Most college students ignorant of American democracy, survey finds

An academic survey shows that, like a 1960 hit song, college students don’t know much about history … or civics, government or politics.

Far from the “Wonderful World” crooned by Sam Cooke, educators and public policy experts say the results portend an alarming disengagement from the U.S. political system as November elections loom.

“Many Americans choose to pay not much attention to political life and don’t have a strong understanding of American history,” said Bradley Jackson, vice president of policy for the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. “In the absence of that understanding, civil life will erode and decline, creating more potential for disunity and polarization.”

His nonprofit group, which advocates for the liberal arts, found in its recent survey of 3,026 undergraduates that 60% did not know the length of the terms of U.S. senators (six years) and representatives (two years).

Only 35% knew that Mike Johnson was the speaker of the House of Representatives, 27% knew that Vice President Kamala Harris was the president of the Senate, and 37% knew that John G. Roberts Jr. was the chief justice of the United States.

Mr. Bradley, who teaches political science at American University, said the findings echo the results of several other surveys ACTA has conducted since 2000.

Other higher education insiders interviewed by The Washington Times said the ACTA survey confirms years of research linking poor civics knowledge to disinterest, discontent and distrust among young voters.

Some said the trend has contributed to a rise in low-information voters deciding elections and in historically illiterate politicians gaining power with extremist rhetoric.

“Before we single out America’s youth, I suggest that all federal and state legislators take the history and civics test required for naturalization,” said James Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association. “In order not to embarrass individuals, we can report the results in the aggregate by legislative body.”

Mr. Grossman said the ACTA findings spotlight the necessity of professional development resources for K-12 social studies teachers to cover hot-button topics free from outside political pressure.

Others criticized the ACTA report and its recommendation that all colleges require a course in U.S. history and government. They said K-12 public schools should be the ones to teach political literacy because many voters never attend college.

“College is not the place to learn the basics, and a college course should not be remedial,” said Robert Weissberg, a retired University of Illinois professor who started teaching American politics in the 1960s. “Student ignorance reflects how professional educators have taught some to disdain ‘mere facts.’”

The ACTA survey, conducted by College Pulse from May 10 to June 19, posed 35 multiple-choice questions in an online panel to students from all 50 states.

One question: “Which branch of the government has the power to declare war?”

Only 32% correctly identified the legislative branch, and 48% named the executive branch. Another 5% said the judicial branch could declare war, 3% pegged the Pentagon and 11% were unsure.

Another question asked where presidential impeachment trials take place.

ACTA noted that only 32% correctly answered that the Senate conducts the trials even though the students lived “through two recent presidential impeachment trials” of President Trump.

Some academics challenged the value of the questions.

“The ACTA conclusion that the bullet-point findings from their survey encapsulate ‘core principles and values’ of American democracy and history borders on the absurd,” said Robert Heineman, a political scientist and former department chair at Alfred University in New York. “These are essentially questions of detail.”

Elesha Coffman, a cultural historian at Baylor University, said her lessons do not address the survey questions.

“I would rather help my students grasp large trends — the trajectory of enslavement, emancipation, Jim Crow and civil rights, for example — than make sure they know the numbers of constitutional amendments or which speech was the source of a particular phrase,” Ms. Coffman said. “The how and the why of history matter more than bare facts without context.”

Others said that students weaned on digital media instinctively tune out any information they can find in a quick internet search.

“We adults need to realize that our education system still relies too much on rote memorization, ironically producing kids so bored that they can’t remember squat,” said Woody Holton, a U.S. history professor at the University of South Carolina.

Other key findings in the ACTA survey:

• 31% of undergraduates correctly answered that James Madison was the “father of the Constitution.”
• Just 23% correctly answered that the phrase “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” came from the Gettysburg Address.
• Only 28% correctly identified the 13th Amendment as the government action that outlawed the practice of slavery.

Connor Boyack, creator of the free market Tuttle Twins franchise and author of a U.S. history book for children, said the findings show K-12 education must evolve beyond “rote memorization of random facts” to connect ideas to students’ lives.

“No wonder the kids ‘pump and dump,’ learning information for a test … only to soon forget it and move on with their lives,” said Mr. Boyack, president of the Libertas Institute in Utah. “Results such as these spell doom for our country’s future if there’s not a massive course correction soon.”

Just a handful of the ACTA survey questions went beyond factual topics.

Question 33 asked: “If the United States were invaded by Russia as Ukraine has been, what would you do?”

Forty-three percent said they would “stay and fight,” and 57% said they would “flee the country.”

Donald Critchlow, director of Arizona State University’s Center for American Institutions, said such findings underline the danger of failing to teach young people a “shared culture and history.”

“If our youth don’t know that history, the nation is vulnerable to external enemies and internal chaos,” said Mr. Critchlow, who teaches American history.

Policy experts have cited multiple reasons for the surge of political negativity among young people, such as the idea that the two major political parties do not represent their interests and mounting despair about their financial prospects as college costs rise and wages stagnate.

Conservatives have blamed woke academics for teaching “divisive topics” about race and gender identity that stigmatize straight White males as oppressors.

“Basic knowledge about American history and government does not align with their agenda to topple our constitutional republic and replace it with a communist regime,” said Sheri Few, president of the right-leaning U.S. Parents Involved in Education. “If we are to save our republic, patriotism must return to America’s classrooms.”

On the other side, liberal academics have accused conservatives of minimizing America’s painful legacy of slavery to exclude minorities from the conversation.

“What part of America’s history will be taught, and who will decide that? Across America, organizations like The Heritage Foundation and so-called leaders like [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis are whitewashing American history and denying students the full picture of America,” said Omekongo Dibinga, a professor of intercultural communications affiliated with the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University.

Historians say polarization has driven up anger toward a political system that few young people understand.

“If we don’t understand government, we can’t govern ourselves,” said Jonathan Zimmerman, a historian of education at the University of Pennsylvania. “Of course, students should have learned all of this material well before they got to college. But they haven’t, so higher education needs to pick up the slack.”

“A society that is built on the concept of democratic self-governance cannot survive without an educated citizenry,” said Wilfred McClay, a U.S. history professor at Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school in Michigan.

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This post appeared in The Washington Times on July 23, 2024.