[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-585140-105":59,"doc-detail-585140-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","restoring-civics-education-in-all-50-states","Restoring Civics Education in All 50 States","","Backgrounder No. 3909 argues that K–12 civics instruction has declined in rigor and no longer equips students for postsecondary study, the workforce, or full participation in civic life. It states that while forty states and DC require civics-related learning, graduation should be tied to passing a high school civics exam, following Florida and Louisiana’s more demanding approach. It also highlights two shortcomings: insufficient classroom coverage and a shift away from personal virtue toward activities and topics tied to identity politics, including critical race theory concepts.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/restoring-civics-education-in-all-50-states/585140/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/restoring-civics-education-in-all-50-states/585140.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":52},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the report say about how civics instruction has changed in K–12 schools?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It argues civics has become less rigorous and no longer prepares students for higher education, the workforce, or civic participation. It also says the topics taught have shifted away from virtue-centered learning toward different framing of civic engagement.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What graduation requirement does the report recommend for all states?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It recommends that all states require high school students to pass a civics exam to graduate.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What two deficiencies does the report identify in current civics instruction?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"First, civics is not taught in enough classrooms nationwide. Second, the content educators include in civics has changed drastically compared with earlier approaches.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},585140,1792230685,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":52,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","BACKGROUNDER  \nNo. 3909 | JuNe 13, 2025  \nCeNTeR FOR eDuCATION POLICY  \nRestoring Civics Education in All 50 States  \nMadison Marino Doan and Jonathan Butcher  \nKEY TAKEAWAYS  \nCivics instruction in K–12 schools has become less rigorous and no longer prepares students for higher education, the workforce, or to participate in society.  \nForty states and DC have civics-related requirements for K–12, but all states should require high school students to pass a civics exam to graduate.  \nFlorida and Louisiana have set a model for all states by developing challenging civics content and testing requirements.  \nNonpartisan agreement exists among policy  \nmakers, educators, and parents that more K–12  \nstudents should be proficient in civics before they graduate highschool. Researchers atthe Brookings Institution write that “civic learning is on the margins of young people’s school experience.”1 The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute, which researches and advocates civics instruction inK–12 schools, bemoans the condition of civics teaching today in a report titled,“When and Why Did America Stop Teaching Civics?,” saying,“American schools once prioritized civics instruction and no longer do.”2 Similar sentiments have been expressed recently by right-of-center publications, such as National Review, and groups that advocate traditional civics instruction, such as the Jack Miller Center.3  \nCivics instruction in K–12 schools today has two deficiencies: First, civics is simply not taught in enough classrooms nationwide. In a survey conducted by the U.S.  \nThis paper, in its entirety, can be found at [https://report.heritage.org/bg3909](https://report.heritage.org/bg3909)  \nThe Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Avenue, Ne | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) [546-4400 | heritage.org](546-4400 | heritage.org)[ ](546-4400 | heritage.org)Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.  \nDepartment of Education, just 49 percent of eighth-graders reported taking a class primarily focused on civics or the U.S. government in 2022, while 32 percent took a class with some emphasis on the subject.4 Meanwhile, 8 percent said they had no such course. Students who took a course dedicated to civics or that focused heavily on the subject outperformed their peers on national comparisons of civics knowledge. As this Backgrounder demonstrates, some state lawmakers have not adopted any civics requirements forK–12 schools.  \nSecond, the topics that educators include in civicshave changed drastically. Instead of learning why virtue underpins a representative society, students are to“engage in civic actions”and“flex their civic muscles,” according toone setof civics material from the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district.5 Students are inundated with lessons about “intersectionality,”a principle idea from the radical Marxist philosophy of critical race theory, and identity politics, in civics and elsewhere in the school curriculum.  \nA century ago, civics education was inseparable from the teaching of personal responsibility and virtues inK–12 schools. These life skills were considered vital for young people to learn before they entered adulthood. In a textbook published in 1928 on civicsand training students for the workplace, the author writes that“this text strives to develop character in the student”(emphasis in the original).6 Furthermore, the author explains that educators should “produce a citizen who is an effective worker, and a worker who is an effective citizen.” Notably, this text is representative of many other civics textbooks of this period when the author states that “[i]nformation, energy, skill, wealth—none of these can benefit the community unless its boys and girls are governed by moral purpose.”7  \nIn a civics textbook by Samuel Eagle Forman, first published in 1912, the autho","cbCaicPdbszNaE2u","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicPdbszNaE2u","pdf",248054,14,"English","# Key Takeaways\n## Civics instruction rigor and outcomes\n## High school civics exam for graduation\n## Florida and Louisiana model\n## Two deficiencies: classroom coverage and changing content\n## Historical perspective on civics and virtues","[{\"question\":\"What does the report say about how civics instruction has changed in K–12 schools?\",\"answer\":\"It argues civics has become less rigorous and no longer prepares students for higher education, the workforce, or civic participation. It also says the topics taught have shifted away from virtue-centered learning toward different framing of civic engagement.\"},{\"question\":\"What graduation requirement does the report recommend for all states?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends that all states require high school students to pass a civics exam to graduate.\"},{\"question\":\"What two deficiencies does the report identify in current civics instruction?\",\"answer\":\"First, civics is not taught in enough classrooms nationwide. Second, the content educators include in civics has changed drastically compared with earlier approaches.\"}]","Restoring Civics Education in All 50 States | PDF",1792053807,35]