The assessment, distributed according to the Congressionally mandated 2018 standardized survey, was administered to roughly 13,400 eighth grade students from a cross-section of schools of every size and socioeconomic status. It measured how proficient students are in civics knowledge, their skills to participate in civic life, and civic dispositions - the skills that are critical for the responsibilities of citizenship in America's constitutional democracy, and exactly the work we are doing through CivXNow.
According to the report only 24% of our country’s eighth graders scored proficient or better - a statistically insignificant increase from the 23% who tested proficient or above the last time the tests were administered in
2014
, and a number that has held steady since
1998
.
And those young people who are most marginalized - those who need a louder voice in our democracy - are often provided the least opportunity to learn civics.
The report showed that huge disparities still exist along socioeconomic and racial lines. Only 11% of students who qualify for the National School Lunch Program tested at or above proficient, compared with 35% of those who do not. And Black (10% proficient or above) and Latinx (13% proficient or above) students trailed White (31%) and Asian (41%) students by a wide margin. Neither sets of numbers have changed significantly since 2014.
These are bad numbers.
But for those of us reading this newsletter, it’s important to remember that in some respects the NAEP is designed to show a dire snapshot, and elicit the same headline year after year that students are failing at civics, until we can successfully push for policy that changes that equation.
Or, as Peter Levine explained in his 2013 Fact Sheet for CIRCLE,
What the NAEP Civics Assessment Measures and How Students Perform
: “The test is designed to produce the overall results that it yields. When the current NAEP Civics Framework was developed in 1998, a committee of teachers and other knowledgeable citizens decided how difficult each proposed question ought to be for students at each grade level, and then decided what overall score should qualify a student as having “basic,” “proficient,” or “advanced” knowledge.
In other words, the committee set a high bar for proficiency, and the result has been terrible headlines that almost all of us have used to make the case for supporting better civic education.
But to really understand the NAEP results, one must look a little deeper at what the NAEP means by
proficient
: “Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter.” And one must look at what the NAEP means by
basic
: “This level denotes partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and skills that are fundamental for performance at the NAEP Proficient level.”
When we do this, the picture gains greater focus, as 73% of students tested scored NAEP
basic
.
This means that we’ve done an OK job at teaching students how to answer questions that test knowledge such as what is the purpose of the United Nations (which 69% of students got right) and what is the purpose of Congressional veto power (which 50% of students got right).
But where we are struggling is with teaching students how to actually apply civic knowledge. Only 23% of those tested could explain citizen involvement, and only 13% knew the difference volunteers make in civic life - and how volunteerism can make a difference in one’s community.
And for us, the CivXNow Coalition, that needs to be the headline. Civic knowledge is only a part of the total equation. We need to continue teaching civic knowledge - and do a better job of teaching it with deep attention to equity - but as a whole, we need to double down our efforts on civic skills, dispositions, and teaching how and why participation matters.
Inside this Newsletter:
- Emergency Funding Request to Congress
- New Coalition Members
- Join the CivXNow Policy Task Force
- Member Spotlight - Texas Civic Education Coalition
- $200 Million Annually Recommended to Support Civic Learning
- Catch up on May’s CivXNow Webinars
|
|
Emergency Funding Request to Congress
Thank you to the over 550 individuals and nearly 100 organizations that signed-on to the
CivXNow letter to Congress
seeking $40 Million in emergency funding for civic education in the next relief act.
Last week, the House Democratic Leadership released its version of the next coronavirus relief bill, the Heroes Act, which the House voted on last Friday. Regrettably, the Heroes Act did not contain our request for emergency funding for civic education. It is apparent that this is a 'Message Bill' designed to stake out priorities for a compromise bill. The U.S. Senate has not released a bill and Senate Leadership has declared the Heroes Act dead on arrival in the Senate. Clearly, there is a long process ahead before Congress can reach agreement and pass the next virus relief measure. We will vigilantly monitor this unfolding situation and look for any opportunity to push for our request for emergency funding for civics.
This is not the only opportunity CivXNow is working to secure meaningful federal funding for civic education. We are in active discussions with a senior House member on the introduction of a major piece of legislation that would significantly increase federal level investment in civic education, address inequities, and make the NAEPs in civics and history more useful to state-level policymakers.
Thank you again for your support of our emergency request. While we are disappointed this was not included in the House bill released last week, it is important to keep in mind that we are in the third inning of this ball game with at least six more innings and many more at bats to come.
|
|
New Coalition Members
Working in concert with one another, we believe that we can ensure every school fulfills its vital civic mission that all students have access to quality civic education and are prepared with the knowledge and skills necessary for authentic, informed, and effective civic engagement. The
CivXNow Coalition
now stands strong at 122 member organizations! We remain deeply appreciative of all of your efforts and what we have already accomplished together.
