The New York Times (5/5, Dillon, Subscription Publication) reports that according to the results of the latest round of National Assessment of Educational Progress testing, "fewer than half of American eighth graders knew the purpose of the Bill of Rights...and only one in 10 demonstrated acceptable knowledge of the checks and balances among the legislative, executive and judicial branches." Moreover, some 75% of seniors could "demonstrate skills like identifying the effect of United States foreign policy on other nations or naming a power granted to Congress by the Constitution." The Times quotes former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, founder of the nonprofit civics group icivics.org, lamenting the results, adding that "Average fourth-grade scores on the test's 300-point scale rose slightly," though eighth- and twelfth-grade scores declined. "'The results confirm an alarming and continuing trend that civics in America is in decline,' said Charles N. Quigley, executive director of the Center for Civic Education." The Times notes however that Hispanic students scores improved.
The Christian Science Monitor (5/5, Paulson) adds that the results show that "America's students have little knowledge about how the democratic process works – including those on the cusp of voting themselves." The Monitor notes that there were "a few bright spots – particularly for fourth-graders and for Hispanic students. But overall they indicated relatively poor civics knowledge by students at all levels, and particularly among 12th-graders," only 24% of whom "scored at a proficient level or above, a slight drop from the last civics test in 2006, largely driven by declining scores for 12th-grade girls."
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