• The Civic Achievement of U.S. Students in International Perspective
• The School and Classroom Context of Civic Knowledge
• The Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Out-of-School Context of Civic Knowledge
• Concepts of Democracy, Citizenship, and Government
• Attitudes of U.S. Students Toward National and International Civic Issues
• Current and Expected Activities Related to Politics

In the United States, the assessment was administered to 2,811 students across 124 public and private schools nationwide at the beginning of ninth grade, the grade in which most 14-year-olds were enrolled at the time of the assessment (October 1999). The assessment was not designed to measure knowledge of a particular country’s government but instead was developed through expert consensus to measure knowledge and understanding of key civic principles that are universal across democracies. Figure 1 provides the list of countries participating in the CivEd assessment.

CivEd consisted of three instruments: a student questionnaire, a school questionnaire, and a teacher questionnaire. Five types of items were developed for the student questionnaire:

• Civic content items (type 1) assessed knowledge of key civic principles and pivotal ideas (e.g., key features of democracies) measured by multiple-choice items.
• Civic skills items (type 2) assessed skills in using civic-related knowledge through multiple-choice items (e.g., understanding a brief political article or a political cartoon).
• Survey items measured students’ concepts of democracy, citizenship, and government (type 3); attitudes toward civic issues (type 4); and expected political participation (type 5).

Additional survey questions assessed students’ perceptions of the climate of the classroom and other background variables.

The school questionnaire, completed by the principal, contained questions designed to gather information on the school’s general environment, such as size, length of school year, and characteristics of the student body. The school questionnaire also asked questions designed to provide a picture of the way civic education is delivered through the curriculum and school-sponsored activities, as well as the number of staff involved in teaching civic-related subjects. Additionally, a teacher questionnaire was administered. However, because the organization of civic education and the role of civic education teachers in U.S. schools differ from those of many other countries in the study, results from the teacher questionnaire were not analyzed in the U.S. report.

The civic achievement of students in all 28 countries was measured by a total civic knowledge scale composed of two subscales: a civic content subscale and a civic skills subscale. Civic content refers to knowledge of content, such as characteristics of democracies, and civic skills refer to the interpretative skills needed to understand civic-related information (e.g., the skills needed to make sense of a newspaper article or a political cartoon).

• U.S. ninth-graders scored significantly above the international average on the total civic knowledge scale. Furthermore, in no other country did students significantly outperform U.S. students (figure 2).
• U.S. students’ average scores on the civic content subscale did not differ significantly from the international mean. Students in six countries performed better than U.S. students on this subscale (figure 2).
• U.S. students performed significantly higher than the international mean on the civic skills subscale and also performed significantly higher than students in every other country participating in CivEd (figure 2).
• Overall, the results indicate that ninth-grade U.S. students performed well when compared with students in the other 27 participating countries.

Figure 1.—Countries participating in the CivEd Assessment

Figure 2.—Average civic achievement of ninth-grade students, by scale and nation: 1999

• In 1999, 70 percent of U.S. schools with a ninth grade reported having a ninth-grade civic-related subject requirement.
• In 55 percent of U.S. schools, principals reported that ninth-grade students are required to take 5 to 6 periods a week in civic-related subjects such as social studies, history, or civics.
• Sixty-five percent of students reported studying social studies in school almost every day. However, 12 percent of students reported never or hardly ever studying social studies in school.
• The majority of U.S. ninth-graders typically spent less than 1 hour a week on social studies homework.
• Students who studied social studies in school almost every day had higher scores on all three civic achievement scales than students who studied social studies once or twice a week or even less frequently.
• Students in low-poverty schools (with a low percentage of children eligible for the free or reduced-price lunch program) outperformed students in high-poverty schools.
• Students in U.S. schools were more likely to study domestic civic issues than international civic issues.
• U.S. students were more likely to report reading a textbook or filling out worksheets when studying social studies than engaging in activities such as receiving visits from leaders or writing letters to give their opinion (figure 3).
• Eighty-five percent of students reported being encouraged by teachers to make up their own minds about issues, and about two-thirds reported being encouraged by teachers to discuss political or social issues about which people have different opinions.

