Editing Education in the United States (section)

===Curriculum===
[[File:No Child Left Behind Act.jpg|thumb|[[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]] signing the [[No Child Left Behind Act]] at [[Hamilton High School (Hamilton, Ohio)|Hamilton High School]] in [[Hamilton, Ohio]], on January 8, 2002]]
Curricula in the United States can vary widely from district to district. Different schools offer classes centering on different topics, and vary in quality. Some private schools even include religious classes as mandatory for attendance. This raises the question of government funding vouchers in states with anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments in their constitution. This in turn has produced camps of argument over the standardization of curricula and to what degree it should exist. These same groups often are advocates of standardized testing, which was mandated by the [[No Child Left Behind Act]]. The goal of No Child Left Behind was to improve the education system in the United States by holding schools and teachers accountable for student achievement, including the [[Achievement gaps in the United States|educational achievement gap between minority and non-minority children in public schools]].

While the [[National Assessment of Educational Progress|National Assessment of Education Progress]] (NAEP) has served as an educational barometer for the US since 1969 by administering standardized tests on a regular basis to random schools throughout the United States, efforts over the last decade at the state and federal levels have mandated annual standardized test administration for all public schools across the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NAEP Nations Report Card - National Assessment of Educational Progress - NAEP |url=https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ |access-date=2018-02-19 |website=nces.ed.gov |language=EN}}</ref>

Along with administering and scoring the annual standardized tests, in some cases the teachers are being scored on how well their own students perform on the tests. Teachers are under pressure to continuously raise scores to prove they are worthy of keeping their jobs. This approach has been criticized because there are so many external factors, such as domestic violence, hunger, and homelessness among students, that affect how well students perform.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morgan |first1=Hani |year=2016 |title=Relying on High-Stakes Standardized Tests to Evaluate Schools and Teachers: A Bad Idea |journal=The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=67–72 |doi=10.1080/00098655.2016.1156628 |s2cid=148015644}}</ref>

Schools that score poorly wind up being slated for closure or downsizing, which gives direct influence on the administration to result to dangerous tactics such as intimidation, cheating and drilling of information to raise scores.<ref name="Williams">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Mary |date=2015 |title=Standardized Testing Is Harming Student Learning |url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=OVIC&id=GALE&#124;EJ3010692244&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon |access-date=March 28, 2018 |website=go.galegroup.com}}</ref>

Uncritical use of standardized test scores to evaluate teacher and school performance is inappropriate, because the students' scores are influenced by three things: what students learn in school, what students learn outside of school, and the students' innate [[intelligence]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Popham |first1=W.J. |year=1999 |title=Why Standardized Test Scores Don't Measure Educational Quality |url=http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don%27t-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx |url-status=dead |journal=Educational Leadership |volume=56 |issue=6 |pages=8–15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711074236/http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar99/vol56/num06/Why-Standardized-Tests-Don%27t-Measure-Educational-Quality.aspx |archive-date=2021-07-11 |access-date=2016-10-05}}</ref> The school only has control over one of these three factors. [[Value-added modeling]] has been proposed to cope with this criticism by statistically controlling for innate ability and out-of-school contextual factors.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://fordhaminstitute.org/ohio/research/ohio-value-added-primer |title=Ohio Value-Added Primer |publisher=Thomas B. Fordham Institute |year=2008}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=April 2022|certain=yes}} In a value-added system of interpreting test scores, analysts estimate an expected score for each student, based on factors such as the student's own previous test scores, primary language, or socioeconomic status.  The difference between the student's expected score and actual score is presumed to be due primarily to the teacher's efforts.

====Content knowledge====
There is debate over which subjects should receive the most focus, with astronomy and geography among those cited as not being taught enough in schools.<ref>{{cite web|title=Astronomy Education in the United States|url=http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/useduc03.html|publisher=Astronomical Society of the Pacific|access-date=October 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008014116/http://www.astrosociety.org/education/resources/useduc03.html|archive-date=October 8, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=What is GENIP?|url=http://genip.tamu.edu/|publisher=Geographic Education National Implementation Project|access-date=October 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008235002/http://genip.tamu.edu/|archive-date=October 8, 2010|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://geography.about.com/library/misc/bldeblij1.htm|title=Geographic Education and Public Policy|author=Harm de Blij|date=November 3, 1999|publisher=About.com|access-date=October 21, 2010|archive-date=October 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101009065111/http://geography.about.com/library/misc/bldeblij1.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> A major criticism of American educational curricula is that it overemphasizes math and reading skills without providing the content knowledge needed to understand the texts used to teach the latter. Poor students are more likely to lack said content knowledge, which contributes to the [[achievement gap in the United States]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Wexler|first=Natalie|title=Elementary Education Has Gone Terribly Wrong|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/the-radical-case-for-teaching-kids-stuff/592765/|access-date=22 May 2021|work=The Atlantic|date=2019-07-09|language=en}}</ref>

