History of American Education

By ebosajr
  • Henry Dunster

    Henry Dunster becomes the president of Harvard College he teahces all the courses himself!
  • Revolutionary War

    The Revolutionary War begins
  • Thomas Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson proposes a two-track educational system, with different tracks.
  • U.S

    U.S constitiution is ratified by the required number of states
  • James Pillans

    The first blackboard was invented
  • High School

    The first publc High School opens in Boston, MA
  • Kentucky

    Louisville, Kentucky appoints the first school superintendent
  • 1916

    American federation of techers is founded
  • WWI

    As the U.S. enters W.W.I the army has no means of screening the intellectual ability of its recruits. Robert Yerkes, then President of the American Psychological Association and an army officer, becomes Chairman of the Committee on Psychological Examination of Recruits. The committee, which includes Louis Terman, has the task of developing a group intelligence test. He and his team of psychologists design the Army Alpha and Beta tests. Though these tests have little impact on the war, they lay t
  • Great Depression

    he Great Depression begins with the stock market crash in October. The U.S. economy is devastated. Public education funding suffers greatly, resulting in school closings, teacher layoffs, and lower salaries.
  • Alvarez vs Board of Education

    Alvarez vs. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove (California) School District becomes the first successful school desegregation court case in the United States, as the local court forbids the school district from placing Mexican-American children in a separate "Americanization" school.
  • WWII

    The U.S. enters World War II after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on December 7. During the next four years, much of the country's resources go to the war effort. Education is put on the back burner as many young men quit school to enlist; schools are faced with personnel problems as teachers and other employees enlist, are drafted, or leave to work in defense plants; school construction is put on hold.
  • Everson vs Board of Education

    n the case of Everson v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court rules by a 5-4 vote that a New Jersey law which allowed reimbursements of transportation costs to parents of children who rode public transportation to school, even if their children attended Catholic schools, did NOT violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
  • Mccollum vs. Board of Education

    In the case of McCollum v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that schools cannot allow "released time" during the school day which allows students to participate in religious education in their public school classrooms
  • Standardized testing

    The ACT Test is first administered.
  • JFK

    President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Schools close as the nation mourns its loss. Lyndon Johnson becomes president.
  • Coumbine High School

    On April 20th, two Columbine High School students go on a killing spree that leaves 15 dead and 23 wounded at the Littleton, Colorado school, making it the nations' deadliest school shooting incident. Though schools tighten safety procedures as a result of the Columbine massacre, school shootings continue to occur at an alarming rate.
  • 9/11

    Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijack four commercial jet airliners on the morning of September 11. They crash two into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashes in a rural area of Pennsylvania as passengers try to retake it from the hijackers. A total of 2976 victims as well as the 19 terrorists are killed. The attacks have a devastating effect on both U.S. and world stock markets, result in the passage of the Patriot Act and formation of th
  • Virginia Tech

    Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old student, kills two students in a dorm and then 30 others in a classroom building at Virginia Tech University. Fifteen others are wounded. His suicide brings the death toll to 33, making it the deadliest school shooting incident in U.S. history.
  • Unemployement

    With the U.S. economy mired in the "great recession" and unemployment remaining high, states have massive budget deficits. Many teachers face layoffs..
  • Sandy Hook Elementary School

    On December 14, Adam Lanza, 20, kills his mother and then invades Sandy Hook Elementary School where he kills 20 children and six adults, including principal Dawn Hochsprung and psychologist Mary Sherlachmaking, making this the second deadliest mass shooting by a single person in U.S. history.