages that did not meet. Fifth graders saw their scores falls from eighty-one percent (81%) meets and exceeds in 2007-2008 to just fifty-five percent (55%); a loss of twenty-six percentage (26%) points. Fourth grade scores saw a steadier decline. Those scores declined from their highest point of seventy-nine percent (79%) meets and exceeds in 2007-2008 to a low of thirty-five percent (35%) in 2011-2012 (“Report card,” 2012).
In the third and fourth grades, student percentages of those that did not meet on the CRCT reached their peaks between 2008 and 2010, at sixty-five percent (65%) and sixty-four percent (64%) respectively. Both grade levels have seen the percentages of those that did not meet slowly begin to decline, but have not yet fully recovered to their pre-2008 levels (see Table 2). Fifth grade scores on the CRCT have continued to lose gains made prior to 2008. The percentage of fifth graders that did not meet has grown from its lowest point of fourteen percent (14%) in 2004-2005 to its highest point last year (2011-2012) of fifty-seven percent (57%); a gain of forty-seven (47%) percentage points (see Table 3) (“Report card,” 2012).
The passage of NCLB caused a major shift in focus. Teachers had to focus more on preparing students for standardized tests rather than preparing them to be contributing and active members of the citizenry of the United States. NCLB shifted the national education focus to English language arts and math, and away from social studies and science. What PES has experienced in the last decade is a result of this shift in educational priorities by the federal government (Journell, 2011; Monte-Sano, 2012).