Abstract
There is no surprise that the culture of America's public education system is continually changing. More than a decade ago the federal initiative No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was signed into law; a law that many consider the pinnacle of the standards-based educational reform (SBER). Today, the SBER is common and widespread across the educational landscape of America and other parts of the world; however, the historical roots of the SBER within the U.S. predate NCLB by some 30 years originating in state and federal initiatives from the 1980s and 1990s and in activities conducted by professional organizations. To explain it further, first the SBER involves some official or governing educational agency that creates content and curriculum standards, which promote academic excellence and indicates what students should know and be able to do. Next, the standards are aligned with key elements of the educational system (i.e. textbooks) to support the attainment of the expectations. Subsequently, teachers are expected to up hold the standards through their precise teaching. Meanwhile, support (financial, technical, training, etc…) is often given by federal, state, and/or local officials to foster the improvement of the educational services schools and teachers provide to students. Finally, students are expected to reveal their acquisition or attainment of the standards through some form of high-stakes assessment. Consequently, students, teachers, schools, and districts are held accountable (either rewarded or punished) based on the assessment scores of students, which indicate whether the standards had been meet or not. In Florida, for example, students must pass the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) in reading, writing, and mathematics, or an End-of-Course (EOC) exam, in order to be promoted or be eligible to graduate (Florida Statute 1008 .22, 2018) . The accountability for teachers is built into their annual evaluation, as 50 percent of it is based on the average FSA/EOC scores of their students (Florida Statue 1012 .34, 2018) . Schools, on the other hand, receive letter grades (i.e. A, B, C, D, or F) and the FSA/EOC scores of their students is a key component; furthermore, schools stand in line to receive a financial incentive based on the grade they receive; the higher the grade the higher the incentive (Florida Statute 1008 .34, 2018) . The SBER mirrors a joining of political trends in education, at both the federal and state levels, and there is a growing emphasis on using high-stakes tests to monitor development and hold students, teachers, and schools accountable. Over the decades, the SBER has received its fair share of criticism and research initiatives (Tanner, 2010) . In fact, there is a budding realization that "standards-based educational reform" has largely given way to the "test-based reform" and it is the test-based reform that changes teaching practices (Hamilton, Stecher, & Yaun, 2009, p. 4) . What is noticeably missing; however, in the SBER, is an emphasis on social studies education (Vogler & Virtue, 2007) . In Florida, students are only withheld from grade promotions if they do not meet the determined criteria in reading, writing, science, or mathematics, which implies a lack of relevancy for social studies education (Florida Statute 1008 .25, 2018) . While social studies standards exist in Florida and in each of the other 49 states, without a high-stakes test associated with the standards little may change in regards to teaching practices and culture. Social studies though is not entirely forgotten, as 11 states test it at the elementary level, 14 at the middle school level, and 17 at the high school level (Education Commission of the States, 2018) ; although few make it a requirement for graduation or promotion. Vogler and Virtue (2007) said it well when they wrote, "Social studies teachers may not like testing, but, in many respects, it is more advantageous to be on the field than on the sidelines" (p. 57). While standards are not bad the question is how did America's public educational system get to a point where for social studies to matter it must be tested? While there are several commentaries on this topic, there are none that trace the historical steps of both federal and state initiatives, particularly with an emphasis on how those actions influenced the culture and nature of social studies instruction.
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