Preservice Elementary Education Majors' Knowledge of American History

This research study was designed to assess preservice elementary education teachers' knowledge of U.S. history. The "High School Subject Tests: American History," developed by Scott, Foresman and Company for use with high school students, was administered to 139 elementary education majors enrolled in required undergraduate social studies methods courses at a southern university. This 50-item test was comprised of eight content areas: chronology, ideology, politics, economics, government, geography, foreign policy, and social history. Findings revealed that three-fourths of the students would have failed the test (scoring 70 percent or less) and that they showed no strength in any particular content area. Fifty-one percent made scores of 28 or less, and only 20 students scored 37 or above. Comparing strengths and weaknesses, these students knew more about recent U.S. history than history prior to the twentieth century. It is concluded that many of these prospective teachers may have difficulty teaching elementary social studies. Student performance was evaluated and presented in 10 tables detailing the percentage of correct responses by content area. A 12-item bibliography is provided. (GEA)