The Need for Civic Learning

CAMPAIGN FOR THE CIVIC MISSION OF SCHOOLS

No Child Left Behind (ESEA) Reauthorization


The Need for Civic Learning[*]

American democracy depends on preparing our young people to be citizens who understand their rights and responsibilities and have the knowledge, skill and motivation to participate in the civic and political life of the nation. This civic mission – serving the needs of a democracy – was a central reason for establishing our system of free public schools. Recent test and survey data show that we are not getting the job done:

· In the 2001 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test[†] of United States history, more students scored below “basic” in history than in any other subject tested, including mathematics, science, and reading: 33% in grade 4 scored below basic; 36% in grade 8; and 57% in grade 12.

· On the last (1998) NAEP civics assessment in 1998 only 15% of 4th-graders were able to name two services that the government provides; just 6% of 8th-graders could describe two advantages of having a constitution; only 9% of 12th-graders could list two ways a democratic society benefits from citizen participation.

· The long term effect of neglecting this part of public education is apparent in a recent survey by the American Bar Association that revealed only 52% of adults were able to identify the three branches of government.

· The 1998 NAEP civics assessment produced scores for 12th graders below basic for 27% of Whites, 58% of African Americans, 56% of Hispanics, 34% of Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 56% of American Indians and showed that disadvantaged students were least likely to have strong civic learning experiences in school.

As our nation becomes more diverse, schools provide the essential opportunity for disadvantaged students in particular to develop the skills needed for civic participation. A federal education law that seeks to close achievement gaps surely should address the gap that exists in the schools’ performance in educating for democracy. We need to do better, and we can.

We know what works. The 2003 report The Civic Mission of Schools[‡] lays out both outcomes for students – the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for effective participation in our democracy – and a variety of proven strategies for schools to help students achieve them.

Civic Learning and No Child Left Behind

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB) focused our nation’s educational improvement and accountability efforts on the necessary work of closing persistent achievement gaps in reading and mathematics. The law also has profound implications for civic learning and needs to be modified to better support the civic mission of schools.

First, what's tested often is what's taught. NCLB requires tests in reading, mathematics, and science. A recent study by the Center on Education Policy suggests most school districts are cutting back on subjects like social studies, civics, and American history and government to concentrate on the tested subjects.

Civic learning should be incorporated into the required assessments in elementary and secondary grades, but with no net increase in overall testing. We also should recognize that current standardized tests are not well suited to get beyond factual knowledge to measure civic skills, values and attitudes; states should be able to use other means to measure those aspects of civic learning.

Second, current law does not address the special challenges facing civic learning in curriculum, instruction, assessment and professional development. We should seize the opportunity to embed history, social studies, and civic content in curriculum and instruction in other content areas, particularly in reading, using civic learning content to advance existing NCLB goals. The federal government should back research to confirm the view of several prominent authorities that teaching history and social studies can enhance student performance in reading.

Revisions to NCLB should strengthen teacher training and professional development in social studies, civics and content-based reading. Increased NCLB funding should be available for undergraduate preparation and in-service professional development to improve teaching in social studies, history, civics, and community-based civic learning and to prepare teachers of reading and literature to include historical and civic material.

Third, NCLB needs a mechanism to encourage student engagement in extracurricular and community-based civic learning experiences. These approaches can support broader NCLB achievement and reform goals.

Therefore, a revised ESEA should also help schools to enhance extracurricular and community-based civic learning opportunities and to see civic learning and youth engagement as part of high school reform. Civic engagement has positive effects on student performance by strengthening relationships with the community, providing some real world context for students’ classroom learning, and building character and self-esteem. NCLB should encourage youth engagement activities validated by research that make staying in school more meaningful and so can help improve graduation rates.

* * * *

As the nation’s blueprint for education reform, NCLB must address the civic mission of schools. Too much is at stake for us to leave the educational grounding of our democracy up to chance. Former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor puts it this way, “Knowledge about the ideas embodied in the Constitution and the ways in which it shapes our lives is not passed down from generation to generation through the gene pool. If must be learned anew by each generation.”
[*] We use the term “civic learning” to encompass the several subject areas essential to educating for democracy – history, civics, government, law, geography, economics – and to connote the range of both classroom instruction and experiential approaches, e.g., simulations, co- and extra-curricular activities and service learning.
[†] Results of the 2006 NAEP assessments in history and in civics are expected to be available early in 2007.
[‡] Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE, The Civic Mission of Schools (2003)