States Push High School Civics Exam Requirement

(by Allie Bidwell, USNews) – Can you name all three branches of the federal government? How about how many votes it takes to override a presidential veto, or what the first 10 amendments to the Constitution collectively are called?

Most American adults cannot correctly answer those basic civics questions, according to a recent survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania – and a growing number of state leaders believe students should be required to pass the same civics test given to immigrants seeking nationalization in order to graduate from high school.

In its survey of more than 1,400 adults, the Annenberg Public Policy Center found just 36 percent could name all three branches of the government, and another 35 percent couldn’t name any. Just more than one-quarter of respondents – 27 percent – correctly answered that a presidential veto can be overturned by a two-thirds vote from both the House and Senate.

“We all sort of laugh at that, but it’s tragically sad at the same time that we all don’t know these very, very basic things,” says Sam Stone, political director of the Civics Education Initiative, a national campaign aiming to get all 50 states to require their high school students to pass the U.S. naturalization civics test (see a sample test under “Resources” below).

The group is backed by many high-profile public figures and former legislators, including former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein and actor Joe Mantegna. Current legislators are also coming on board in support of the initiative.

Seven states – Arizona, Utah, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Missouri, South Carolina and Louisiana – have formally launched the campaign, with another three expected to begin efforts by the end of the year, Stone says. The group’s goal is to get every state to make passing the civics exam a graduation requirement by 2017, to coincide with the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, Stone adds.

In many states, requiring students to pass the civics exam, which covers 100 facts about American history and civics, will need to be done through legislation.

In Arizona, state Rep. Steve Montenegro, a Republican, announced Wednesday he is in the process of drafting legislation to make passing the exam a graduation requirement.

“Every single student in Arizona and across the United States of America should have basic knowledge and understanding of American government,” Montenegro said during a news conference, according to azcentral.com. “Civics is just common sense.”

Two Utah state lawmakers – Sen. Howard Stephenson and Rep. Steve Eliason, both Republicans – also said Wednesday that they plan to introduce a bill in the next legislative session to require all Utah high school students to pass the exam.

Former Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, who served as a Democratic governor from 2001 to 2005, says he’s working with state legislators to introduce a bill at the beginning of the next legislative session, which begins in January 2015.

“It’s very critical as we enter a truly global economy that our leaders and our citizens have a greater understanding of how our country was formed, the values that have shaped us and the values that will hopefully lead us to continued success,” Holden says.

Most surveys of Americans’ knowledge of U.S. history and civics are striking. The Annenberg survey also found most respondents said they didn’t know which parties control the House and Senate.

Stone says it’s possible that an emphasis on American history and civics has fallen to the wayside in favor of increased focus on science, technology, engineering and math – or STEM – subjects.

“I don’t think anyone is arguing the value of those, but at the same time, I think we’ve lost the focus on a well-rounded curriculum and on giving people as much of an opportunity as possible to explore the world around them,” Stone says.

Requiring students to pass a civics test is one way to draw more attention to the importance of those subjects, but the push is also coming at a time when tensions around testing are hitting the ceiling. Holden says one way to mitigate concerns about over-testing is to find a way to incorporate the questions on history and civics into the testing already in place.

“Anytime you’re talking about change, it becomes somewhat difficult. Everyone likes change as long as it doesn’t affect them,” Holden says. “Let’s make this something that all Americans can get behind, because it’s about our country’s future, and our children’s knowledge of the past to lead them to the future that’s important.”

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