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Education of America
Raceforward. (n.d.). Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward. Historical Timeline of Public Education in the US | Race Forward. https://www.raceforward.org/reports/education/historical-timeline-public-education-us -
Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School was founded in 1635 and is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States -
Massachusetts Deluder Satan Act
Old Deluder Satan Act, laying the basis for public schools in America. The Puritans valued literacy highly; they believed all individuals should be able to read & interpret the Bible for themselves. Massachusetts required parents to ensure their children’s ability to read.
Free Speech Center. (2009, January 1). ." American eras. . encyclopedia.com. 22 Aug. 2023 . Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/1600-1754-education-overview -
Two-Track Educational System
Thomas Jefferson proposes a two-track educational system, with different tracks in his words for "the laboring and the learned." Scholarship would allow a very few of the laboring class to advance, Jefferson says, by "raking a few geniuses from the rubbish."
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
Pennsylvania State Constitution
Pennsylvania state constitution calls for free public education but only for poor children. It is expected that rich people will pay for their children's schooling.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
First Public High School
First public high school in the U.S., Boston English, opens.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann becomes head of the newly formed Massachusetts State Board of Education. Edmund Dwight, a major industrialist, thinks a state board of education was so important to factory owners that he offered to supplement the state salary with extra money of his own.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
Massachusetts Reform School
Massachusetts Reform School at Westboro opens, where children who have refused to attend public schools are sent. This begins a long tradition of "reform schools," which combine the education and juvenile justice systems.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
First Compulsory Education Law
State of Massachusetts passes first its compulsory education law. The goal is to make sure that the children of poor immigrants get "civilized" and learn obedience and restraint, so they make good workers and don't contribute to social upheaval.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
So-Called Intelligennce Testing
A survey of 150 school districts reveals that three quarters of them are using so-called intelligence testing to place students in different academic tracks.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
Educational Testing Service is Formed
Educational Testing Service is formed, merging the College Entrance Examination Board, the Cooperative Test Service, the Graduate Records Office, the National Committee on Teachers Examinations and others. These testing services continued the work of eugenicists like Carl Brigham who did research "proving" that immigrants were feeble-minded.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
Proposition 187
Proposition 187 passes in California, making it illegal for children of undocumented immigrants to attend public school. Federal courts hold Proposition 187 unconstitutional, but anti-immigrant feeling spreads across the country.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward) -
1998 Ballot
California again! This time a multi-millionaire named Ron Unz manages to put a measure on the June 1998 ballot outlawing bilingual education in California.
(Historical timeline of public education in the US: Race forward)