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Fordham Institute Issues History Standards Report
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a private foundation that supports research, publications, and action projects in elementary and secondary education reform, has issued a new report, "Effective State Standards for U.S. History: A 2003 Report Card." The report, written by historian Shelden M. Stern, includes a state-by-state analysis and evaluation of K-12 education standards in American history based on three criteria: comprehensive historical content, sequential development, and balance.
The report, like other studies recently issued from a variety of right-of-center "think-tanks," makes extensive use of anecdotal evidence in the text. However, a scoring criteria for evaluation was constructed with the assistance of a panel of scholar-advisors. Some critics question the logic and consistency of application of the scoring criteria. The report concludes that, in general, state history standards "are a parade of mediocrity"--that only six states earned "outstanding grades," while standards in the vast majority of states were either "weak" or "ineffective."
The report reemphasizes a finding that is nearly universally advocated by members of the historical profession regardless of their political leaning: that "jurisdictions that are seriously committed to raising student achievement in history should require . . . for new teachers . . . a bachelor's degree in history . . . and, for retention and promotion, a master's degree in history . . . . Degrees in education should no longer be acceptable."
--Bruce Craig
Mapping the Use of Part-Time Faculty
OAH and AHA will be surveying more than 3,000 two- and four-year history departments around the country this month about how they are employing part-time and adjunct faculty. Letters will be sent to department chairs urging them to fill out a simple online questionnaire, and the results will be posted on OAH and AHA web sites. The Joint AHA/OAH Committee on Part-time and Adjunct Employment will share the information with accrediting organizations and publications that produce annual college and university rankings. Departments that meet the standards established by the AHA-OAH Joint Committee on Part-time and Adjunct Employment and adopted by the OAH Executive Board and AHA Council this year, will be commended.
After January 1, 2004, the OAH web site will list the departments that have responded, and their answers to the questionnaire. If your department is not listed, please urge your chair to complete the online questionnaire.
Oral History Excluded From IRB Review
The U.S. Office for Human Research Protection (OHRP), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), working in conjunction with the American Historical Association and the Oral History Association, has determined that oral history interviewing projects in general do not involve the type of research defined by HHS regulations and are therefore excluded from Institutional Review Board oversight.
At the October 2003 meeting of the Oral History Association in Bethesda, Maryland, George Pospisil of the OHRP's Division of Education and Development, explained the OHRP decision regarding the application of the "Common Rule" (45 CFR part 46), which sets regulations governing research involving human subjects. These federal regulations define research as "a systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge." The type of research encompassed by the regulations involves standard questionnaires with a large sample of individuals who often remain anonymous, not the open-ended interviews with identifiable individuals who give their interviews with "informed consent"that characterizes oral history. Only those oral history projects that conform to the regulatory definition of research will now need to submit their research protocols for IRB review.
To view the text of a policy statement that was developed by the Oral History Association and the American Historical Association in consultation with the Office of Human Research Protection visit <http://omega.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha/org_irb.html>. This policy applies to oral history that takes place within an institution that has filed a multiple project assurance with OHRP. As one of the seventeen federal agencies that have signed on to the Common Rule, the Department of Health and Human Services deals most directly with the type of clinical research that the federal regulations were originally intended to cover, and its concurrence with the policy statement should set the way for a uniform interpretation by other federal agencies. Oral historians should make this statement available to department chairs, directors of graduate study, deans, and other officers concerned with institutional compliance with federal regulations.
The People's Vote: One Hundred Documents That Shaped America
At a special ceremony on September 17, 2003, John W. Carlin, the Archivist of the United States, along with President George W. Bush, officially launched The People's Vote: 100 Documents That Shaped America, a national challenge to engage Americans in a lively and thoughtful debate about which documents in American history are the most influential--which changed the course of history, shaped the United States, and defined the nation.
The People's Vote, cosponsored by the National Archives, National History Day and U.S. News & World Report, invites people of all ages and educational backgrounds to vote for ten documents from the list of one hundred milestone documents chosen by historians and the National Archives, or to write in their favorites.
The People's Vote is part of a larger project created by the National Archives and National History Day, in collaboration with USA Freedom Corps, titled Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics and Service. The purpose of this initiative is to provide programs like the People's Vote to engage Americans in a better understanding of the documents that shaped the United States. For more information on Our Documents, go to <http://www.ourdocuments.gov>.
By logging onto <http://www.usnews.com/vote> viewers can see the original one hundred milestone documents--ranging from the U.S. Constitution to the 1965 Voting Rights Act--and learn more about each of the one hundred documents identified by experts at the National Archives. After making their selections, they will be able to cast their ballot online. Voters who feel that the documents on the list do not meet their own criteria for the top ten selection, may write in their own choices. Voting kiosks will be placed at the National Archives, Presidential libraries and regional archives nationwide.
The Archivist of the United States will announce the results of The People's Vote and unveil the ten documents that received the most votes in a ceremony in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom on December 15, 2003--Bill of Rights Day. Cathy Gorn, Executive Director of National History Day, and Mortimer B. Zuckerman, Editor in Chief of U.S. News & World Report, will participate in the ceremony.
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