Education advocates are urging stronger as new data highlights gaps in students understanding of American government ahead of a federal assessment update.
Every four years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administers a civics test to students in grades 4, 8 and 12. The most recent results of the “Nation’s Report Card,” released in 2022, found just 22% of eighth graders were proficient, while 31% scored below basic. That marked a decline since its 2018 assessment, in which 27% scored below basic and 23% scored at or above the proficient level.
Similar gaps were found beyond K-12 education. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) in 2024 surveyed more than 3,000 undergraduate students with the goal of “assessing their grasp on basic facts about our nations history and government.” The survey revealed that 60% of students did not know the term lengths of members of Congress.
In 2024, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation found in a survey of registered voters that 70% failed a basic civics literacy quiz. The assessment covered topics such as the three branches of government and the number of Supreme Court justices. The foundation said that just half of respondents “were able to correctly name the branch of government where bills become laws.⯔
As officials at the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) look to update the 2018 Civics Assessment Framework, which will shape how civics knowledge is measured nationwide, Defending Education is urging it to make changes that will ensure the next generation of voters is properly educated on how the country functions.
“The primary problem is that most know very little about our American government, our political institutions, and our traditions. And so when these individuals get old enough to vote, they’re doing so with not having the type of foundation that they need to make informed decisions in the voting booth,” Defending Education Director of State Affairs Terry Stoops told Fox News Digital.
Defending Education is calling for the NAEP exam to focus more heavily on students knowledge of the Constitution, the structure of government and core founding principles behind the U.S. government. The organization said that questions on foreign affairs should assess what students know about specific constitutional mandates.
Stoops explained that one of the major challenges is the varying approaches in different states, which he said has contributed to a lack of accountability.
A 2024 Hoover Institution report found that eight U.S. states â Alaska, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming â required neither a civics course nor a civics test for students to receive a high school diploma. Additionally, the institute noted that just four states â Idaho, Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia â require a full-year civics course and passing of a standard civics test.
In comments submitted to the NAGB ahead of the NAEP civics assessment framework update, Defending Education President Nicole Neily sai
