4 factors that contributed to the record low history scores for US eighth graders

Test scores for history began their decline about a decade ago. Don Mason via Getty Images

When national student test scores revealed recently that knowledge of U.S. history and civics had reached an all-time low, one Republican lawmaker described the drop as an “outright failure that should concern every parent across the country.”

The test scores showed that 86% of America’s eighth graders were not proficient in U.S. history, and 79% were not proficient in civics.