Brookings Institution Report Spotlights Inequities in Civic Learning

by Shawn P. Healy, PhD, Democracy Program Director

Last month, the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center on Education Policy released a report on K-12 civic learning. They explored the extent to which “…schools (are) equipping students with the tools to become engaged, informed, and compassionate citizens.” And they disaggregated their findings by race and class to identify inequities in access and outcomes with respect to youth civic development.

I have written extensively about the National Assessment in Civics at the high school level, and this report makes a notable contribution to the literature in driving down to elementary (4th) and middle grades (8th), positioning civics performance against the prioritized subjects of reading and math. Scores in all three subjects rose since 1998, a period that coincides with implementation of No Child Left Behind.

However, gaps in student performance on civics assessments widened between black and white students, along with those qualifying for free and reduced lunch and those that are ineligible. While the white-Hispanic gap narrowed and tracked similar trends for reading and math, the gap in civics remains larger than the other two subjects.

The report also assessed state civic learning policies for their incorporation of proven civic learning practices, specifically direct instruction, discussion of current and controversial issues, service learning, simulations of democratic processes, and media literacy.

Illinois was identified with policies supporting each of these practices except service learning, an oversight given that it is embedded in the new civics course requirement. Moreover, although Illinois is credited for using the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework to write new social studies standards, the report fails to connect the “taking informed action” component of the C3 inquiry arc with service learning specifically and action civics more broadly.

I also take issue with the authors’ contention that white and affluent students do not experience more exposure to proven civic learning practices than students of color and those that qualify for free or reduced lunch. Their conclusion is based upon small disparities among student subgroups reporting never experiencing selected practices. However, my previous research demonstrated that access to proven practices at dosages that correlated with highest test scores (daily exposure to current events discussions, for example), was inequitable by race, income, maternal educational attainment, and language proficiency.

I concur with their conclusion that state policy can help address broad-based and subgroup-specific deficiencies and gaps in youth civic development. The authors also point to potential changes in pre-service education, professional development opportunities, and funding for civic learning as promising levers to strengthen civic learning, recommendations we are pursuing in both Illinois and nationally.

The final chapter profiled social studies teachers and compared them with peers in English Language Arts (ELA), math, and natural sciences. Social studies teachers are disproportionately male (58%, versus 20% for ELA, 38% math, and 41% natural sciences). The report attempts to explain this finding, and concludes it may have something to do with the larger share of male teachers that also coach.

Unstated was the lack of racial diversity in the teaching ranks overall and that it is most pronounced among social studies teachers. Only 16% of social studies teachers are teachers of color, compared with 19% in ELA and natural sciences, and 22% in math. I wrote previously about the mismatch of our ever diverse student population and stagnant, if not regressing population of teachers of color, and would add the urgency of addressing it to the implications of this important report.