The sad state of civics education

Center for American Progress 

Only nine states and the District of Columbia require one year of U.S. government or civics. Thirty-one states only require a half-year of civics or U.S. government education, and 10 states have no civics requirement. While federal education policy has focused on improving academic achievement in reading and math, this has come at the expense of a broader curriculum. Most states have dedicated insufficient class time to understanding the basic functions of government at the expense of other courses. 

State civics curricula are heavy on knowledge but light on building skills and agency for civic engagement. An examination of standards for civics and U.S. government courses found that 32 states and the District of Columbia provide instruction on American democracy and comparison to other systems of government; the history of the Constitution and Bill of Rights; an explanation of mechanisms for public participation; and instruction on state and local voting policies. However, no states have experiential learning or local problem-solving components in their civics requirements. 

While almost half of states allow credit for community service, almost none require it. Only one state—Maryland—and the District of Columbia require both community service and civics courses for graduation. 

Nationwide, students score very low on the AP U.S. government exam. The national average AP U.S. government exam score is 2.64, which is lower than the average AP score of all but three of the other 45 AP exams offered by schools.¹⁵ Most colleges require a score of 3.0 or higher and some require a score of 4.0 or higher to qualify for college credit. Only six states had a mean score of 3.0 or above and no states had a mean score of 4.0 or above on the AP U.S. government exam. 

States with the highest rates of youth civic engagement tend to prioritize civics courses and AP U.S. government in their curricula. The 10 states with the highest youth volunteer rates have a civics course requirement for graduation and score higher than average on the AP U.S. government exam. Seven out of 10 states with the highest youth voter participation rate score higher than average on the AP U.S. government exam.