The latest addition to the Coalition include:
These organizations will be added to the full list of members on the
CivXNow website
. Please join us in welcoming them to the Coalition! Several other organizations are also in the process of joining. We urge you to recruit new members that share our goals. We are especially interested in recruiting more national organizations with large, scaled networks, state civic learning coalitions, youth voice organizations, organizations that represent rural or urban communities, and organizations that are active in K-12 after-school activities.
|
|
Join the CivXNow Policy Task Force
Are you involved in a state-level civic learning coalition? Does your organization want to help make policy progress to expand and promote comprehensive civic learning?
Join the CivXNow Policy Task Force
!
The Task Force will meet monthly via webinar to share best practices and resources and galvanize the momentum around civics to enact and implement civic learning policy - such as the work done in
Florida
,
Illinois,
and
Massachusetts
.
The Chair of the CivXNow Policy Task Force and Democracy Program Director at the
Robert R. McCormick Foundation
, Shawn Healy, will lead the discussion.
|
|
Member Spotlight - Texas Civic Education Coalition
This month’s member spotlight highlights the work of the Texas Civic Education Coalition. Wendy May-Dreyer, a retired Texas attorney and Chairman of the Board for iCivics, took the CivXNow mission to the state level in Texas and kicked off the Texas Civic Education Coalition. This Q&A will dive into the work of the Coalition, which is organizing educators, legislators, elected officials, and vendors from across the state of Texas to take a holistic approach to civic education reform in the Lone Star State.
Q:
What is the goal of the Texas Civic Education Coalition?
May:
To bring comprehensive, non-partisan civic education back into the classroom in a way that resonates with and excites twenty-first century learners. Texas, unlike many other states, already has some good civic teaching standards that we can build upon to improve civic learning. Importantly, we need to ensure that our students are learning early and often the appropriate civic knowledge, values, and attitudes needed to invest them in our democratic system of government. The Texas Coalition’s approach is research-based, consensus-built, teacher-approved, and bi-partisan supported. We will address civic educational improvements in Texas through the legislature, but also and perhaps more importantly, through revision and streamlining of the state’s teaching standards (
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills aka TEKS
), school and student civic achievement recognition programs, and funded teacher professional development.
Q:
Tell us about the teacher-centered approach.
May:
We started with the teachers and what would practically help them master and teach civic knowledge, civic skills, civic attitudes, and civic behaviors integrated into their busy schedule. Too often other groups that pursue education improvements self-determine what's best. They go straight to the legislature or Board of Education to push their agenda, then end up mandating things that only require more work for teachers and do not actually improve the situation in the classroom. Our Coalition started with the education research and the substantial teacher and administrator networks of our Coalition members.
Q:
What is the game plan for the Coalition?
May:
The Texas Civic Education Coalition uniquely includes all the major education organizations and agencies that impact social studies in Texas as well as industry providers and experts. We're coming at this with a group that is very in tune with the on-the-ground situation in Texas. It gives us the ability to really custom design what we're doing to get the most impact, but in a way that helps teachers work smarter, not harder. Also, Texas is ripe for this effort: society as a whole has become increasingly aware of the decline in civic knowledge and values; Texas has a history of leading education movements.The Governor’s agenda includes civic education, the state’s biannual legislature meets next year, and the social studies TEKS are already scheduled for a major revision. You might say the stars have aligned, and the Texas Coalition is poised to move on this opportunity.
Q:
What are the underlying principles of the goals for the Coalition?
May:
We know that, while some states have been able to mandate a full civics course, the required courses in Texas won't allow for that kind of time. The teachers wouldn't want that, and it would not be feasible in their day to prescribe it. We know that because we know Texas. But what we also know is there are lots of places within other crucial subjects that are already being taught where we can better integrate civics content. What we're questioning is, "How can we take the necessary civics content and better integrate it into the existing social studies and even ELA content so that you have a robust integration that allows teachers to cover the necessary issues under those four civic pillars without adding more time?"
Q:
How is this endeavor in Texas unique?
May:
Texas does things its own way: the way our legislative system is set up, the powers of our Board of Education, the active involvement of our Commissioner of Education are different than some other states. We must also consider that the state is huge geographically and has a tremendous amount of diversity from a socioeconomic standpoint. We have to make sure that anything we put into place is actually feasible and fair in a variety of different districts and realities. The Commissioner of Education is very attentive to that issue. But again, the power of our Coalition is that our members are very in tune [to the needs] throughout the state of Texas. So when we're doing professional development, when we're suggesting appropriate revisions to the TEKS, when we're talking to legislators, we can bring to that a level of expertise about what will work throughout the totality of Texas and not just in certain geographic regions or with certain socioeconomic status school districts.