====English-language education====
Schools in the 50 [[U.S. state|states]], [[Washington, D.C.]], the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]], [[Guam]], and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], teach primarily in English, with the exception of specialized [[language immersion]] programs.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

In 2015, 584,000 students in [[Puerto Rico]] were taught in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], their native language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://puerto-rico.educationbug.org/public-schools|title=Puerto Rico Public School – List of Puerto Rico Public Schools}}</ref>

The [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] [[Cherokee Nation]] instigated a 10-year language preservation plan that involved growing new fluent speakers of the [[Cherokee language]] from childhood on up through school immersion programs as well as a collaborative community effort to continue to use the language at home.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Native Now: Language: Cherokee|work=We Shall Remain – American Experience – PBS|access-date=April 9, 2014|year=2008|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain/native_now/language_cherokee}}</ref><ref name=preservation>{{Cite web|title=Cherokee Language Revitalization|work=Cherokee Preservation Foundation|access-date=April 9, 2014|year=2014|url=http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/cultural-preservation-connect/major-programs-and-initiatives/cherokee-language-revitalization|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070520/http://www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/cultural-preservation-connect/major-programs-and-initiatives/cherokee-language-revitalization|archive-date=April 7, 2014|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="kpep">Kituwah Preservation & Education Program Powerpoint, by Renissa Walker (2012)'. 2012. Print.</ref>
<ref>{{Cite news|last=Chavez|first=Will|title=Immersion students win trophies at language fair|work=Cherokeephoenix.org|access-date=April 8, 2013|date=April 5, 2012|url=http://www.cherokeephoenix.org/Article/Index/6142}}</ref> In 2010, 84 children were being educated in this manner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cherokee.org/Services/Education/ImmersionSchool.aspx|title=Immersion School|access-date=January 16, 2015|archive-date=January 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111022200/http://www.cherokee.org/Services/Education/ImmersionSchool.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As of 2000, some 9.7 million children aged 5 to 17 primarily speak a language other than English at home. Of those, about 1.3 million children do not speak English well or at all.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/phc-t20.html|title=Summary Tables on Language Use and English Ability: 2000. United States Census (2000)|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>

====Mathematics====
{{Main|Mathematics education in the United States}}
{{See also|Computer-based mathematics education}}
[[File:Top 50 Mathematics Colleges in North America.webp|thumb|Top mathematics colleges in [[North America]]]]
According to a 1997 report by the [[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]], passing rigorous high-school mathematics courses predicts successful completion of university programs regardless of major or family income.<ref>{{Cite web |last=U.S. Department of Education |title=Mathematics Equals Opportunity |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED415119.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pickover |first=Clifford A. |title=The Math Book: From Pythagoras to the 57th Dimension, 250 Milestones in the History of Mathematics |publisher=Sterling |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4027-5796-9 |location=New York |pages=10 |author-link=Clifford A. Pickover}}</ref> Starting in 2010, mathematics curricula across the country have moved into closer agreement for each grade level. The [[SAT]], a standardized university entrance exam, has been reformed to better reflect the contents of the Common Core.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lewin |first=Tamar |date=March 5, 2014 |title=A New SAT Aims to Realign With Schoolwork |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513073917/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/education/major-changes-in-sat-announced-by-college-board.html |archive-date=May 13, 2014 |quote=He said he also wanted to make the test reflect more closely what students did in high school and, perhaps most important, rein in the intense coaching and tutoring on how to take the test that often gave affluent students an advantage.}}</ref> As of 2023, twenty-seven states require students to pass three math courses before graduation from high school, and seventeen states and the District of Columbia require four.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Sarah |date=January 17, 2023 |title=Do Students Need Four Years of High School Math? |work=Education Week |url=https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/do-students-need-four-years-of-high-school-math/2023/01 |access-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230126215104/https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/do-students-need-four-years-of-high-school-math/2023/01 |archive-date=January 26, 2023}}</ref>

