High quality civics education is critical to producing civically knowledgeable citizens. By tying civics curricula more closely to the lived experiences of all youth, a new wave of civic education is empowering the next generation to be more socially and politically aware and engaged. NORC is working to understand the civics education landscape and assess the impact of this new class of action civics education curricula. 

• Generation Citizen (GC) is one of the preeminent and largest civics education organizations in the U.S., reaching nearly 25,000 students annually. Its student-centered, project-based civics curriculum enables students to address problems through real-world experiences. With funding from the Institute of Education Sciences, NORC is using a rigorous randomized design to evaluate the impact of GC’s curriculum.
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation selected NORC to evaluate the Engaging Youth for Positive Change (EYPC) civics education curriculum, which helps rural high school students identify local, health-related issues and work toward creating health policy change. NORC is using a mixed-method design to assess EYPC’s impact on rural students’ understanding of and participation in civic engagement and community health.
• The Washington (State) Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is working to provide all students with high-quality civics education. It has engaged NORC to lead a mixed-methods data collection effort, which includes both a statewide survey and semi-structured interviews to gather information on the educational materials, instructional time, and methods teachers are using to teach civic education in grades K-12.