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Purpose Data literacy – the ability to read, analyze, interpret, evaluate and argue with data and data visualizations – is an essential competency in social studies. This study aims to examine the degree to which US state standards require teachers to teach data literacy in social studies, addressing the questions: to what extent are US social studies teachers required to teach data literacy? If they are required to teach it, are they provided with guidance about competencies to address at each school or grade level and with respect to particular content? Design/methodology/approach The study used content analysis, using a variety of priori and emergent codes, to review social studies standards documents from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings Findings indicate that although state standards suggest that data visualizations should play a role in social studies instruction, they provide poor guidance for a coherent, progressive and critical approach across grade levels. Originality/value This paper currently knows little about if and how teachers address data literacy in social studies education. This study provides a snapshot of guidance teachers across states are given for teaching data literacy, and by extension, the quality of data literacy instruction recommended for students across the USA.

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Data literacy – the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate, and use data and data visualizations – has become increasingly important for understanding and communicating information in the discipline of history. In the United States, curricular standards and standardized assessments already reflect this importance, but educators lack a clear picture of how students use data visualizations when reasoning about the past. How do students use data visualizations when reasoning about a historical question? To what degree does using data visualizations enhance students’ historical reasoning? What challenges do students face when attempting to use data visualizations? This study addresses these questions, investigating how fifth-grade, eighth-grade, and high school students use data visualizations from typical school textbooks. Twenty-seven students were interviewed, surveyed, and asked to think aloud about a historical question while using a textbook entry that included a data visualization. Results from qualitative and quantitative analyses highlight the potential for data visualizations to enhance historical reasoning. However, results also indicate that students are unlikely to read data visualizations on their own, underscoring the importance of providing targeted data literacy instruction.