SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION AND STANDARDS-BASED EDUCATION REFORM IN NORTH AMERICA - CURRICULUM STANDARDIZATION, HIGH-STAKES TESTING, AND RESISTANCE

Sep 14, 2026

The article analyzes the contested history of social studies as a school subject and reviews competing views on its nature and purposes in the North American context. It critically examines recent U.S. educational reforms, including No Child Left Behind and Common Core State Standards, focusing on how high-stakes testing functions to standardize social studies curriculum and teaching methods. The final section evaluates resistance by students, teachers, and the public, and addresses whether social studies can foster adaptive citizenship or support more equitable, socially just societal reconstruction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages31

Reading Time1 h 18 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Contested purposes of social studies

Standards-based reforms and high-stakes testing

Resistance and implications for citizenship

Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos (Colombia) ISSN: 1900-9895 [revistascientificas@ucaldas.edu.co](revistascientificas@ucaldas.edu.co) Universidad de Caldas Colombia Wayne Ross, E. ; Mathison, Sandra; D. Vinson, Kevin SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION AND STANDARDS-BASED EDUCATION REFORM IN NORTH AMERICA: CURRICULUM STANDARDIZATION, HIGH-STAKES TESTING, AND RESISTANCE Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Educativos (Colombia), vol. 10, núm. 1, enero-junio, 2014 , pp. 19-48 Universidad de Caldas Manizales, Colombia Available in: [http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=134139791002](http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=134139791002) How to cite Complete issue More information about this article Journal's homepage in [redalyc.org](redalyc.org) Scientific Information System Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION AND STANDARDS-BASED EDUCATION REFORM IN NORTH AMERICA: CURRICULUM STANDARDIZATION, HIGHSTAKES TESTING, AND RESISTANCE E. Wayne Ross* Sandra Mathison** Kevin D. Vinson*** | E. Wayne Ross, Sandra Mathison, Kevin D. Vinson. (2013) .“Social studies education and standards-based education reform in north america: curriculum standardization, high-stakes testing, and resistance”. Revista Latinoamericana de
Estudios Educativos. No. 1, Vol. 10, pp. 19-48. Manizales: Universidad de Caldas. | | --- | | ABSTRACT
Social studies have a contentious history as a school subject and this article begins with an overview of the historically competing viewpoints on the nature and purposes of social studies education in the North American context. Next, we provide a critical examination of recent educational reforms in the USA (No Child Left Behind and Common Core State Standards), which use high-stakes testing as a tool for standardizing the social studies curriculum and teaching methods. The final section of the article examines both the significant levels of resistance to high-stakes testing and curriculum standardization by students, teachers, and the public and the question of whether social studies education will promote citizenship that is adaptive to the status quo or the reconstruction society in more equitable and socially just ways. | * Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Co-Director of the Institute for Critical Education Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. His research focuses on the social and institutional contexts of teachers’ practice and the role of curriculum and teaching in building a democratic [society. E-mail:](society. E-mail: wayne.ross@ubc.ca)[ ](society. E-mail: wayne.ross@ubc.ca)[wayne.ross@ubc.ca](society. E-mail: wayne.ross@ubc.ca). ** Professor in the Faculty of Education and Co-Director of the Institute for Critical Education Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Her scholarly interests include evaluation theory and practice and the sociology of assessment. E-mail: [sandra.mathison@ubc.ca](sandra.mathison@ubc.ca). *** Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction, with a specialization in Social Studies Education, from the University of Maryland. He has taught at the Loyola University Maryland and the University of Arizona in the USA, and most recently at The University of the West Indies (Barbados). [E-mail: DrKDV@hotmail.com](E-mail: DrKDV@hotmail.com). Recibido 4 de febrero de 2014, aceptado 15 de abril del 2014. latinoam.estud.educ. Manizales (Colombia), 10 (1): 19-48, enero-junio de 2014 E. Wayne Ross, Sandra Mathison, Kevin D. Vinson 20 KEY WORDS: purposes of social studies education, citizenship education, curriculum standards, education reform, high-stakes testing, teacher resistance. EDUCACIÓN EN ESTUDIOS SOCIALES Y REFORMA DE LA EDUCACIÓNBASADA EN ESTÁNDARES EN NORTEAMÉRICA: ESTANDARIZACIÓN DEL CURRÍCULO, PRUEBAS DEALTA E

FAQs

What competing viewpoints does the article describe about social studies education?

It reviews historically competing perspectives on the nature and purposes of social studies education in North America.

How do recent U.S. reforms use high-stakes testing in the social studies curriculum?

They employ high-stakes testing to standardize the social studies curriculum and teaching methods.

Who resists curriculum standardization and high-stakes testing according to the article?

The article examines resistance levels from students, teachers, and the public.

Sep 14, 2026

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