Lessons in Civics

Civics education in schools has significantly declined, a conundrum we’ve followed for years at The Hechinger Report.

Many teachers say they are afraid to teach these topics in these sharply divided times while principals, too, fear discussing civics is simply too divisive. Consider some of these startling, oft-repeated statistics:

• Only 49 percent of students who took the most recent NAEP exam said they have a class that is mainly focused on civics or the U.S. government;
• Only 29 percent said they had a teacher whose primary responsibility is teaching civics;?
• And more than 70 percent of Americans failed a basic civic literacy quiz; 1 in 3 couldn’t name or explain what our three branches of government do, a 2024 study from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found. Most Americans could name only a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment in a recent Annenberg survey, and our civic knowledge has not improved since 1998.

Many students, meanwhile, want to be more informed and engaged in the issues, one reason why The Hechinger Report is teaming up with Retro Report to highlight the lack of civics education in the U.S., along with solutions, resources and ideas for solving it.

COLUMN: Students want more civics education, but far too few schools teach it

Fear of controversy has fueled huge gaps in what students are taught, threatening the future of our democracy

Episode 1, Citizen Nation

OPINION: We can and must start early and teach students to become active citizens

In our divided country, a staggering number of Americans struggle to grasp the fundamentals of our political system

OPINION: We can and must start early and teach students to become active citizens

Young people are the future of America, if they can hear their call to craft it?

Read more.