These
mandatory state assessments include the Criterion - Referenced Competency
Tests (CRCT), End - of - Course
Tests (EOCT), Georgia
High School Graduation Tests (GHSGT), Georgia Writing Assessments (above) as well as:
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