Mission statement: Students will demonstrate intellectual, reasoning, reflection, and research skills within the context of California content standards.
- Chronological and spatial thinking
- Historical research, evidence, and point of view
- Historical interpretation

Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills

The intellectual skills noted below are to be learned through, and applied to, the content standards for grades nine through twelve. They are to be assessed only in conjunction with the content standards in grades nine through twelve.

In addition to the standards for grades nine through twelve, students demonstrate the following intellectual, reasoning, reflection, and research skills.

Chronological and Spatial Thinking
1. Students compare the present with the past, evaluating the consequences of past events and decisions and determining the lessons that were learned.
2. Students analyze how change happens at different rates and at different times; understand that some aspects can change while others remain the same; and understand that change is complicated and affects not only technology and politics, but also values and beliefs.
3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to interpret human movement, including major patterns of domestic and international migration, changing environmental preferences and settlement patterns, the frictions that develop between population groups, and the diffusion of ideas, technological innovations, and goods.
4. Students relate current events to the physical and human characteristics of places and regions.

Historical Research, Evidence, and Point of View
1. Students distinguish valid arguments from fallacious arguments in historical interpretations.
2. Students identify bias and prejudice in historical interpretations.
3. Students evaluate major debates among historians concerning alternative interpretations of the past, including an analysis of authors' use of evidence and the distinctions between sound generalizations and misleading oversimplifications.
4. Students construct and test hypotheses; collect, evaluate, and employ information from multiple primary and secondary sources; and apply it in oral and written presentations.

Historical Interpretations
1. Students show the connections, casual and otherwise, between particular historical events and larger, social, economic, and political trends and developments.
2. Students recognize the complexity of historical causes and effects, including the limitations on determining cause and effect.
3. Students interpret past events and issues within the context in which an event unfolded, rather then solely in terms of present-day norms and values.
4. Students understand the meaning, implication, and impact of historical events and recognize that events could have taken other directions.
5. Students analyze human modifications of landscapes and examine the resulting environmental policy issues.
6. Students conduct cost-benefit analyses and apply basic economic indicators to analyze the aggregate economic behavior of the U.S. economy.
*Students analyze the democratic election process.

Other goals:
1. Continue to review/revise End of Course Exams.
2. Work to integrate more writing assignments (short expository essays) into all course, at all levels.
3. Adoption of World History texts in 2005-2006; w/ implementation in 2006-2007.
4. Begin review of U.S. History texts for 2006-2007 adoption w/ implementation beginning in 2006-2007; concluding in 2007-2008.
5. Class sets of texts available especially at the 9th grade level.
6. Develop procedure to recover texts, especially from enrolled students and transfers within the district.
7. Develop plan for purchase of replacement and/or new texts because of loss, increase in class size and/or increase in number of teachers in specific subject area.
8. Limit preps to no more then three per year.
9. Limit class size.