Geography, Student Outcomes, and Education Debts: What Do Geographers Owe Young People?

Abstract

When female eighth graders left school for summer break, 78 percent of them did not meet standards for proficient achievement in geography. Only eight percent of the nation’s eighth graders could provide a correct answer to the item that appears in Figure 1. Of those who answered correctly, Black students comprised a percentage that rounds to zero. 2018 also happens to be the fourth hottest year on record (for now), yet eighth graders’ knowledge of environmental geography fell to an all-time low.