The Garden City Telegram
NEW E-Edition!
Subscription
Required
Add Your Comment | Read (0) Comments
Diversity may up knowledge of geography, official says
Published 7/19/2011 in Local News
By JEROME P. CURRY
jcurry@gctelegram.com
Ethnic and geographical diversity among students in Garden City Public Schools probably means they have more knowledge of geography than most students in the United States.
That was the word today from Assistant Superintendent Darren Dennis, USD 457's coordinator of learning services. He was commenting on U.S. students' poor scores on geography tests.
Fewer than one-third were at or above the proficient level in geography, according to a National Assessment of Educational Progress report released today in Washington, D.C.
"I would hope we would score a little better in part because of the diversity of our student body," Dennis said of the geography ignorance confirmed in the report.
He noted a substantial portion of USD 457's 7,400 students with national origins in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
In one question, eighth-grade respondents were asked to look at a map of tectonic plates near Japan and explain the process that causes earthquakes. Only 48 percent knew earthquakes begin by the collision of tectonic plates.
David P. Driscoll, chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the national assessments of student progress, said the report on geographical knowledge "adds to a picture of stagnating or declining overall achievement among U.S. students in the social sciences."
Driscoll said USD 457 has a freshman social issues course that has "a geography component. We also try and include geography in history courses."
"This is a major issue in education," Dennis emphasized. "We do need to do a better job of teaching geography."
It would be a mistake, the learning services coordinator said, not to acknowledge geographical ignorance among U.S. students and respond.
"At USD 457, we are rewriting some curriculum based on the common core subjects — math and English language arts," Dennis said.
He said science, history and geography support what the schools are doing in language arts.
In fact, about 200 teachers and administrators from across Kansas convened today at Garden City High School for a series of Kansas State Department of Education seminars focused on the core subjects.
KSDE facilitators were directing the discussions.
"Social studies, history, geography and science support and compliment what is happening in language arts," Dennis said.
The nation's geography report card is based on tests of fourth-, eighth- and 12th-grade students from across the nation. Before today, he latest report was issued in 2001, a decade ago.
Some findings from that assessment:
• Male students know more geography — four points higher than females in the fourth and eighth grades, five points higher in the 12th grade.
• Fourth graders showed marked improvement — five points higher than in 2001.
• Black and Hispanic students made greater gains than white students.
Fourth-graders had difficulty with questions like this:
Look at a map of South America. Which city is the capital of Peru?
1. Quito 2. Trujillo 3. Buenos Aires 4. Lima.
The answer is 4.
Eighth-graders ran into questions like this one:
The "Corn Belt" is a region defined on the basis of:
1. Population 2. Economic activity 3. Transportation networks 4. Political organization.
The answer is 2.
Seniors had queries like this:
Which two continents lie mainly in the tropics?
1. Antarctica and Africa 2. South America and Africa 3. South America and Asia 4. North America and Europe.
The answer is 2.
Found 0 comment(s)!