FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky’s overall civic health grade is a ‘C’, according to a new report by the Kentucky Secretary of State.
The results didn’t surprise Secretary of State Michael Adams, who has made civic education a priority.
According to the report, about 50% of Kentuckians surveyed could name all three branches of government. That’s well above the national average of 26%, according to polls. But a quarter of Kentuckians could not name one branch.
Other statistics from the report:
- 49% could name a local elected official
- 53% could name both of Kentucky’s U.S. senators
- 87% could name the President of the United States
- 92% could name Kentucky’s governor
- 44% could name a legislator that represents them
The Commonwealth’s residents are more tolerant than other states, according to the report’s section on Polarization. Kentucky earned a grade of B in that category.
“That was a pleasant surprise,” said Adams, adding that Kentucky can’t rest on its laurels.
“Over time that B is going to be a C or a D, because, unfortunately, national trends are coming to the Commonwealth,” he said.
Some of those national trends include turning to the keyboard for political discourse. Far fewer people are engaging in real life, part of a national trend, the report said. It led Kentucky to earn a D+ in the social civics section.
“The more that you know, people engage with people outside the politics, the more you realize, there's a lot of gray out there, and that people that you disagree with aren't your enemy,” Adams said.
Right now, the state requires passing the U.S. naturalization test. The report compared the test’s simplicity to a math benchmark test.
“A Kentucky high school student must pass Geometry to graduate, which includes such things as the Pythagorean theorem and determining the area of a circle or a square,” Adams said. “However, if this requirement were analogous to the civics standard, students would simply have to identify a triangle, a square, and a circle, with a 60% success rate.”
Adams said he’d like to see the state look to Ohio’s civics test, which is more rigorous.
“I do think that first we need to actually implement this course and instill this knowledge before we start withholding high school diplomas from our students,” Adams said.
Kentucky is one of a few states to only require a civics exam. Ohio and Indiana require classes. The secretary said he is working with state lawmakers and has had “encouraging meetings with important people … who handle education issues on committee.”
“This is not the only area of education that legislators want to improve,” Adams said. “They're also talking about improving STEM and improving math, and I feel like this is a good complement to that to make sure we have well rounded citizens who can get jobs but also can function effectively as citizens.”
Chris Sinacola, author of "Restoring the City on a Hill: U.S. History & Civics in America's Schools," said civics education is critical for developing judgment in young people.
“We'd like to think that we can educate young people to be good citizens,” Sinacola said. “Part of that process is to get them to think critically about what exactly are they doing when they get into the voting booth.”
“It's not enough to simply show up,” said Sinacola.
