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** Poor Civics and History Scores Are a National Wake-Up Call
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PHILADELPHIA, PA, May 3, 2023 – Following the release of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores ([link removed]) for eighth grade history and civics on Wednesday, leaders of a national civic educator network expressed their deep concern about the findings.

According to Hans Zeiger, president of the Jack Miller Center, a nationwide network of scholars and teachers who are concerned with education in history and civics, “This is about more than disappointing test scores. This is about our failure to prepare the next generation with the core knowledge of America’s constitution and history that are essential to self-government in a free society. Let this be a wake-up call to all Americans: we can no longer afford to neglect the teaching of citizenship.

The NAEP assesses eighth graders for history and civics every four years, and the latest NAEP scores represent the results of an eighth-grade assessment conducted in 2022. Civics scores fell for the first time since the civics assessment was first conducted in 1998, and history scores have been on the decline since 2014.

“All of us can do our part to reverse this decline,” said Zeiger. “Teachers and parents, as well as state legislators, school board members, nonprofit and business leaders, scholars, philanthropists, and volunteers are needed in the movement to prioritize history and civics in American education.”

Elizabeth Kaufer Busch, professor of politics, co-director of Christopher Newport University’s Center for American Studies, and Jack Miller Center board member, said, “It would be a mistake to write off these scores merely as a consequence of the COVID years. Civic and cultural literacy has been in decline for too long. Our failure to teach the foundational ideas of our nation is largely to blame for the bitter divisiveness of our political culture."

According to Tom Kelly, Vice President for Civics Initiatives at the Jack Miller Center, “We’re a deeply polarized nation. U.S. history and civics—indeed the very foundations of our civic and political life—have perhaps never been harder to teach. If we do not find ways to help our nation’s educators pass on our tradition of self-government, we will lose it.

“Looking at a decade-long slide in knowledge of American history and civics, it’s clear that teachers need more support in the classroom."

In the fall of 2022, the Jack Miller Center commissioned a poll ([link removed]) to hear what parents think about the civic education their child is receiving. Across all political and racial backgrounds, parents surveyed overwhelmingly agreed that civic education should focusing on our founding documents and ideas. However, they also agree that the education their child is receiving is not meeting expectations. More information on the poll findings are available on the Jack Miller Center website ([link removed]) .
Invest in Your Children's Freedom
“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people.”
— John Adams
Our children are not getting the general knowledge and understanding about our country and what makes it “the land of the free.”

The Jack Miller Center exists to ensure sure our students learn the history and values of self-government and the freedom it gives each of them to achieve their dreams.
We are a growing national network of scholars and teachers who seek to preserve the American political tradition. We've already reached 1.65 million students from K-12 through college. With your support, we can reach tens of millions more.
Please, join us in the effort. Help grow our network of dedicated college educators. Give K-12 teachers the knowledge, content, and resources they need. Help us restore civic education grounded in America's founding principles and history.

Your donation, large or small, will be a crucial investment in the future of our country. This will be one of the most important inheritances you leave your children, your grandchildren, and their children.
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About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a nationwide network of scholars and teachers committed to educating the next generation about the foundational texts and ideas of the American political tradition.

We have three strategies to pursue this mission:
1. build and sustain a community of scholars in the fields of American political thought and history;
2. restore the teaching of American citizenship in K-12 schools that centers on the country’s history, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and other foundational texts in the American tradition; and
3. partner with organizations and philanthropists to advance civic education that is grounded in America’s founding principles and history.

We are building a movement of educators and citizens to advance the principles of equality, liberty, and opportunity that lie at the heart of the American political tradition.

Learn more at www.jackmillercenter.org ([link removed])

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The Jack Miller Center
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