How Elementary Teachers Imagine Social Studies in an Age of Teacher Assessments

Teacher assessments are becoming increasingly popular in public school improvement plans. These assessments may inadvertently diminish the amount of time and attention teachers perceive they can devote to a traditionally non-tested subject such as social studies. Would teachers’ orientations toward social studies change in a manner that would elevate its status if an assessment resulted in the teachers recognizing they have more direct say over the manner in which they allocate their instructional time? In this paper, we explore this and other questions to investigate how elementary teachers imagine social studies in an age of teacher assessments.