====Sex education====
{{Main|Sex education in the United States}}
[[File:US Adolescent Birth Rates over Time.png|thumb|U.S. [[Teenage pregnancy in the United States|teenage pregnancy]] rates have been falling in recent years; Asian Americans have the lowest rate among all demographic groups.]]
Almost all students in the U.S. receive some form of sex education at least once between grades 7 and 12; many schools begin addressing some topics as early as grades 4 or 5.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Landry DJ, Singh S, Darroch JE|title=Sexuality education in fifth and sixth grades in U.S. public schools, 1999|journal=Family Planning Perspectives|volume=32|issue=5|pages=212–9|date=September–October 2000|pmid=11030258|doi=10.2307/2648174|url=http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/3221200.html|jstor=2648174}}</ref> However, what students learn varies widely, because curriculum decisions are so decentralized. Many states have laws governing what is taught in sex education classes or allowing parents to opt out. Some state laws leave curriculum decisions to individual school districts.<ref name="Kaiser 2002">{{cite web|url=http://www.kff.org/youthhivstds/upload/Sex-Education-in-the-U-S-Policy-and-Politics.pdf|title=Sex Education in the U.S.: Policy and Politics|access-date=May 23, 2007|date=October 2002|work=Issue Update|publisher=Kaiser Family Foundation|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051127092023/http://www.kff.org/youthhivstds/upload/Sex-Education-in-the-U-S-Policy-and-Politics.pdf|archive-date=November 27, 2005}}</ref>

A 1999 study by the [[Guttmacher Institute]] found that most U.S. sex education courses in grades 7 through 12 cover puberty, [[HIV]], [[Sexually transmitted disease|STDs]], [[abstinence]], implications of teenage pregnancy, and how to resist peer pressure. Other studied topics, such as methods of birth control and infection prevention, [[sexual orientation]], [[sexual abuse]], and factual and ethical information about [[abortion]], varied more widely.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Darroch JE, Landry DJ, Singh S|title=Changing emphases in sexuality education in U.S. public secondary schools, 1988–1999|journal=Family Planning Perspectives|volume=32|issue=5|pages=204–11, 265|date=September–October 2000|pmid=11030257|doi=10.2307/2648173|url=http://www.guttmacher.org/tables/3220400t.html#t3|jstor=2648173}} See especially Table 3.</ref>

However, according to a 2004 survey, a majority of the 1,001 parent groups polled wants complete sex education in schools. The American people are heavily divided over the issue. Over 80% of polled parents agreed with the statement "Sex education in school makes it easier for me to talk to my child about sexual issues", while under 17% agreed with the statement that their children were being exposed to "subjects I don't think my child should be discussing". 10% believed that their children's sexual education class forced them to discuss sexual issues "too early". On the other hand, 49% of the respondents (the largest group) were "somewhat confident" that the values taught in their children's sex ed classes were similar to those taught at home, and 23% were less confident still. (The [[margin of error]] was plus or minus 4.7%.)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2004/jan/kaiserpoll/publicfinal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405163729/http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2004/jan/kaiserpoll/publicfinal.pdf |archive-date=2004-04-05 |url-status=live|title=Sex Education in America – General Public/Parents Survey. NPR/Kaiser/Harvard survey (2004)|website=[[NPR]]|access-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>

According to [[The 74]], an American education news website, the United States uses two methods to teach sex education. Comprehensive sex education focuses on sexual risk reduction. This method focuses on the benefits of contraception and safe sex. The abstinence-emphasized curriculum focuses on sexual risk avoidance, discouraging activity that could become a "gateway" to sexual activities.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.the74million.org/article/sex-ed-america-2016-where-the-info-is-often-absent-and-sometimes-legally-inaccurate|title=Sex Ed, America, 2016: Where the Information Is Often Absent – or Medically Inaccurate|last=Thompson|first=Lizzie|date=April 3, 2016|access-date=April 4, 2016}}</ref>