Q:
Who belongs to the Coalition?
May:
We are the only collective group in Texas working towards this goal. We have included committed representatives from all three branches of government, which is very important. All three branches are working with us in our efforts to improve civic education in Texas. At the same time, we are working with the Commissioner of Education and the Texas Education Agency as well as the Board of Education on our non-legislative goals and to leverage their expertise and support while we also lend our members’ expertise to them.. Our membership runs the gamut of education providers and vendors, special interest groups, industry experts, universities, presidential libraries, and philanthropists. It includes every significant education organization in the state that deals with social studies. In total, there are more than 100 members and we are growing every day.
Q:
How important is it to have a bi-partisan Coalition?
May:
Our membership is intentionally multi-partisan. Most of the participating groups are non-partisan, but we have included a balance of interested groups that align politically with the right and the left. We believe our goals and work are nonpartisan in nature - this is about investing in making good citizens who are committed to our constitutional republic. This is an all-hands on deck effort, and there’s an understanding here in Texas that civic education is a top priority regardless of your political ideology. There’s a very real opportunity here to work on this in a meaningful, multi-partisan way. And isn’t that the example we should be demonstrating for our students?
Q:
So where are you now in the process?
May:
The legislative session starts in January 2021. We are preparing to have the bill submitted with bipartisan support on day one. We have a legislative strategy task force that is working on that now. This is a multi-partisan group. We also have an education content committee and other education specialists advising on the legislation content so we can make sure we have consensus and a bill that will appropriately set parameters for the subsequent TEKS enhancements and other programming goals.
Q:
What is the state of civics in Texas right now?
May:
It's better than a lot of states in that we do have civics requirements within the K-12 strands. That doesn't mean there's not plenty of room for improvement. Where we really could use more focus is on developing appropriate civic attitudes, even at early ages - building a sense of community and the sense of responsibility to community, a sense of what it means to be an American citizen, part of a democracy, and wanting to participate in your own system of government. We also need more work in developing civic behaviors, giving students more opportunities to really see how civics applies in their everyday lives in order to help them develop the inclination to actually engage throughout their lives.
Q:
How is this effort different from efforts in the past in Texas?
May:
There has never been a wholesale effort like this. There have always been strong groups doing great work individually, often separated from the education organizations’ and agencies’ agendas. Maybe two or three organizations have come together trying to tackle one problem or project at a time. This is the first time all of those groups are now members of one coalition and have signed off on and expressed willingness to work together to come up with a cumulative, comprehensive plan that significantly moves the needle forward. Plus, as already discussed, the foundation of our goals is what will work in the classroom and across this great state.
Q:
Have you had any major sticking points, and how have you worked through them?
May:
The first thing that comes to mind is the same complication the world is experiencing right now: COVID-19. We were moving with great momentum and lots of energy; we were in conversations with the Governor, legislators, the Commissioner of Education, the Texas Supreme Court, and funders. We were positioned to really start solidifying plans even for this summer. Then the virus hit and, rightfully, health and safety along with a major pivot in education became the top priorities; it's taken everybody's attention away momentarily and perhaps slowed some of our plans. But I would say, at the same time, when everyone stops and sits back, the situation will demonstrate more than ever the need for civics education. This crisis certainly shows how important it is for people to understand how their government works and what their government can and can’t do for them, how state and federal governments interact with each other, and how important community responsibility is.
Share Insights from Wendy on Social Media
“[The TX Coalition] started with the teachers and what would practically help them master and teach [civics] integrated into their busy schedule. Too often other groups that pursue education improvements self-determine what's best.” #CivXNow
“[T]his is about investing in making good citizens who are committed to our constitutional republic. This is an all-hands on deck effort, and there’s an understanding here in Texas that civic education is a top priority regardless of your political ideology.” #CivXNow
“[M]ore focus [should be on] civic attitudes, even at early ages - building a sense of community and the sense of responsibility to community, a sense of what it means to be an American citizen, part of a democracy, and wanting to participate in your own system of gov.” #CivXNow
“We also need more work in developing civic behaviors, giving students more opportunities to really see how civics applies in their everyday lives in order to help them develop the inclination to actually engage throughout their lives.” #CivXNow
“This [Covid] crisis certainly shows how important it is for people to understand how their government works and what their government can and can’t do for them, how state and federal governments interact with each other, and how important community responsibility is.” #CivXNow
|
|
$200 Million Annually Recommended to Support Civic Learning
The National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service
is a bipartisan, 11-member Commission created by Congress to review the military selective service process and develop recommendations to inspire more Americans - specifically young people - to participate in military, national, and public service. The Commission was established on September 19, 2017 and launched in January 2018.
