The policy solution that has garnered the most momentum to improve
civics in recent years is a standard that requires high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship exam
before graduation.6 According to this analysis, 17 states have taken this path.7 Yet, critics of a mandatory
civics exam argue that the citizenship
test does nothing to measure comprehension of the material8 and creates an additional barrier to high school graduation.9 Other states have adopted
civics as a requirement for high school graduation, provided teachers with detailed
civics curricula, offered community service as a graduation requirement, and increased the availability of Advance Placement (AP) U.S. government classes.10