Indicators of Equitable Civic Learning in U.S. Public Schools

ABSTRACT

The “twin pandemics” of racial injustice and COVID-19 have underscored the importance of promoting civic knowledge, skills, dispositions, and engagement among the nation’s young people. Although some evidence has demonstrated that civic-learning opportunities are inequitably distributed across U.S. schools and communities, we currently have limited data that could help inform efforts to promote more equitable access to these opportunities. In this article, we draw on a recent National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report on equity indicators to explore the potential value of a large-scale system of such indicators for civic learning. We highlight the need for indicators of both opportunities to learn and of learning outcomes. We describe key features of this system, propose some example indicators, and discuss a research agenda that could contribute to the development of high-quality measures of equity in civic learning.