The attention our schools now devote to George Washington is roughly 10% of what it was 50 years ago. Covering the 2011 NAEP, The New York Times reported: "American students are less proficient in their nation's history than any other subject, according to the results of a nationwide test released on Tuesday, with most fourth graders unable to say why Abraham Lincoln was an important figure and few high school seniors able to identify China as the North Korean ally that fought American troops during the Korean War."