Implementing Economics Standards: A Pilot Transition Program

Most states have adopted high school economics standards, but implementation efforts face two hurdles: evidence indicates that five or six college-level economics courses are needed for high school economics teachers and that stand-alone high school economics classes are more effective than strategies that infuse economics into history or civics classes. The authors developed a pilot program to test whether solid results could be achieved by partial solutions to these problems. The pilot program focused on a self-contained, nine-week economics module that was included in a required one-year civics class. Teacher training was condensed, but the training included discussion of teaching strategies along with economics content, and the pilot-program teachers were funded to design the module themselves. Test scores for the pilot-program students increased significantly, indicating that this program is a viable transition strategy.