Reflecting on the most recent analysis by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, that revealed that less than a quarter of U.S. high school seniors demonstrate proficiency in civics, and just 12 percent of them meet that standard for U.S. history, President David Wippman and co-author Glenn Altschuler penned an essay for The Hill published on May 2.
In How the United States can pass Civics 101 they recommend “a more robust civics curriculum is essential to American democracy.”
The co-authors provide “a conceptual framework that will help students acquire political literacy, learn interpretive rigor, and understand the nature of historical contingency.” And in conclusion, they warn, “Bolstering civics and history education in the United States is not inevitable. But if we are to revitalize American democracy, it is urgently necessary.”
