It is painful to see a state such as Massachusetts — so central to our nation's past — plan to cut back even more on the teaching of American history. In recent years, renowned historical sites such as Old Sturbridge Village have reported a dramatic decrease in visits by students because of a reduced emphasis on teaching history in schools (despite the efforts of many dedicated teachers), and an increase in paperwork to justify field trips. (Parenthetically, American Heritage was launched in 1949 at Old Sturbridge Village, which still guards the original carved eagle used for our logo in its collections. This semester they launched another ambitious venture, the Old Sturbridge Village Charter School.)

We asked Tom Birmingham, former president of the Massachusetts State Senate and co-author of the landmark Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993, to weigh in on the current situation in his state.  —The Editors

This week we marked the 230th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Sadly, this is one of the many facts of which students in our public schools are largely unaware. It’s long past time for that to change.

In recent years, much effort has rightfully been devoted to improving math and science education, while American history education has been marginalized. Consequently, American students score better in math and science than they do in civics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

When Horace Mann founded the first public school system in Massachusetts, he envisioned it as a way to safeguard our democracy by educating students in its principles. We honored that vision nearly 25 years ago when we crafted Massachusetts’ Education Reform Act. The law calls for making passage of a U.S. history test a high school graduation requirement.

Unfortunately, the Patrick administration eliminated that requirement in 2009, before the test was ever given, citing the $2.4 million administration cost. Since then, history and civic education have been sidelined in Massachusetts, especially in urban school districts.

Today, Alexander Hamilton has again become well-known, thanks in part to the hit Broadway musical that bears his name. But few students know that he wrote the majority of the essays that make up The Federalist Papers, which is among the best articulations of self-government ever written.

The Federalist Papers, authored by Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay in the run-up to ratification of the constitution in New York State, is the most-cited source in the history of U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Unfortunately, few students know much about these essays.

Unlike Massachusetts, states including Arizona and Indiana fund civics instruction as early as third grade. In contrast, the Commonwealth has never even been fully supportive of the “We the People” program, a national high school civics competition established at the Constitution’s bicentennial in 1987.

Bay State teachers have kept the “We