[H. Paul Pressler IV]

They teach US before 1877 in Middle School. So therefore it is covered but done so so that your average 8th grader can pass. It is not more difficult than Who was the First President or how the Bad White Man killed all them Indians.

My take on why 11th grade US History only covers 1877 to the present is that early US History is more difficult for the kids. They would have to know 'boring' stuff about the Articles of Confederation and all those boring Presidents before Lincoln.

In US 1877 to present I cover a little about Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, WWI, the 1920's, the Depression, WWII and so on. The subjects are much more relevant and we want the Kids to score High on their Standardized Tests so that the Educational system does not look like it is failing.

[SuziQ]

Our two older sons took AP US History and covered Colonial to the present time. We homeschooled our daughter and she used their textbook and supporting materials. Our youngest son will be a Junior in high school next year, and we're bringing him back home to homeschool his last two years. He'll use the same text, so all of them will have had a good grounding in US History.