Social Studies

As described in Raising the Bar, the New York City Department of Education is dedicated to making all students college- and career-ready. In Social Studies, schools work toward this goal through rich content, unifying themes and big ideas in history, geography, economics, civics, citizenship and government, integrated with Common Core literacy standards. The Common Core Library  and EngageNY provide information on New York’s transition to the Common Core Learning Standards, which require students to ground reading, writing, and discussion in evidence from text. The Library holds guides, examples, and videos of how social studies and literacy are taught in New York City schools, as well as resources for families. Students meet high school graduation requirements by earning at least 8 Social Studies credits (4 in Global History, 2 in American History, 1 in Economics, and 1 in Participation in Government). High school students who score at least 65 on the Global History and Geography and the U.S. History and Government Regents exams fulfill the Social Studies requirement toward the Regents diploma.