In early May 2002, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released a study of U.S. history achievement among fourth, eight, and twelfth graders, finding that nearly 60 percent of high school senior test-takers failed to demonstrate basic knowledge of U.S. history. Although the hand-wringing has begun about what "must be done" to correct student ignorance of U.S. history, it may be more appropriate to step back and examine the dynamic meanings behind the results from various perspectives. In this article, the author examines illustrative responses to the NAEP-US History Study (NAEP-US) from four different perspectives in social studies: (1) perennialism; (2) essentialism; (3) constructivism; and (4) multiculturalism. With this analysis, the author intends to capture the essence of the perspectives to examine what the findings suggest about deeply held curricular assumptions.