National Geographic defines geographic literacy (or "geo-literacy"), as "the ability to use geographic understanding and geographic reasoning to make far-reaching decisions."
Why does it matter?
In their foreword to a 2016 Survey on Global Literacy, National Geographic and the Council on Foreign relations hashes out a few (of many) reasons:
"The United States has considerable influence over international events. It remains the world's foremost military power...and the U.S. dollar continues to play a central role in international finance... All of this makes an educated public essential for American economic competitiveness, national security, and democracy."
And yet...
Americans don't fare too well in geographic knowledge tests.
The map below illustrates some of the results from a 2006 National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs Geographic Literacy Study. It highlights the percent of young, American respondents that were not able to identify certain countries/states. (Keep in mind current events near that time: the Iraq war, the Darfur crisis in Sudan, and Hurricane Katrina.)
High-ranking American officials aren't always geographically competent either. Test your knowledge by taking this quiz by The Telegraph.
Where are we going wrong?
In October 2015, the U.S. Government Accountability Office published a report on K-12 Education: "Most Eighth Graders Are Not Proficient in Geography". The report identifies a range of challenges to providing geography education including the low number of states with geography standards and course requirements.
Explore the map below to compare middle and high school geography requirements across the United States in 2017. (Data gathered by The Gilbert M. Grosvenor Center for Geographic Education.)
- No = a geography course is not required
- Optional = students choose between geography or another social studies course
- Combined = a geography/other social studies combined course is required
- Local = local school districts control and set course requirements
- Yes = a geography course is required
But wait.
Fortunately (and despite a complicated history), geography still has a place in American higher education.
Click on the map below to explore the over 500 geogrpahy departments in colleges and universities across the United States. (Data compiled by the Association of American Geographers in 2013.)
For more on this topic, check out National Geographic's Geography Education Advocacy Resources).