On a recent episode of The Ezra Klein Show, Vivek Ramaswamy made the argument that all high school students should have to pass a citizenship test, as well as hopeful immigrants to America. He struggled with the assessment styles but said “I think a test is just one example. I think proficiency in English is high on the list. I think the different ways of testing for that are also high on the list. Doesn’t mean it’s one multiple-choice, Scantron-style scan form that you fill in.”
There’s more to the story. In a December 2023 poll conducted by Hart Research on behalf of More Perfect found that 43% of participants said that schools failing to teach civics and the value of citizen involvement in our democracy is a major problem. It also states that although both parties use different language and have different specific priorities, leaders in both parties endorse stronger K–12 civic education.
CivXNow, “a national cross-partisan coalition of over 350 organizations focused on improving our nation’s K-12 in and out-of-school civic education”, argues that we need a bi-partisan commitment to universal student access to high-quality K–12 civic education. Currently “the federal government invests more than $50 per student each year in STEM subjects, it spends less than 50 cents on civics,” they shared in a recent newsletter blast. Their proposal for increasing funding and access includes:
A full year of civics course in high school (currently offered in only six states);
A semester-long civics course in middle school (currently offered in only five states);
Dedicated instructional time for civics in grades K–5 (currently offered only in New Hampshire); and
Public funding for high-quality civics curriculum and materials, teacher training, and student programming.
Public funding is essential for civics’ prioritization in our nation’s K–12 schools.
Politics aside, we agree that civics should be a core part of the education system and have covered initiatives over the last few years that work to embed high-quality, civics-minded learning experiences. When societies fail to prioritize the development of responsible and engaged citizens, they risk a gradual erosion of civic health, leaving communities disconnected and democracy vulnerable. Building civically-minded graduates—prepared to act on democratic principles, consider the public good, and take part in shaping their communities—is essential. When civics is sidelined, the collective vision for an informed, participatory, and resilient society fades, weakening the very foundations that uphold democratic freedoms and the strength of the social fabric.
But first, what does citizenship actually look like? One thing is for sure: it can’t be measured on a scantron.
What is a Citizen?
A key part of civics education is understanding how our systems of democracy work and, as highlighted by CivXNow’s change initiatives, this is only currently offered in six states in high school, five states in middle school, and only one state in K-5. For example, Ohio has a knowledge-based Citizenship Seal that designates core knowledge in these systems. Additionally, to truly build a society where every individual feels empowered to be an active citizen, we must redefine civic education and engagement to be inclusive with a curriculum that recognizes and values diverse histories, cultures, and experiences. While a great place to start, being a citizen doesn’t stop at understanding, being a citizen means action.
By involving leaders and role models from diverse backgrounds, creating spaces for cross-cultural dialogue, and implementing projects that tackle real-world issues relevant to marginalized communities, we can make citizenship feel like a shared right and responsibility and make certain that all students see themselves as vital contributors to society, breaking down the old narrative of ‘outsider’ and fostering a sense of belonging and agency in every young citizen.
Thanks to former podcast guest Baratunde’s wonderful How to Citizen conversation, I became aware of Jon Alexander, founder of the New Citizenship Project and author of the book Citizens. This organization urges people to evaluate their role in society and to move from subjects and consumers to citizens, thereby claiming a more active role in shaping and moving society.
Photo credit: The New Citizen Project
Late in their fantastic conversation, Jon shared that one of the most overlooked parts of the process of citizenship (Difference Making) is “finding a problem big enough that it benefits working with others to solve.” He then shares the three steps he would recommend to begin to citizen:
Find Home (Place-based education)
Find others (Gather)
Together, come up with a first step (Difference Making)
What would it look like to embed these principles in a classroom? How might these projects be spotted, framed, and collaborated on by intergenerational groups of students, teachers, and community members?
K-12 Exemplars
Also found in the More Perfect study, there is a dramatic age gap in responding to the question: “Our democracy needs improvement, but it is still the best system of government there is.” Fifty-eight percent of those age 65-plus strongly agreed versus 34% of 18-34 year olds. Students are taking on the mantle of delivering civic initiatives and co-authoring civic experiences, as we discussed with Thanasi Dilos of Civics Unplugged. Similarly, I got the chance to chat with Shiva Rajbhandari, a recent high school graduate who sat on his school’s board in Idaho as a result of continued climate action. We’ve continued to see Climate Action Plans as effective entry points into citizenship experiences. (e.g. Denver Public Schools, Sunrise Movement).
