America’s public schools were founded with a clear mission: to prepare each generation anew for the responsibilities of citizenship. Over the last year, YouthTruth, an initiative of the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), set out to evaluate how well schools are fulfilling this promise. Are students graduating with the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions essential for sustaining our democracy? The findings from YouthTruth’s new report, Youth Civic Empowerment: Insights from the Student Experience, based on survey responses from over 115,000 high school students, reveal a sobering reality and highlight challenges that philanthropy has an opportunity to address.
At the heart of our report is a troubling narrative: while 68 percent of students believe helping others is important, fewer than half — just 44 percent — feel confident in their ability to make a difference in their school or community, and only 30 percent report taking civic action of any kind. This collective lack of civic efficacy among teenagers is prevalent across high school students in all types of schools (urban, rural, and suburban as well as schools large and small) highlighting a national challenge in preparing young people for civic engagement. This challenge is further compounded by student reports of significant inequities in civic preparedness.
Below are three key insights from the report that underscore the challenges of preparing students to become fully engaged citizens — challenges that present funders interested in investing in the strength and future of our democracy with opportunities to create lasting impact far beyond the classroom.
Opportunity 1: Addressing Inequities in Civic Education
Beyond revealing a widespread shortfall in civic preparedness among high school students, our research uncovered troubling inequities in student acquisition of civic skills in school.
Learning how to evaluate evidence and form opinions — skills crucial for civic engagement — is reported at significantly higher rates by girls (56 percent) and students whose parents hold advanced degrees (70 percent) compared to their peers. Girls also stand out from their peers, with 43 percent reporting that they have learned in school how to make their school or community a better place. However, with less than half of all girls gaining this knowledge, it’s clear that this is hardly a statistic to celebrate. While girls report higher levels of civic learning than their peers, there is a need for improvement to ensure everyone is better prepared for civic engagement.
Racial inequities are also evident in our data. White students (64 percent) and Asian/Asian-American students (57 percent) report at higher rates than their peers that they learn to evaluate evidence and form opinions. In contrast, Latinx (46 percent) and Black (48 percent) students report feeling less equipped with these essential skills. For philanthropic funders, this presents a critical opportunity: to make civic education more inclusive and ensure that all students — regardless of background or identity — are equipped with the tools needed to take meaningful action. This presents an opportunity for funders not only to address these gaps but to improve civic skill outcomes for all students.
Opportunity 2: Strengthening Youth Confidence in Voting
Patterns in high school students’ beliefs about voting also highlight a critical opportunity for funders to invest in strengthening students’ confidence in their ability to create change, as well as their trust in democratic institutions more broadly. Our research shows that only 53 percent of high school students believe voting is important, signaling a troubling disconnect between young people and one of the most fundamental acts of citizenship. Notably, students across schools of all sizes and locations report similarly lukewarm views on the importance of voting, demonstrating that this is a widespread national challenge in need of urgent attention.
Our data on students’ voter beliefs once again reveal striking differences across student groups. Girls (56 percent) and students whose parents hold advanced degrees (70 percent) are more likely than their peers to see the importance of voting, while boys (51 percent) and students with less-educated parents are less inclined than their peers to view voting as vital.
Particularly alarming is the finding that Latinx students are the least civically empowered high school group, with statistically significantly lower responses than their peers on eight of the nine survey items — and only 46 percent believing in the importance of voting. As one of the fastest growing and youngest voter demographics, their lack of civic engagement highlights the urgent need for inclusive civic education that offers all students meaningful, real-world opportunities to engage in civic life.
Opportunity 3: Expanding Civic Growth Through Extracurriculars
One of the report’s most striking findings reveals how far education has strayed from its founding mission, as an intense focus on personal success has overshadowed its broader public purpose. In open-ended survey comments and workshops where students reviewed district survey data, many described how their academic work feels entirely disconnected from civic life. Faced with the pressures of schoolwork, college applications, and individual achievement, students expressed that civic engagement is not only unimportant but, as they put it, “not my job.”
The good news is that students are finding meaningful opportunities to develop and practice civic skills outside the classroom, particularly in clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities that foster leadership and collaboration. As students described, these activities help them cultivate a sense of civic identity by contributing to something larger than themselves.
This presents an opportunity for funders to invest in sports programs and clubs as engines of civic empowerment, creating spaces where students can grow as engaged citizens. Yet, funders must also again be aware of the inequities that exist—while 57 percent of students overall participate in school clubs, teams, or extracurricular groups, only 47 percent of Latinx students report the same involvement, limiting their access to these crucial opportunities for civic growth. Addressing these disparities is essential to ensuring all students benefit from these formative experiences.
Renewing Each Generation for Civic Engagement
The Youth Civic Empowerment report draws from the survey responses of over 115,000 high school students nationwide. In addition, approximately 100 students from three districts in California, Texas, and Ohio played a crucial role in advising on our analyses and shaping the report’s final insights. Notably, these students were key partners in developing the codebook used to interpret over 50,000 open-ended student responses, adding depth and meaning to the data.
At the end of each workshop, students also offered critical advice for adults on how to support the next generation in becoming civically engaged. They emphasized the importance of being heard and having real opportunities for participation. As one student put it, “I think you, as adults, can interact with youth in a way where they feel heard and considered, no matter their age or opinions.” Another added, “Tell them they can be heard and that there are others who think like them — that they are not alone.”
Funders should also take note: Requests for practical support was a recurring theme, with students calling for guidance on how to get involved. “Provide us with the necessary resources and guide those who might not be sure how to get involved. It becomes easier to achieve civic engagement when we know where to start,” said one student.
Renewing each generation for the responsibilities of citizenship requires listening to and collaborating with young people, integrating their voices into our democracy. The findings are clear: Teaching young people how government works is not enough — they must also be empowered as active participants in their schools and communities, and adults must invite them into the civic sphere. The report offers clear opportunities for funders to make a difference — not only by investing in civic education but also by working directly with students to empower them to take meaningful action.
By centering youth voices and partnering with them as they learn to shape their world, funders can help ensure today’s students are both equipped and inspired to embrace the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Jen de Forest is interim vice president, YouthTruth at CEP. Find her on LinkedIn.
