By John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College
In the World Cup of soccer, teams from different countries are vying to win the FIFA trophy for being the best. In America, we have our own version of a World Cup, where each state strives to do the best job of preparing our students in civics education to participate on our precious democracy. Who is doing the best on paper, and who is doing the best by their students? In this column, I look at several sources for answers and find a mix of red and blue state successes.
The Hoover Institution lauds states based upon whether civics classes are taught, mandated, how many months the class lasts, and whether students are tested. “Four states—Idaho, Louisiana, Virginia, and West Virginia—require a full-year civics course and the passing of a standard civics test,” write Sophia Craitu and Jed Ngalande. They also tout Wisconsin for their exam requirement and a requirement to pass it.
SocialStudies.com lauds five states not just for their curriculum, but some extra requirements. For Massachusetts, for example, “One of the standout features of Massachusetts’ civics standards is the requirement for students to complete a hands-on, project-based civics project. This project is typically undertaken in the 8th grade or high school and involves students actively engaging with real-world civic issues, fostering practical understanding and skills.”
Illinois is cheered for their service learning requirement: “The state’s standards include a strong focus on service learning, which combines classroom instruction with community service. This approach helps students connect theoretical knowledge with real-world experiences, fostering a deeper understanding of civic engagement.”
SocialStudies.com gives a thumbs up to Florida for their emphasis on active learning. “Florida encourages the use of active learning strategies, such as debates, discussions, and simulations of democratic processes. These methods engage students and help them apply their knowledge in practical and meaningful ways.”
California makes the list for having diverse perspectives, critical thinking, inquiry-based learning, and “project-based learning”. And Tennessee mixes constitutional knowledge with current events and diverse perspectives.
Finally, there’s the policy group Heritage Foundation and their “Education Freedom Report Card,” where this conservative policy group cheers on “robust civics instruction criteria, academic transparency, and school choice.” Five states make their top five: Florida, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana and Texas.
Then there’s WalletHub, which looks at which states have the best schools. Their approach “accounts for performance, funding, safety, class size and instructor credentials.”
To test who has the best, I compare the states based upon a measure of civic activity involving voting, something that’s a post-education payoff. I average the scores of the five states touted by each and compare the four approaches. The clear winner is WalletHub, where the average civics ranking is 15.2 (lower scores are closer to #1). Hoover’s metrics finish second at 24.8, just ahead of Heritage at an average ranking of 27. Finally, the SocialStudies.com top five average is 30.6.
This study is obviously not absolute proof, but it seems that funding and properly staffing your schools is the most likely to pay off in post-school civic participation, following by the amount of schooling a student receives. The education policy report card measure as judged by a think tank was third while the innovative practices finished last. That doesn’t mean those factor don’t matter, as those new approaches may have been responses to problems, and need time to work. But clearly, making sure the schools work is the most likely to produce civic-minded citizens in a state.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu or on “X” at @johntures2. His first book “Branded” a thriller novel where corporate greed, media manipulation and academic intrigue collide in a deadly game of product placement, has been published by the Huntsville Independent Press (https://www.huntsvilleindependent.com/product-page/branded).