Unfortunately, in the US, with so many public schools striving to meet benchmark scores on standardized tests that require little critical thinking. . .the answer is yes, that's increasingly left out of the previous 12 years' curriculum.

This is largely FUD in well-to-do districts. Having gone through the public school system after NCLB was passed in a district consisting primarily of upper middle class students, I rarely heard NCLB or the related standardized tests mentioned. And when I did, it was in the form of a derogatory remark from the teachers.

Of course, things may be very different for people from other socioeconomic backgrounds.