Figure

I-10b: Share of High School Graduates Who Took Social Studies Courses in Secondary School, Graduation Years 1990–2019

Data Source and Other Information

Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), National Assessment of Educational Progress, High School Transcript Study. These estimates were prepared by Brian Cramer (NCES) and Rob Perkins (Westat) at the request of the Humanities Indicators (HI). The HI thanks them for their generous assistance. Data presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).

About the Data

Social studies, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics (the collector of the data on which this indicator is based), includes history, as well as several subjects that are not treated as part of the humanities for the purposes of the Humanities Indicators. (For an explanation of the way in which the “humanities” is conceptualized by the Humanities Indicators, please see the scope statement.)

Related Indicators

For more information about K–12 course-taking, see “Language Instruction in Elementary and Secondary Schools,” “Advanced Placement Exams Taken in the Humanities,” and “Student Performance on Advanced Placement Exams in the Humanities.”

See also “Qualifications of Humanities Teachers in U.S. Public Middle Schools” and “Qualifications of Humanities Teachers in U.S. Public High Schools.”

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The Humanities Indicators and Departmental Survey have been made possible in part by grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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