Why civics education matters more than ever

North Carolina’s 2026 primary election delivered plenty of political drama, and there is certainly more to come.

Eight incumbent lawmakers in the state legislature lost their seats in party primaries this week, a rare level of upheaval in the North Carolina General Assembly. Several other races were decided by narrow margins, including a contest involving Senate Leader Phil Berger that could trigger a recount because the margin is within 1%. The results showed energetic competition within both political parties and highlighted the ideological battles shaping the state’s political future.

Yet one statistic stands out above all the others: only 19.6% of voters participated. That said, turnout this time around represents a robust improvement over the 14.3% turnout in 2018 and 15.8% in 2014, with more folks turning out early and on Election Day. But the reality remains that roughly four out of five eligible voters did not participate in choosing the candidates who may soon represent them in Raleigh or Washington, DC.

The contradiction is striking. North Carolina’s politics appear increasingly intense, expensive, and competitive, but civic participation remains stubbornly low. That disconnect raises an important question: Are Americans building interest in elections, but losing their basic understanding of the civic institutions that make our democratic republic work?

Conversations at last weekend’s Carolina Liberty Conference (CLC), hosted by the John Locke Foundation, suggest the problem begins long before voters reach adulthood.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the nation’s report card, finds that just 23% of American eighth-grade students are proficient in civics. That is an astounding minority of kids who have a solid understanding of how American government functions, from the structure of the Constitution to the role they will soon play in elections.

At CLC, education experts warned that North Carolina has another hurdle in that we don’t have reliable statewide data on civic literacy among K-12 students. Without testing or assessment, policymakers and parents have little way of knowing whether students understand the foundations of American government.

“If I were to ask you how much do North Carolina students know about civics and their government, we would have no idea because we don’t test it,” said Dr. Terry Stoops, director of state affairs at Defending Education, and former John Locke Foundation education expert.

Stoops noted that while North Carolina tracks student progress in subjects like reading and mathematics, civic knowledge remains largely unmeasured. He warned that vague social studies standards and lack of assessments can create accountability problems and opportunities for personal political views to influence instruction.

North Carolina law does require a civics and economics course in high school, which typically covers foundational documents such as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federalist Papers, but how that instruction is delivered can vary from classroom to classroom. Inconsistency risks shifting the focus of civic education away from understanding the structure of American government and toward broader political debates.

The consequences of weak civic education extend far beyond classroom debates and risk more and more students leaving classrooms with negative views of the nation and a sense of hopelessness in their role. According to the America First Policy Institute, national survey data found that among Americans aged 18 to 24, only about one in four expects to vote, even though roughly 40% are registered. Many young adults simply do not see civic participation as meaningful or necessary.

That disengagement carries real consequences for democratic institutions and creates a crisis of misunderstanding in day-to-day news as good, or bad, government is executed.

This week’s primary election offered a vivid reminder of that reality. Competitive races reshaped parts of the General Assembly, potentially of the highest level of leadership, by the narrowest of margins. But the outcomes were determined by a relatively small slice of our state’s electorate.

It is encouraging that more citizens are participating in a midterm primary than did 10 years ago. However, it seems that the increase may be the result of more social media, not more civics understanding. Reforms should begin with education.  

At Carolina Journal, we are taking steps to increase engagement with founding documents. Each Thursday afternoon on carolinajournal.com, readers can familiarize themselves with one of the 85 Federalist Papers. If you haven’t had a chance to read them, set a reminder to check in right here every Thursday afternoon.

The Federalist Papers were basically opinion editorials written in 1787–1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to explain and defend the proposed US Constitution during the ratification debate. They were intended to persuade Americans that the Constitution would create a strong but limited federal government capable of protecting liberty and maintaining stability. They are a heavy, but valuable, read.

Over the years there has been an effort to require North Carolina students to pass a US citizenship test to graduate from high school. Many private and charter schools across the state already require it, but our public schools do not. Other potential steps include clarifying social studies standards and encouraging school boards to provide clearer expectations for how civics should be taught.

Ultimately, the goal of civic education is to shape engaged citizens with the historic knowledge and critical thinking they need to preserve freedom for the next generation. I fear that we are seeing misunderstanding of the principles and responsibilities that underpin American democracy.

Clearly, political competition remains alive and well in North Carolina. But democracy requires more than energetic campaigns and partisan battles. A democracy cannot function if its citizens never learn its history and how to use it.