Most of us probably remember the TV Game Show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader,”** where contestants attempted to answer fifth grade questions for prizes. The answers given were often hilarious. What if they weren’t fifth grade questions, but civics questions? Would the answers the American people give still be funny?
Civics Education in America
To become a naturalized United States citizen takes more than just an application and an oath, it requires the passing of a test. Out of 128 possible questions, 20 are randomly chosen for each test. For an applicant to pass the test, they must correctly answer 12 of the 20 questions chosen for them. We can argue whether or not a 60% should be passing or not, but data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that 88% pass on their first attempt and 95% pass on their second.
How does the population as a whole do when it comes to the citizenship test? According to a 2018 study by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, only 36% of Americans could actually pass the U.S. citizenship test. Remember, passing in only a 60% score on a multiple-choice test. Some of the details were truly disappointing.
Only 13 percent of those surveyed knew when the U.S. Constitution was ratified, … And despite the recent media spotlight on the U.S. Supreme Court, 57 percent of those surveyed did not know how many Justices actually serve on the nation’s highest court.
2018 study by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars
This failure to teach basic civics has gotten worse over time.
Surprisingly, the poll found stark gaps in knowledge depending on age. Those 65 years and older scored the best, with 74 percent answering at least six in 10 questions correctly. For those under the age of 45, only 19 percent passed the exam, with 81 percent scoring a 59 percent or lower.
2018 study by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars
I’m not sure why the publisher of this survey was surprised by the age gap in knowledge of basic civics. After all, it closely mirrors the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) on students knowledge of basic civics. As the chart shows, the average score for eighth graders barely rose above 50% (150/300).
This is just a sample of the data showing not only the general lack of civics knowledge, but that our civics education is making things worse. Those 65 and older who attended primary and secondary school more than 40 years ago, were able to pass the citizenship test 74% of the time. Meanwhile, those under 45, attending school less than 30 years ago, could only pass 19% of the time. Something significantly changed in the twenty years between these groups. I suggest that since the U.S. Department of Education was created in that time window, it’s logical to suggest it is a significant reason for the decline in civic knowledge among the American people.
Why do Naturalized Citizens Test Better?
Why do people seeking naturalization not just pass the test at a higher rate, but significantly higher? I think the evidence shows two reasons.
First, if you are taking the test to become a citizen, you are motivated to pass it. Compare that motivation to a student being forced to take a test. Yes, they are motivated to pass the test, but not nearly as motivated as someone seeking citizenship.
The second reason is the failure of our educational system. By “educational system” I don’t just mean our public schools, which have consistently shown themselves to be a failure. When I talk about our educational system, I have to include the state politicians who have created the stupid laws that trap children in failing schools, the federal government which embezzles billons of dollars every year to bribe schools into teaching doctrine or dogma rather than civics, and the parents who have turned their children over to a failing government system in the vain hope they learn enough to survive. While this corrupt system may create enough people to keep the economy going, it is obviously not creating adults with the basic education needed to be effective citizens.
People who want to become citizens are motivated to learn civics, while the rest of us are not.
Dangers of a Civic Illiteracy
So what’s the big deal? Why is it so important that we be able to answer questions like “What is the form of government of the United States?” “What is the supreme law of the land?“or “Name the three branches of government?” The answer is simple. How do you know if government actors are following the law if you don’t even know the basics of that law? If you don’t know what form of government the Untied States has, what would keep you from believing those who claim we have a democracy or those who are trying to institute Marxism? Every member of government, state, local, and federal, takes an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, the supreme law of the land. How do you know if they’re doing their job if you don’t know the Constitution either? How can you tell when the President, a federal court, or Congress violates the separation of powers if you don’t even know the separation exists? In other words, how can you participate in a country when you have no idea how it’s supposed to work?
Amid Cold War fears in 1950, Congress added a requirement for applicants to demonstrate “a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, and the principles and form of government, of the United States.”
2018 study by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars
If Congress thought it was important that those who want to become citizens demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, principles, and form of government, why wouldn’t we want everyday Americans to have that as well? If someone is already a citizen, they cannot be forced to demonstrate that knowledge in order to exercise the powers of a citizens, but shouldn’t we want them to have such knowledge?
A civics education is not just about passing a test. As Merriam-Webster defines it, civics is:
a social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens
Civics – Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
How can we be good citizens if we are unfamiliar with the rights and duties of citizenship? Put another way, how can we live free if we don’t know how to? How can we protect our rights if we do not know where or how they are protected? How can we have a government of, by, and for the people, if we don’t even know how said government is supposed to work.
We live in a Constitutional Republic. That means we the people choose others to represent us. How can we expect people to choose those who will follow the Constitution if they have no idea what it says? How can we expect the rising generations to defend liberty if they have no clue what liberty is? How can we be the land of the free if those choosing our representatives don’t know what freedom is?
This lack of basic civic literacy is not simply an academic problem. It literally will shape the nation and its people for generations.
A Simple Solution
While this might seem like an insurmountable problem, the solution is really quite simple, if not easy.
To understand the solution, I have to point out a fundamental fact that has been lost in our history. It is the responsibility of the parents to raise and educate their children. This fact has been confirmed by the Supreme Court in the 1923 case Meyer v. Nebraska, and numerous cases since. That means the schools, even public schools, are there to assist parents in the education of their children, not to do it for them. Sadly, this fundamental fact of education is rarely talked about except in a few court cases. But this fact is the key to the solution of our civics problem.
The focus on fixing the civics problem shouldn’t be getting schools to teach civics. Why? Because schools can teach anything as civics. Schools can, and in some cases have, taught everything from Marxism to DEI as “civics”. But that doesn’t mean their students are prepared to be exercise the rights and duties of a citizen in a Constitutional Republic.
Let’s start with a quote from the first Chief Justice of the United States.
Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country, and teach the rising generation to be free. By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated, and be the better prepared to defend and assert them.
John Jay, First Chief Justice of the United States
Notice two things. First, Mr. Jay states that every member of the state ought to diligently read and study the constitution of their country. The Constitution of the United States isn’t just for lawyers, judges, and politicians, it’s for everyone. Second, look what studying the Constitution gets a person. Not only knowledge of their rights, but how to defend or assert them. Put another way, reading and studying the Constitution is a fundamental step toward learning the rights and duties of citizenship. It is the cornerstone of a civics education in the United States.
Guess what, you don’t need a special education in order to read and study the Constitution. Neither do you need credentials to teach it to your children or others. So the simple first step in restoring civics in our country is for people to start reading and studying the Constitution. That, however, is the easy part. The harder part is to work to restore accurate civics education in our schools.
Conclusion
Now that we know or may just have more evidence of the failure of our education system to teach the basic civics we demand people demonstrate to become naturalized citizens, what do we do with it? We could, as generations before us have, simply shrug our shoulders and ignore the situation. Where does that lead us?
I’m reminded of a joke. “Be kind to your children, they will choose your nursing home.” I’d like to paraphrase that to, “Educate your children, they will choose those who make and enforce the laws you live under.” How can we expect those in government, from legislature to school districts, to respect our rights when we’ve never taught them what they are?
