Source
Summary
America’s public schools were founded with a clear mission: to prepare each generation anew for the responsibilities of citizenship. How well are schools fulfilling this mission today? Are students emerging from high school with the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions essential for sustaining and strengthening our democracy?
This report offers insight into the current state of youth civic empowerment. On one hand, it is heartening to see that a large majority of American students are eager to improve their schools, communities, and the world around them, often expressing a willingness to work across differences.
Yet, on the other hand there is also a troubling disconnect—students report that their schools are largely failing to equip them with the critical civic skills needed to translate their good intentions into action. This gap leaves many students disempowered, and, in some cases, leads others to reject civic responsibilities entirely. Moreover, the data reveals troubling patterns of inequity in civic readiness, with certain groups of students disproportionately affected.
The insights in this report come from the YouthTruth Civic Empowerment Project. During the 2023-2024 school year, nine civics-related questions were included in a comprehensive student experience survey, gathering responses from over 115,000 high school students from October to February. These responses highlight which youth are — and are not — civically empowered. Also, collaborative workshops were conducted with students in Ohio, Texas, and California to engage high school students themselves to better understand whether and how youth are embracing or rejecting their civic responsibilities.
To measure youth civic empowerment, the nine items were in three categories: civic dispositions, civic skills, and civic actions. This framework guided the exploration of young people’s sense of responsibility and capability to participate in civic society, and how they are putting these skills into action.
This report delves into the patterns discovered in the students’ answers and outlines the urgent tasks ahead for educators, policymakers, philanthropic funders, and communities. The goal is clear: to ensure that every young person graduates high school not only equipped with the tools to engage in our democracy but also inspired by the promise of America to do so.
Key Findings
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- Strong civic dispositions but skills lacking
Most high school students want to help others and work across differences to improve society. However, fewer than half report learning the necessary civic skills in school, and fewer than a third have been empowered to create positive change in their communities. - Inequitable civic preparedness
Civic readiness is uneven among high school students. Those with parents holding advanced degrees stand out as most civically prepared, while Hispanic/ Latinx students are significantly less civically empowered than other racial groups. - Only half agree voting matters and demographics highlight civic disparities
Overall, 53 percent of high school students believe that voting is important. School size and location do not significantly affect students’ belief in the importance of voting. However, significant differences in this belief exist based on student demographics. - Civic engagement thrives in extracurriculars despite academic disconnect
Students describe academic work as disconnected from public life and a barrier to civic engagement, but they find participation in clubs, activities, and sports teams civically empowering.
- Strong civic dispositions but skills lacking
[Related: The need to reboot and reemphasize civics instruction has never been greater]
[Related: Sandra Day O’Connor saw civics education as key to the future of democracy]