====LGBT curriculum laws====
{{Main|Anti-LGBT curriculum laws in the United States}}
At least 20 states have had their legislatures introduce derivative bills of the [[Florida Parental Rights in Education Act]], including [[Arizona]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Migdon |first=Brooke |date=2022-09-30 |title=Arizona students protest new laws targeting LGBTQ+ community |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/3669273-arizona-students-protest-new-laws-targeting-lgbtq-community/ |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=The Hill |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122627/https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/3669273-arizona-students-protest-new-laws-targeting-lgbtq-community/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Georgia legislators introduce a Florida-style 'Don't Say Gay' bill |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/georgia-legislators-introduce-florida-style-dont-say-gay-bill-rcna19535 |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=[[NBC News]] |date=March 10, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122626/https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/georgia-legislators-introduce-florida-style-dont-say-gay-bill-rcna19535 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Iowa]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ta |first=Linh |date=2023-01-12 |title="Don't Say Gay" bill introduced by Iowa Republican leaders |url=https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2023/01/12/iowa-dont-say-gay-anti-trans-bill-introduced |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=Axios |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122652/https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2023/01/12/iowa-dont-say-gay-anti-trans-bill-introduced |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iowa Legislature - Senate File 2024 |url=https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89&ba=SF%202024 |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=www.legis.iowa.gov |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122650/https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=89&ba=SF%202024 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kentucky]], [[Louisiana]], [[Michigan]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 5, 2022 |first=Jamie A. |last=Hope |title=Michigan bill mirrors Florida's Parental Rights in Education law |url=http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/votes/michigan-bill-mirrors-floridas-parental-rights-in-education-law |access-date=2023-03-21 |website=Michigan Capitol Confidential |language=en |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321190348/https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/votes/michigan-bill-mirrors-floridas-parental-rights-in-education-law |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Missouri]],<ref>{{Cite web |title="Don't say gay" bill a hot issue in Mo. |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/story/17701166/dont-say-gay-bill-a-hot-issue-in-mo |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=25 April 2012 |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122659/https://www.kfvs12.com/story/17701166/dont-say-gay-bill-a-hot-issue-in-mo/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ohio]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=House Bill 616 {{!}} 134th General Assembly {{!}} Ohio Legislature |url=https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/134/hb616 |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=www.legislature.ohio.gov |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122627/https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/134/hb616 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Oklahoma]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosa-Figueroa |first=Alex |title="Don't Say Gay" law filed in Oklahoma |url=https://www.kswo.com/2022/04/27/dont-say-gay-law-filed-oklahoma/ |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=[[KSWO-TV]] |date=27 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122627/https://www.kswo.com/2022/04/27/dont-say-gay-law-filed-oklahoma/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tennessee]], and [[South Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Session 124 - (2021-2022) - South Carolina Legislature |url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4605&session=124&summary=T&PRINT=1 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-01-14 |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122656/https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=4605&session=124&summary=T&PRINT=1 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-11 |title=Not just Florida. Missouri and a wave of other states propose so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bills |url=https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-04-11/not-just-florida-missouri-and-a-wave-of-other-states-propose-so-called-dont-say-gay-bills |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=KCUR 89.3 - NPR in Kansas City |language=en |archive-date=2023-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114122627/https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2022-04-11/not-just-florida-missouri-and-a-wave-of-other-states-propose-so-called-dont-say-gay-bills |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2022, [[Alabama]] became the second state to pass a similar bill, with governor [[Kay Ivey]] signing House Bill 322, legislation which additionally requires all students to use either male or female bathrooms in Alabama public schools based on their biological sex. Some states have had similar provisions to Florida's law since the 1980s, though they have never gained the name of "Don't Say Gay" bills by critics until recently.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-21 |title=In some states, versions of 'Don't Say Gay' bills have been around for awhile |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/in-some-states-versions-of-dont-say-gay-bills-have-been-around-for-awhile |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us |archive-date=2023-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219003539/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/in-some-states-versions-of-dont-say-gay-bills-have-been-around-for-awhile |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alabama HB322 {{!}} 2022 {{!}} Regular Session |url=https://legiscan.com/AL/text/HB322/id/2510962 |access-date=2022-11-14 |website=LegiScan |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114233632/https://legiscan.com/AL/text/HB322/id/2510962 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Textbook review and adoption====
In some states, textbooks are selected for all students at the state level, and decisions made by larger states, such as California and Texas, that represent a considerable market for textbook publishers and can exert influence over the content of textbooks generally, thereby influencing the curriculum taught in public schools.<ref>{{cite web|last=Blake|first=Mariah|url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1001.blake.html|title=Revisionaries: How a group of Texas conservatives is rewriting your kids' textbooks. January/February 2010|publisher=Washingtonmonthly.com|access-date=September 21, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906142506/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2010/1001.blake.html|archive-date=September 6, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 2010, the [[Texas Board of Education]] passed more than 100 amendments to the curriculum standards, affecting history, sociology, and economics courses to 'add balance' given that academia was 'skewed too far to the left'.<ref name=TexasConservative>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html|title=Texas Conservatives win Curriculum Change|work=The New York Times|date=March 12, 2010 |last1=Jr |first1=James C. Mckinley }}</ref> One specific result of these amendments is to increase education on Moses' influences on the founding of the United States, going as far as calling him a "founding father".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/us/texas-approves-disputed-history-texts-for-schools.html|title=Texas Approves Disputed History Texts for Schools|work=The New York Times|date=November 22, 2014 }}</ref> A critical review of the twelve most widely used American [[high school]] history textbooks argued that they often disseminate factually incorrect, [[Eurocentric]], and [[mythology|mythologized]] views of [[History of the United States|American history]].<ref>[[James W. Loewen]], "[[Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong]]" (The New Press, 1995)</ref>

As of January 2009, the four largest college textbook publishers in the United States were: [[Pearson Education]] (including such imprints as [[Addison-Wesley]] and [[Prentice Hall]]), [[Cengage Learning]] (formerly Thomson Learning), [[McGraw-Hill Education]], [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]].{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} Other U.S. textbook publishers include: [[Abeka]], [[BJU Press]], [[John Wiley & Sons]], [[Jones and Bartlett Publishers]], [[F. A. Davis Company]], [[W. W. Norton & Company]], [[SAGE Publications]], and [[Flat World Knowledge]].