Addressing the Low Levels of Civic Education in the United States: A Proposal for Improving Washington State High School Civics

In this paper, I examine students’ experiences with civics courses and propose a high school civics class that incorporates learning about the Washington State Legislature. Additional research demonstrates that the level of civic education is declining. According to a National Center for Education report, 2022 showed “the first-ever score decline in civics and a continuous decline in US history by eighth graders. The scores reveal that only…22 percent of 8th graders achieved proficiency or higher in civics…and nearly a third had not reached a basic understanding of civics.” Additionally, the research I found and the survey I conducted show that civics education classes students take focus on students gaining knowledge and understanding of the federal government, with the measurement of their knowledge being the ability to pass the United States Citizenship exam. The lack of understanding regarding civics isn’t just among eighth graders; it is also true among college students. I conducted a survey of students from the Honors program and the Political Science Department to learn about their experiences in high school civics courses. The results showed that a majority of the classes they took pertained to the federal government and not to the state. Thus, there is an overall lack of civics knowledge, particularly at the state level. To improve students' knowledge about the state level of government, I’m proposing adding to Washington’s high school civics curriculum information and content focusing on the Washington State government, because it is often a level of government that is overlooked and an easier level of government to enter and interact with. [The course syllabus is included as a supplementary file.]