Dude, Like, What’s the Constitution, Anyway?

Leslie Ford / June 08, 2011

A third of graduated and rising high school seniors – who will be voting in the 2012 elections – have never studied the U.S. Constitution.

A recent study by the National Assessment for Educational Progress reported that only 67% of all high school students have spent any time studying the nation’s founding document.  Every four years, the NAEP polls 10,000 students about their knowledge of – or even exposure to – the Constitution.  The percentage of knowledgeable students is continually decreasing and, since 2007, the numbers have fallen another five percentage points from 72%. Maybe this is obvious, but shouldn’t a responsible and informed citizenship be one of the goals of public education? (more…)