3. Civic Literacy

“Civic Literacy”: Research proves that civic literacy is essential to academic achievement

  • The American Enterprise Institute recently announced that civic literacy is just as critical to success as mathematics and literacy, according to the findings of a massive ten paper research effort on civics education published in November 2012 by the Harvard Press. ;
  • At-risk students benefit tremendously from applied civics lessons – of students likely to drop out, 83% noted civics/service learning would have made them stay in school.
  • Because the critical thinking skills necessary to effective citizenship are the same as the academic skills we are striving to improve, increased academic achievement results from applied civics lessons (Billig & Klute, 2003.)
New Report from  Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE):  The Inequities of the Civics Gap persist:
  • Opportunities for civic learning and engagement are highly unequal. White, wealthy students are four to six times as likely as Hispanic or Black students from low-income households to exceed the “proficient” level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in civics. Only 7 percent of students whose parents didn’t graduate from high school and who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch reached “proficient.”    
  • written by the Commission on Youth Voting and Civic Knowledge, October 10, 2013