One of the earliest summaries of efforts in astronomy education was written by Charles Wall (1973). Wall
reviewed science education studies from the period 1922–1972. His report identifies 58 studies in
astronomy education, 54 of which were doctoral or master’s studies. Wall divides his selected studies into
categories of elementary (21 studies), secondary (19), or college level (18). He goes on to further
subdivide the works into status articles that describe the condition of astronomy education (12 studies
across the three grade categories), achievement (31), or curriculum development (15). Of these studies,
only a handful of the elementary-level achievement studies would fall under a contemporary "astronomy
education research" category as defined and described above. These studies include those about students’
conceptions of the Moon (Haupt 1948; 1950) and of the day/night cycle and gravity (Yuckenberg, as cited
in Wall). In contrast to the cognitive focus of AER today, Wall made several recommendations for further
study aimed at measuring the effectiveness of audio-visual materials, laboratory equipment, and
individualized instruction strategies. Reflective of educational studies of the time, Wall does not
recommend additional study to deeply probe student understanding in specific astronomy content areas.
This is a historical mirror to how school effectiveness was measured by counting the number of books in
the library and square footage of instructional space rather than directly sampling student learning and
achievement.