Failing America

At JMU, students often complain about the number of general education courses needed to graduate. Some say these classes are boring, pointless, or even too easy. In other cases, students argue that Gen-Ed teachers take these classes "too seriously" and these courses are "too hard to be Gen-Eds". In my catalog year (2004-2005) students are required to fulfill 41 credit hours towards their general education studies. And this number only continues to rise as JMU pushes to produce more well-rounded and better educated graduates.

A USA Today article really made me question whether or not these courses are truly preparing students or just providing them with enough information to get by. This article entitled "College students struggle on history test" details a recent study showing that students at secondary institutions were unable to pass a basic American history test. Not only were they unable to pass, they failed miserably with an average score between a 50 and 60%. These students had no idea that the battle at Yorktown ended the American Revolution or that NATO was formed to resist the expansion of the Soviet Union.

According to the article, "In general, the better a college's U.S. News & World Report ranking, the less its civic literacy gain". That means students at big name schools such as Harvard, Yale, and other 40,000 dollar-a-year institutions were also unable to make a passing grade on this history test. I guess my question is, if even the "most intelligent" students at the top name schools cannot pass these tests, then what does that show about our nation's General Education programs--more specifically the history courses offered. While institutions such as JMU may place such an emphasis upon developing the general education of students, is the curriculum really measuring up? Who is to blame...the students for not taking such courses seriously, or the teachers for not cracking down on the learning and development of their students?

Think you can make the grade? Take the Civics Test that so many students failed to see if your scores measure up.