Arizona High Schools Get an "F" in Civics

Survey reveals only 3.5 percent of Arizona public high school students could pass citizenship test

Phoenix--Just in time to celebrate Independence Day, a new survey of 1,300 Arizona public high school students reveals that only 3.5 percent have enough basic civics knowledge to pass a U.S. citizenship test. The details of the survey were released by the Goldwater Institute today in "Freedom from Responsibility: A Survey of Civic Knowledge Among Arizona High School Students."

The report's findings are based on a telephone survey conducted by Strategic Vision, LLC. The firm tested the civic knowledge of Arizona high school students by asking 10 questions taken from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) exam. In order to become U.S. citizens, new immigrants are asked 10 questions and must correctly answer six of them. The first-time passing rate for immigrants is 92.4 percent. The survey found that only 3.5 percent of Arizona high school students would pass the exam.

Survey questions include:

1. What is the supreme law of the land?
Answer: The Constitution

2. Who was the first President?
Answer: Washington

3. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
Answer: Six

"The results of this survey are deeply troubling," said Matthew Ladner, Ph.D., vice president of research at the Goldwater Institute. "Despite the billions of dollars poured into education, Arizona high school students display a profound level of ignorance about American history, government and geography."

An understanding of government and history are crucial to the preservation of liberty and our democratic institutions. Furthermore, the promotion of civic knowledge continues to serve as a major justification for public schools and the billions spent funding social studies, government and history courses. This survey suggests Arizona's schools fail to teach the most fundamental information required for citizenship.

Although all three groups of Arizona high school students surveyed--public, charter and private high school students--scored alarmingly low on the test, charter and private school students scored slightly better. The passing rate for charter schools was about two times higher than in traditional public schools and private school students passed at a rate almost four-times higher than traditional public school.

The report calls on Arizona lawmakers to require students to pass the USCIS citizenship exam, administered by a third party, as a condition for receiving a high school diploma, or that Arizona universities use it as a pre-condition for admittance. Ultimately, students should have a basic working knowledge of American history and government in order to graduate, Dr. Ladner said.

"Our schools should be required to graduate students that are prepared to fully engage in civic life," Dr. Ladner said. "At the very least, they should be able to identify the U.S. Constitution."

"Freedom from Responsibility" is available online. The Goldwater Institute is a nonprofit public policy research and litigation organization whose work is made possible by the generosity of its supporters.