NOTE: Today, the Ohio Senate’s Education Committee heard testimony on Substitute Senate Bill 272. This legislation would, among other things, require students to pass a civics assessment as a condition for graduation. Fordham’s Vice President for Ohio Policy provided the following proponent testimony before the committee.
Substitute Senate Bill 272 takes an important and meaningful step to strengthen civic knowledge by requiring students, beginning in 2027-28 school year, to pass a civics assessment based on the U.S. citizenship test as a condition for graduation.
The citizenship test measures basic knowledge about American history, government, and democratic principles—knowledge that every citizen should possess. Yet today, far too many Americans lack this foundation. Based on a 2018 survey, only 36 percent of Americans could pass the citizenship test. That number drops to fewer than one in five Americans under age 45. Ohio does a little better with 41 percent able to pass the citizenship test. But let’s face it, that’s nothing to brag about. These troubling results point to a clear need to do more.
Requiring students to demonstrate this knowledge before receiving a diploma sends an important signal: civic literacy matters. Indeed, immigrants seeking to become citizens must pass this very test. And the vast majority do with a passage rate of almost 90 percent. It is reasonable to expect the same of students graduating from Ohio high schools.
The assessment required by Substitute Senate Bill 272 should be understood not as a high-stakes hurdle, but as a culminating demonstration of learning and confirmation that students have acquired the essential knowledge needed for informed citizenship.
If this committee wanted to be even bolder, my former Fordham colleague and current American Enterprise Institute scholar Robert Pondiscio has argued persuasively that passing the citizenship test shouldn’t be a high school graduation requirement but rather an eighth grade or even elementary school rite of passage. The knowledge assessed by the citizenship test is not advanced or obscure. It reflects content that can and should be taught systematically over many years with much of introduced as early as elementary school.
At a time of deep political polarization and declining trust in institutions, strengthening civic education is more important than ever. Ensuring that every graduate has a basic understanding of our nation’s history, principles, and system of government is a commonsense step toward preparing young people for their responsibilities as Americans.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge the committee to support Substitute Senate Bill 272.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify.