Students also can engage with civics through gamification or developing games of their own to communicate their experience. For example, the RunAround, a game designed by a group of system-involved young people from Boston, MA.
Portraits of a Graduate that Feature Citizen
Including civics in the outcome framework for your state, school or district is an effective way to begin. These may manifest as a formal Portrait of a Graduate/Learner, or they may show up as more of a credential to append to a transcript.
Iowa’s Universal Constructs: Iowa’s Universal Constructs are defined in the Iowa Core as “competencies and habits of mind needed for future successes in careers, college, and citizenry.”
Washington State Profile of a Graduate: The vision of a Washington State high school diploma is: “Students are ready for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, citizenship, and are equipped with the skills to be lifelong learners.”
Kettle Moraine Graduate Profile: The Kettle Moraine profile has six core competencies that stretch from K-12: Engaged Citizen, Communicator, Self-Directed & Resilient Individual, Continuous Learner, Collaborator, Creative & Critical Thinker.
Pasadena Graduate Profile: “Students are encouraged to explore academic disciplines while refining their individual talents and interests. Participation in athletics, extra-curricular activities, leadership, and community service is encouraged to foster personal and intellectual independence.”
DaVinci Rise Profile: The Da Vinci Rise Profile focuses on communication, collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking, and citizenship. “We want kids not only to graduate. That’s not our only goal. It’s really that they graduate knowing who they want to be, knowing where they’re going, and having the support to get there.”
In addition to these outcomes frameworks for learners, some states have added graduate seals denoting a competency in civics:
New York City Seal of Civic Readiness is an official acknowledgment that a student has achieved a high level of proficiency in civic knowledge, skills, mindset, and experiences. This distinction on a high school transcript and diploma indicates the student’s understanding and commitment to participatory government, civic responsibility, civic values and demonstrates the completion of a civics or social justice action project.
The Kentucky Civil Seal is earned when a student “exhibit[s] their understanding, application, and reflection upon local, state, and national governance; commitment to democratic principles and promoting the common good; informed participation in civic spaces; and reflection upon their role in modern civic life.” This Seal can be earned by all grade levels and is fully personalized.
Student Leadership
Increasingly, students must be given the opportunity to demonstrate public leadership on real-world challenges effecting their community. This combination of civic knowledge, design thinking and agreement crafting will help set these students up for success in community-connected design and leading. One example of this is empowering students to serve on the school board.
Every school board should have present and prospective students sitting on the board.
California: The state education code allows for a student board member on every district board. Many districts, including the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), have student board members.
Maryland: Every school board in the state has a student board member. The state board also has a student member.
Massachusetts: Some school districts, like Boston Public Schools, have a student representative on their school committees.
Minnesota: The state encourages student representation on district boards, but it’s up to individual districts to decide.
Oregon: The state board of education has a student representative, and individual districts can choose to have student representatives.
Additionally, giving learners agency in the classroom is a great start. Democratic School around are places where “young people have the freedom to organize their daily activities, and in which there is equality and democratic decision-making among young people and adults.”
In Conclusion
A recent piece by Kent McGuire & Matt Wilka in the Stanford Social Innovation Review makes two claims about renewing the democratic purpose of school:
“Prepare young people to thrive in a diverse, changing democracy.” Focus on media literacy, critical thinking and emphasizing key dispositions of civic engagement.
“Renew the public purpose of schools for our broader society.” We must identify an answer to the question: “What, then, is the purpose of public schools to our changing and diverse democracy?”
This need is coupled with the fact that it’s never been easier, or more important, for young (all) people to make a difference. Getting Smart’s Difference Making campaign spent a few years highlighting “schools alive with possibility,” places where young people are encouraged to contribute to their communities and the world. Understanding and responsibly implementing emerging technology like AI while building skills in media literacy has been added to the list of civic imperatives.
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