Figure 3.—Percentage of ninth-grade U.S. students reporting doing various activities when they study social studies: 1999

• White and multiracial students scored higher, on average, than Black and Hispanic students on the content and skills subscales and on the total civic knowledge scale. In addition, Asian students scored higher than Black students on all three civic achievement scales, and higher than Hispanic students on the content subscale (figure 4).
• Female students scored higher, on average, than male students on the skills subscale, but there were no differences between males’ and females’ average scores on the content subscale or on the total civic knowledge scale (figure 4).
• Performance on the CivEd assessment was positively related to the number of books that students reported having in their home, as well as to the receipt of a daily newspaper (figure 4).
• Students’ civic achievement was also positively related to their parents’ educational attainment (figure 4).
• Students born in the United States demonstrated a higher civic knowledge, on average, than foreign-born students.
• Students who had higher expectations for their own continued education also did better on the CivEd assessment.
• Students who reported that they were not absent from school at all during the month prior to the CivEd assessment scored higher, on average, on the civic assessment than students who reported being absent 3 or more days during the month prior to the assessment.
• Students who participated in meetings or activities sponsored by any type of organization, even if they participated only a few times a month, had higher civic knowledge than students who did not participate at all.
• Although participation in extracurricular activities sponsored by a school or community organization was positively related to civic achievement, the frequency of participation was not.
• On average, students who engaged in nonschool activities directly related to academics did better on the CivEd assessment than their peers who did not.

Figure 4.—Ninth-grade U.S. students’ average civic achievement scores, by selected demographic and home characteristics: 1999

• About 90 percent of ninth-grade U.S. students reported that it is good for democracy when everyone has the right to express opinions freely.
• Approximately 80 percent of U.S. students reported that voting in every election and showing respect for government leaders were important factors in being good citizens.
• Eighty-nine percent of ninth-grade U.S. students thought that it was important for a good citizen to participate in activities to help people in the community.
• Ninth-grade U.S. female students were more likely than their male peers to report social movement-related activities, such as promoting human rights and protecting the environment, as important.
• U.S. students reported average scores higher than the international mean on the importance of conventional citizenship scale and the importance of social movement-related scale but lower than the international mean on the economy-related government responsibilities scale.
• Eighty-four percent of U.S. ninth-graders said that the government should be responsible for keeping prices under control.
• Fifty-nine percent of U.S. ninth-graders said that it was the responsibility of the government to provide an adequate standard of living for the unemployed.
• Asian and Black U.S. ninth-graders were significantly more likely than their White peers to report that the government should be responsible for economy-related issues.
• Between 87 and 92 percent of U.S. ninth-graders said that the government should be responsible for ensuring equal political opportunities for men and women, providing free basic education and health care for all, guaranteeing peace and order within the country, and providing an adequate standard of living for old people (figure 5).

• A majority of ninth-grade students reported that they trust local and national government institutions in the United States. In contrast, only 35 percent of students reported trusting political parties (figure 6).
• Female ninth-graders were more likely to report that they trust government-related institutions than were their male counterparts.
• Ninety-two percent of U.S. ninth-graders reported that we should always be alert and stop threats from other countries to the political independence of the United States.
• Fifty-three percent of male U.S. ninth-graders agreed that we should stop outsiders from influencing the traditions and cultures of the United States, compared with about 35 percent of females.
• Nine out of 10 students supported women’s political rights and agreed that women should run for public office and have the same rights as men. A greater proportion of female ninth-graders supported women’s rights than did males.
• Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial ninth-graders reported having more positive attitudes toward rights for immigrants than did their White peers.
• U.S. students reported average scores higher than the international mean on both the support for women’s rights scale and the positive attitude toward immigrants’ rights scale.

• Ninth-grade U.S. students reported discussing political issues with teachers and parents, but discussions of U.S. politics were more likely to occur than discussions of international politics.
• Male ninth-grade students were more likely to report discussing international political issues with people their own age than were their female counterparts.
• Students who reported using newspapers as a source of political information were more likely to read about domestic politics than to read about international politics.
• Television was the primary source that ninth-grade U.S. students relied on to obtain information about politics.
• Female and male students as well as U.S.-born and foreign-born students all reported television as their primary source of political news and radio as their least likely source, and with similar levels of frequency.
• U.S. students’ average score on the expected participation in political activities scale was higher than the international average.
• Female ninth-grade students were more likely than their male counterparts to expect to be politically active as adults (figure 7).
• Results indicated no differences in expected political participation by race or country of birth (figure 7).
• Students in households containing 100 or fewer books were less likely to report expecting to participate in political life as adults than students in households containing more than 200 books (figure 7).

Figure 6.—Percentage of ninth-grade U.S. students reporting that they trust various institutions most of the time or always: 1999

Figure 7.—Ninth-grade U.S. students’ average score on the expected participation in political activities scale,* by selected background characteristics: 1999