California Survey of Civic Education, The

"The qualifications for self-government are not innate. They are the result of habit and long training."

-Thomas Jefferson

Democracy's Health at Risk

Throughout the history of our country's public education system, a primary mission has been the civic education of young people to prepare them to be informed, committed, and participatory citizens. In recent years, this central purpose has received increasingly less attention. Yet, the need for civic education is as great as ever.

On the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in civics, only a quarter of high school students were judged to be proficient and only 4 percent scored at the advanced level. A third of the students failed to demonstrate even a basic level of understanding. In the NAEP for U.S. history, only 11 percent scored at the proficient or advanced levels. (Civic Mission of Schools, 2003)

Similarly, a recent national survey of secondary students conducted by CIRCLE found that 57 percent were disengaged from civic life and found that only S percent of entering college freshmen regularly followed public affairs. (Keeter, Zukin, Andolina, & Jenkins, 2002)

Unfortunately, as the civic knowledge and commitments of young people has declined, so has the emphasis on civic education in America's schools. Although, the federal No Child Left Behind Act mentions social studies as a core subject area, its current testing in reading and math has put pressure on school districts to give emphasis to these subjects often to the detriment of civics and history.

In short, many of today's young people lack the basic knowledge and skills to effectively participate as citizens, and they often lack the dispositions to do so. Great international and domestic challenges face the United States today and in the future. Only with strong democratic institutions, wise leadership, and a thorough and intelligent debate on crucial issues can these challenges be met. All of them require the participation of an enlightened citizenry. Without this, the health of our democracy is truly at risk.

The California Survey of Civic Education

In 2004, the California Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools was convened by Constitutional Rights Foundation in collaboration with the Center for Civic Education and a statewide coalition of nonprofit educational, business, governmental, and civic groups. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Annenberg Foundation, and the W. R. Hearst Foundation, the goals of the campaign are to strengthen civic education throughout the state by working with schools, building public support, and conducting research to determine the effects of current educational practices.

To advance these goals, we constructed the California Survey of Civic Education. The survey assesses the prevalence and impact of civic education practices in California high schools on graduating seniors throughout the state.

The survey examines students' civic knowledge, skills, and commitments. It also identifies opportunities schools have provided to promote these outcomes and the impact of these opportunities. The study establishes a baseline for comparison with national findings and facilitates identification of particularly effective civic education practices, especially those research-based contained in the Carnegie/CIRCLE report titled The Civic Mission of the Schools (2003).

In 2005, the project administered a survey to some 2,366 graduating seniors who had completed the 12th grade U.S. government course mandated by the California History/Social Science Framework and Standards. Participating schools were selected from various geographic areas to provide a portrait of current conditions representing a range of factors including student race and ethnicity and academic performance. The survey concentrated on high school seniors to get a clearer sense of student civic capacities and commitments as they reach voting age and complete their experience in public schools.

California's Emerging Citizens

What level of civic knowledge and attitudes toward civic engagement do California's young people possess as they begin to assume the rights and responsibilities of adult citizenship?

Among the major findings of the study are:

* California high school seniors care about those in need and are willing to help. Eighty-six percent of the students surveyed agreed with the statement, "I try to help when I see people in need." Only 5 percent disagreed. Also, 84 percent of all high school seniors reported volunteering while in high school.

* Students are not well prepared for effective citizenship. Although a high percentage of students reported that they intended to vote, they were less likely to say they were informed enough to vote. Their confidence declined further when asked about specific issues: Iraq, the economy, taxes, education, health care, and the like. Similarly, one half could not correctly identify the function of the Supreme Court, and 33 percent could not correctly identify even one of California's two senators from a list of options. While these results are consistent with national assessments, they are especially disturbing considering that the 12th graders surveyed had taken a course in U.S government during their senior year.