The American media has historically favored conservative critiques when reporting about national history exam results. Utilizing the frameworks of critical media studies and collective memory, this mixed methods study analyzes the media responses to the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) United States history exam. Findings indicate something we call the "Discourse of (Mis)Construction": a "cross-partisan" media misconstruction about the results and a construction of knowledge by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) by using misleading achievement level terms. Opportunities exist for social studies educators to become better stewards of the field's reputation and credibility by reworking how civic action can address these problems.