Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn?

Sound democratic decisions rely on a citizenry with at least a partial mastery of the rules and workings of democratic government. American high schools, where students are supposed to learn the basics of citizenship, ought to play a critical role in the success of democracy. Yet studies examining the impact of high school government and civics courses on political knowledge over the past 25 years have generally shown that these courses have had little or no effect. The authors take a fresh look at what America's high school seniors know about government and politics and how they learn it. They argue convincingly that secondary school civics courses enhance students' civic knowledge.