Widespread Civics Deficiency on Display at University Protests

“As college campuses across the country descend into chaos, with authoritarian mobs violently taking over buildings, attacking police, and vandalizing property, Americans rightly wonder why so many young people are engaging in grossly undemocratic behavior,” says Lance Izumi, Senior Director of the Center for Education at the Pacific Research Institute. “New research provides a clue, with public schools scoring significantly below private schools in forming democratic citizens.”

The 2023 National Assessment of Educational Progress civics exam, which found that only two out of 10 public-school eighth graders scored at the proficient level.

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that public-middle school civics teachers should get a “F” if only 2 out of 10 kids passed.

What is this enlightening new research? Izumi shares:

A new University of Arkansas study shines light on where the public schools are coming up short compared to private schools.

The study noted that public-school proponents “argue that government-operated public schools are more effective than private schools at promoting such civic values as political tolerance, political participation, civic knowledge and skills, and voluntarism and social capital (i.e., community engagement).”

Further, “They claim that the very fact that public schools are government controlled and open to all students gives them an inherent advantage over private schools in inculcating the civic outcomes central to citizenship in our constitutional republic.

Such claims, however, have often been made without any empirical support,” Izumi says.

“Since public schools were often established specifically to prepare children for citizenship, one might assume that they’re superior to private schools at that function,” said M. Danish Shakeel, the study’s lead author. “Our research shows that is not the case.”

Read Izumi’s entire article HERE, and think about the California public education system as you watch the university protests.