Calling for more civics and history instruction is nothing new. Many are nostalgic for the national cohesion that common understandings of our country once fostered. 

But now some educators and researchers say teaching everyone a certain core of knowledge might help close the achievement gap between the haves and the have nots. 

Early evidence that social studies might be used as a lever to boost reading achievement arrived in September 2020 with a quantitative analysis from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education policy think tank known for backing big education reforms, from expanding charter schools to adopting Common Core standards. 

The study, Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, was released on Sept. 24, 2020.  

• For every half hour of additional social studies instruction a child received every day throughout elementary school, his or her fifth grade reading scores were 0.15 of a standard deviation higher, on average. This is a relatively small increase in test scores but still helpful. 

• The study doesn’t prove that social studies instruction caused reading scores to rise. There could be other explanations, such as better teachers are choosing to teach more social studies.  

• High income students didn’t get a reading bump from more social studies instruction. The benefits were concentrated among lower and middle-class students. 

1. Adam Tyner and Sarah Kabourek. Social Studies Instruction and Reading Comprehension: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. Washington D.C.: Thomas B. Fordham Institute (September 2020). 
2. Recht, D. R., & Leslie, L. (1988). Effect of prior knowledge on good and poor readers' memory of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(1), 16–20. 
3. Core Knowledge, “The NYC Core Knowledge Early Literacy Pilot: K–Grade 2 Results,” New York City Department of Education, 2012.
4. Institute of Education Sciences study on the effectiveness of the CKLA curriculum for students in kindergarten through second grade.