Below are selected National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics survey questionnaire results from 2022. The selected results describe learning contexts, opportunities, and student and educator perspectives as well as learning disruptions and recovery efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. A special COVID-19 module was added to the 2022 NAEP civics grade 8 survey questionnaires to collect information about students’ learning experiences and how educators were meeting the academic challenges presented by the pandemic. Read more about NAEP survey questionnaires.
NAEP survey questionnaire responses provide additional information for understanding NAEP performance results. Although comparisons in students’ performance are made based on student, teacher, and school characteristics and educational experiences, these results cannot be used to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the characteristics or experiences and student achievement. NAEP is not designed to identify the causes of performance differences. There are many factors that may influence average student achievement, including local educational policies and practices, the quality of teachers, and available resources. Such factors may change over time and vary among student groups; therefore, results must be interpreted with caution.
NAEP reports results using widely accepted statistical standards; findings are reported based on a statistical significance level set at .05, with appropriate adjustments for multiple comparisons. Students are always the unit of analysis when reporting NAEP survey questionnaire responses. The percentages shown are weighted and represent students or students whose teachers or school administrators indicated a specific response on the survey questionnaire. Some student responses are missing due to the inability to link students to their teacher’s or school administrator's responses to the survey questionnaire or due to nonresponse from students, teachers, or school administrators. The denominator of the percentages presented excludes all students with missing information in the data for the analysis. The percentage distributions of reported survey response categories could change when students with missing data are included in the denominator. To find missing rates and explore student, teacher, and school questionnaire data further, use the NAEP Data Explorer.
In 2022, forty-nine percent of students at grade 8 reported taking an eighth-grade class or course mainly focused on civics and/or U.S. government, and 32 percent of students reported that they took an eighth-grade class or course that included some civics and/or U.S. government topics. Eight percent of students reported not taking an eighth-grade class focused on civics and/or U.S. government topics. In 2022, there were no significant differences in the percentages of students who reported that they took an eighth-grade class mainly focused on civicsand/or U.S. government, students who reported taking an eighth-grade class that included some civics and/or U.S. government topics, or students who reported not taking a class focused on civics and/or U.S. government topics compared to2018.
In 2022, grade 8 students who reported taking an eighth-grade class or course mainly focused on civics and/or U.S. government had a higher average civics score (157) than students who reported taking an eighth-grade class or course that included some civics and/or U.S. government topics (153), and students who reported not taking an eighth-grade class or course that focused on these topics (143). There was no change in the average score for students who responded across all three categories compared to 2018.
FigurePercentage and average score of eighth-grade students in NAEP civics, by whether they have taken a class or course about civics and/or U.S. government in the eighth grade: 2018 and 2022
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In 2022, twenty-nine percent of students at grade 8 had teachers who reported having primary responsibility for teaching civics and/or U.S. government to their class and 71 percent of students had teachers who reported not having primary responsibility for teaching civics and/orU.S. government to their class. A higher percentage of students in 2022 had teachers who reported having primary responsibility for teaching civics and/orU.S. government to their class compared to 2018.
Students whose teachers reported having primary responsibility for teaching civics and/orU.S. government to their class had a higher civics score on average (154) than students whose teachers did not indicate having primary responsibility for teaching civics/U.S. government (149) in 2022. Across both categories of responses, average scores for students were lower in 2022 compared to 2018.
FigurePercentage and average score of eighth-grade students in NAEP civics, by whether their teachers have primary responsibility for teaching civics and/or U.S. government: 2018 and 2022
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Eighth-grade students answered six questions about their confidence in performing civics-related tasks, such as explaining the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens; comparing the roles and responsibilities of local, state, and national governments in the U.S.; and explaining why it is important for individuals to participate in the political process and government. Students’ responses to these questions were combined to create an index that indicates their confidence in carrying out tasks that rely on civics knowledge and participatory skills.
Twenty-three percent of eighth-grade students in 2022 reported high levels of confidence in their civics knowledge and skills, compared to 44 percent who reported moderate levels and 33 percent who reported low levels of confidence. A smaller percentage of students in 2022 reported high levels of confidence in their civics knowledge and skills compared to 2018 and a larger percentage of students reported low levels of confidence.
Grade 8 students in 2022 who reported high levels of confidence in their civics knowledge and skills had a higher civics score on average (167) than those who reported moderate levels (153) and low levels of confidence (138). Average scores in 2022 were 6 points lower for students reporting low levels of confidence compared to 2018.
FigurePercentage and average score of eighth-grade students in NAEP civics, by students' confidence in civics-related knowledge and skills index score category: 2018 and 2022
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All students who took the civics assessment in 2022 were asked if they ever attended school from home or somewhere else outside of school for any duration during the 2020–21 school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy-four percent of students recalled learning remotely during the 2020–21 school year, while 18 percent reported they did not learn remotely, and eight percent did not remember.
FigurePercentage of eighth-grade students in NAEP civics who reported whether they ever attended school from home or somewhere else outside of school because of the COVID-19 outbreak during the 2020–21 school year: 2022
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Of the 74 percent of eighth-graders who recalled learning remotely last school year, smaller percentages of lower-performing students (scoring below the 25th percentile on the civics assessment) reported that they had a desktop computer, laptop, or tablet available all the time; had a teacher available to help them with their civics schoolwork every day; and participated in real-time video lessons with their teacher every day compared to their higher-performing peers (scoring at or above the 75th percentile).
FigurePercentage of eighth-grade students in NAEP civics who learned remotely during the 2020–21 school year by selected percentiles and by various remote learning experiences: 2022
74% of students recalled experiencing remote learning during the 2020–21 school year. What supports did those students have?
Proportion of lower-performing students (below 25th percentile)
Proportion of higher-performing students (at or above 75th percentile)
Had a desktop/laptop computer or tablet available all the time
Had a teacher available to help them with civics schoolwork every day
Participated in real-time video lessons with their teacher every day
*Significantly different (p < .05) from students performing at or above the 75th percentile.
Explore additional student, teacher, and school data related to learning disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 school year.
NOTE: The NAEP civics scale ranges from 0 to 300. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or the omission of categories. Although the estimates (e.g., average scores or percentages) are shown as rounded numbers in the charts, 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), 2018 and 2022 Civics Assessments.