The Commission quickly determined that improving the quantity and quality of civic education was fundamental to its mission and goals. Several members of the CivXNow Coalition testified before the Commission and provided the Commissioners with a roadmap to improving civic education for every K-12 student in the nation.
On March 25 of this year, the Commission released its final report
Inspired to Serve
. The report makes substantial recommendations to policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels on how to strengthen and improve civic education. A bill,
HR 6415, Inspire to Serve Act of 2020
, has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to fulfill the Commission’s federal recommendations. This legislation would appropriate $200 million annually for civic learning and and an additional $250 million annually for service learning.
The Commission’s recommendations for state and local policymakers are:
“The Commission encourages State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to deliver high-quality civic education to all students by adopting and implementing the following practices for elementary school (grades K–5) instruction and assessment:
- Expose students to civic education, including the basics of government, history, law, and democracy.
- Provide and encourage guided use of civics-related materials in elementary school.
- Incorporate interactive, hands-on learning opportunities, including having students participate in plays about American history and take civics-oriented field trips.
The Commission encourages SEAs and LEAs to deliver high-quality civic education to all students by adopting and implementing the following practices for middle school (grades 6–8) instruction and assessment:
- Provide students with at least one semester of course work devoted to civic education, which incorporates age-appropriate, nonpartisan discussion of current events.
- Integrate civic education into non–social studies coursework, including math and science.
- Engage students in at least one interactive, student-led applied-civics project before they graduate from eighth grade.
- Encourage and facilitate extracurricular programs focused on civic responsibility and community service.
- Encourage students to participate in civics-oriented activities, such as student government, civics-based competitions (for example, quiz bowl, geography bowl, model UN, mock trial, history day, or essay contests on civic or political themes), and nationwide civics programs.
The Commission encourages SEAs and LEAs to deliver high-quality civic education to all students by adopting and implementing the following practices for high school (grades 9–12) instruction and assessment:
- Provide students with a full year of civic education as a condition of graduation and consider ways to integrate civic education into non–social studies coursework, including math and science.”
At the federal level:
“
The Commission recommends that Congress create a Civic Education Fund and provide an initial investment of $200 million each year to State educational agencies (SEAs), local educational agencies (LEAs), institutions of higher education (IHEs), and nonprofit organizations
, via the U.S. Department of Education, to develop and implement best practice curricula that incorporate civic education, applied civics, and service learning across the K–12 experience and to provide teacher development opportunities in civic education, applied civics, and service learning. The goals, by 2031, are all K–12 students exposed to civic education and all students in 4th, 8th, and 12th grades test at or above ‘Proficient’ in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test in civics.
The Commission recommends that Congress amend the law to require States to participate in the NAEP civics assessment, require the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to publish results of the NAEP civics assessment both in the aggregate for the Nation and separately for each State, and require schools to administer the NAEP civics assessment every two years.”
|
|
Catch up on May’s CivXNow Webinars
Panelists A’Niya Bankston (Deer Valley HS, CA), Jaden Deal (Harvard, by way of IA), and Alexandra Henderson (LSU Lab School, LA) explored whether students are getting what they need from their civic education. This session passed the mic to the students, allowing them to share their insights and experiences working with adults to bring equitable change to their civic learning environments. If students are our primary stakeholders, why aren’t we asking them what they think? This session focused on the impact of the
Equity in Civics Youth Fellowship
, highlighting student voice as central to the discussion on equity in civic education. The webinar recording can be
accessed here
.
Show your support!
|
|
Your CivXNow Team
Our CivXNow
team
facilitates the publication of this newsletter.
In addition, we are supported by (and very grateful to) several members of the Coalition who - very generously - contribute their energy, time and guidance including:
Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics
,
Mikva Challenge
,
PACE
,
McCormick Foundation
,
Tufts University
,
Citizen University
,
Ronald Reagan Foundation
,
JFK Library Foundation
,
ConSource
,
National Conference on Citizenship
,
Generation Citizen
, and many many others who support individual projects.
|
|
Sincerely,
Louise
Dubé
Executive Director
iCivics
|
|
iCivics, Inc.
Cambridge, MA
|
|
See what's happening on our social sites.
Follow us and use #CivXNow to join the movement!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
