NAEP Civics: Achievement-Level Results

Achievement-Level Results

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Overall NAEP Achievement Levels

Twenty-two percent of eighth-graders at or above NAEP Proficient in civics

In 2022, twenty-two percent of eighth-grade students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on the civics assessment. The percentage of eighth-grade students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level in 2022 was not significantly different compared to either the previous assessment in 2018 or to 1998, the first assessment year.

Sixty-nine percent of eighth-grade students performed at or above the NAEP Basic level in 2022, which was 3 percentage points lower compared to 2018, while the percentage of students performing in the range below NAEP Basic was 3 points higher compared to 2018. Compared to 1998, there was no significant change in the percentage of students performing at or above NAEP Basic. Two percent of eighth-grade students performed at the NAEP Advanced level in 2022, which was not significantly different compared to either 2018 or 1998.

NAEP achievement levels are performance standards that describe what students should know and be able to do. Results are reported as percentages of students performing at or above three achievement levels (NAEP Basic, NAEP Proficient, and NAEP Advanced). Students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level on NAEP assessments demonstrate solid academic performance and competency over challenging subject matter. It should be noted that the NAEP Proficient achievement level does not represent grade-level proficiency as determined by other assessment standards (e.g., state or district assessments). Find out more about the NAEP civics achievement levels.

Scroll down to explore NAEP achievement-level results for student groups.

NAEP achievement-level setting is based on the judgments of a broadly representative panel of teachers, education specialists, and members of the general public. The authorizing legislation for NAEP requires that the achievement levels be used on a trial basis until the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) determines that the achievement levels are reasonable, valid, and informative to the public (20 USC § 9622(e)(2)(C)). The NCES Commissioner’s determination is to be based on a congressionally mandated, rigorous, and independent evaluation. The latest evaluation of the achievement levels was conducted by a committee convened by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in 2016. The evaluation concluded that further evidence should be gathered to determine whether the achievement levels are reasonable, valid, and informative. Accordingly, the NCES Commissioner determined that the trial status of the achievement levels should be maintained at this time. Read more about how NAEP achievement levels are set. In 2018, the National Assessment Governing Board issued a revised Policy Statement clarifying that the NAEP Proficient level is not intended to reflect grade-level performance expectations but is specific to performance on NAEP assessments. Read the Governing Board Policy Statement.

The chart below lists the percentages of eighth-grade students performing at each of the NAEP civics achievement levels in 2022 and previous assessment years. Set the baseline at either NAEP Basic or NAEP Proficient to see the percentages of students performing at or above that NAEP achievement level. Click "Show NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see the percentages of eighth-grade students at each of the NAEP achievement levels. Click "Hide NAEP achievement-level breakdown" to see the percentages of students at or above the selected baseline NAEP achievement level. Use the slider to change focal years.

Figure Trend in eighth-grade NAEP civics achievement-level results

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NOTE: NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution.

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NAEP Achievement Levels by Student Group

No significant change in percentages of eighth-grade students at or above NAEP Proficient for any student group compared to 2018

In 2022, the percentages of eighth-grade students who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level in civics were not significantly different from 2018 for any student group.

The percentages of eighth-grade students who performed at or above the NAEP Basic level in civics were lower for many student groups in comparison to 2018. For example, the percentages performing at or above NAEP Basic were lower in 2022 than in 2018 for the following student groups:

male and female students;
students not eligible for the National School Lunch Program;
students attending public schools;
students attending public charter schools; and students attending public, noncharter schools;
students who were not identified as students with disabilities; and
students who were not identified as English learners.

Compared to the first assessment year in 1998, the percentages of eighth-grade students performing at or above the NAEP Proficient level in civics didn't change significantly for most student groups in 2022 but was higher for Hispanic students.

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Race/ethnicity

Figure Trend in eighth-grade NAEP civics achievement-level results, by race/ethnicity

Baseline

Legend

NOTE: NAEP achievement levels are to be used on a trial basis and should be interpreted and used with caution.

Sample Questions

NOTE: In 2018, the digitally based NAEP civics assessment was administered for the first time. The 2018 civics report includes results from students who took the digitally based assessment (DBA) and students who took the paper-based assessment (PBA). In 2022, all students took the digitally based civics assessment. For more information, see the About page. The NAEP civics scale ranges from 0 to 300. Results are not shown for data points where the sample sizes are insufficient to permit a reliable estimate or where data are not available. Black includes African American, and Hispanic includes Latino. Race categories exclude Hispanic origin. In compliance with new standards from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for collecting and reporting data on race/ethnicity, additional information was collected beginning in 2011 so that results could be reported separately for Asian students and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander students. Students who identified with two or more of the racial/ethnic groups (e.g., White and Black) would have been classified as "other" and reported as part of the "unclassified" category prior to 2011, and classified as "Two or More Races" in 2011 and later assessment years. Results for these students are presented under the "Two or More Races" category in the graphics and tables in this report. Trend results for "White," "Black," "Hispanic," "Asian/Pacific Islander," and "Two or More Races" presented in this report are based on the 6-category race/ethnicity variable with data available starting in early 1990s. For the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility category, results have been reported since 2003 when the quality of the data on students' eligibility for the program improved. Beginning in the 2014–15 school year, states could additionally categorize students as eligible for NSLP by including them in their Community Eligibility Provision; therefore, the percentage of students categorized as eligible has increased in comparison to 2013. Readers should interpret NSLP trend results with caution. The information about "Eligibility for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)" variable is based on available school records. If school records were not available, the student was classified as "Information not available." The category "students with disabilities" includes students identified as having either an Individualized Education Program or protection under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The results for students with disabilities and English learners are based on students who were assessed and cannot be generalized to the total population of such students. See more information about student group variables. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or omission of categories. Although the estimates (e.g., average scores or percentages) are shown as rounded numbers, the positions of the data points in the graphics are based on the unrounded numbers. Unrounded numbers were used for calculating the differences between the estimates, and for the statistical comparison test when the estimates were compared to each other. Not all apparent differences between estimates are statistically significant.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), various years, 1998–2022 Civics Assessments.

NAEP Report Card: Civics