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Civic Education

commentary

Many High Schools Across the United States Offer Limited Civics-Focused Extracurricular Activities
Students cannot participate in civics-focused extracurricular activities if they do not have access to them. Schools can and should do more to support students' civic development, and increasing students' access to civics-focused extracurricular activities might just be one place to start.
Mar 13, 2024

q&a

Countering Truth Decay: Q&A with Ray Block, Jr.
Ray Block, Jr., leads RAND's efforts to combat Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts and analysis in public life. It's basic disagreements over not just what's right, but what's real. He advises people to be active consumers of information.
Jan 3, 2024
commentary

Social Studies Achievement Has Plummeted Nationally. Four Reasons This Trend Will Not Be Reversed Without Systemic Action
The U.S. Department of Education recently released results from the latest national social studies assessments. U.S. history scores continued a previous pattern of decline and civics scores declined for the first time ever. Reversing these trends will require concerted effort and increased investments at all levels of the U.S. education system.
May 22, 2023
commentary

How Teachers Can Shield Students from Harm as Debates Rage over Race and Gender
By conveying to girls and students of color that they are individually capable of overcoming adversity—and that who they are matters—educators might soften the blow of public laws and policies that send the opposite message.
Feb 22, 2023
commentary

The 'Digital Town Square' Problem
Privately owned public spaces like Twitter are often viewed as “public town squares.” But it's unclear exactly how private companies' influence on the so-called public spaces they control affects actual civic outcomes.
Jan 13, 2023
commentary

Whether Democracy Is Eroding or on the Upswing Depends on What State You Live In
Voter laws, civic education opportunities, and trust in government are all important aspects of democracy that impact individuals' civic participation. If policymakers had better ways to measure and monitor this “civic infrastructure” beyond just voter turnout, a different, more complicated but complete picture of our democracy would likely emerge.
Dec 13, 2022
essay

Improving Media Literacy in Middle School
Middle schoolers can be savvy users of news and information—when they know where to look. But they're also easy marks for misinformation, disinformation, and trolls. Helping them find their way in today's media landscape is important both for their futures and for the future of democracy.
Sep 6, 2022
blog

Combating Disinformation by Bolstering Truth and Trust
For Jessica Cecil, founder and former head of the Trusted News Initiative, today feels a bit like the Dark Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire, in which agreed-upon facts endure in only a few isolated places of elite discussion and there is no common language of politics. She spoke about the need for governments, companies, news organizations, and relevant civil society groups to work together to combat disinformation at a meeting of RAND Europe's Council of Advisors.
May 24, 2022
commentary

'Truth Decay' in Europe Is Real, but Its Advance Can Be Slowed
Though present in Europe, the evidence suggests that trends of Truth Decay are not as widespread or as pronounced as they are in the United States. There is still time for policymakers to intervene and limit their growth.
May 17, 2022
q&a

Truth Decay Is a Threat to Democracy. Here’s What You Can Do to Help Stop It
Truth Decay, the diminishing role of facts in American public life, isn't a problem that any one person can fix. But there are simple steps that individuals can take to help counter it.
Mar 29, 2022
commentary

How State Critical Race Theory Bans Could Trickle Down to the Classroom
Given the potential blowback to teaching anything related to race or gender, avoiding lessons on the experiences of women or people of color will be the path of least resistance in many schools. But discussing racism and sexism in a safe environment is crucial for students to become active, knowledgeable citizens.
Aug 31, 2021
commentary

Platforms Should Use Algorithms to Help Users Help Themselves
Social media users generate massive volumes of content, which then spreads at extraordinary speeds. Yet platforms generally rely on a slow process of human moderation to remove prohibited content. What if moderation could happen before the content is even posted?
Jul 20, 2021
commentary

Giving Teachers the Tools They Need to Provide 21st-Century Civics Education
The Capitol attack has rightfully led to many calls for teachers to address civic education in a much more robust way in their classrooms. However, a national survey of social studies teachers suggests that teachers lack the critical training and incentives to do so.
Feb 23, 2021
blog

RAND Commentary Highlights of 2020
The roughly 400 op-eds and blog posts published by RAND researchers during the year reflected an enormous variety of expertise and perspectives, from remote education to election cybersecurity to the economic harms of racial disparities. Here are 10 highlights that landed in high-profile news outlets.
Dec 18, 2020
article

Want to Rebuild Public Trust? Focus on Civic Education
Truth Decay—the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life—has led to political paralysis, the erosion of civil discourse, and widespread uncertainty. Investing in civic education and media literacy could be the antidote. But what exactly can be done to spur a civics revival in U.S. schools?
Dec 8, 2020
commentary

Putting America's Civic Infrastructure on the Biden-Harris Agenda
Much like our bridges and roads, America's civic infrastructure has been allowed to crumble. This has allowed Truth Decay to set in. The new administration can begin to repair the deep fissures in our society by explicitly and implicitly rehabilitating the nation's civic infrastructure.
Nov 19, 2020
essay

The Importance of Teaching Civic Responsibility in America
A survey of civics and social studies teachers asked what they teach, how they teach it, and what they think students need to know. Most said their students absolutely need to learn to be tolerant of different people and groups. And they want their students to see themselves as global citizens.
Oct 29, 2020
commentary

Think Tanks in the Era of Truth Decay
Truth Decay is the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life, and it cuts much deeper than any political party or demographic. It's why nonpartisan think tanks like RAND are as important now as they have ever been.
Oct 22, 2020
commentary

What Do You Do with a Problem Like COVID-19?
Over the last several decades, Americans' trust in their government and its institutions crumbled. Beyond that, the value of truth and expertise, the common bedrock of sound policymaking, was decaying in American society. COVID-19 might present an opportunity to correct some of these ills.
Apr 10, 2020
commentary

How to Contain the Disinformation Virus
Like COVID-19, disinformation spreads only if we help it spread. While we have all been asked to stay at home as responsible citizens to contain the virus, we should also feel responsible for making it harder for disinformation to spread.
Apr 9, 2020
q&a

Truth Decay in the Coronavirus Moment: Q&A with Jennifer Kavanagh
Jennifer Kavanagh, who wrote the RAND book Truth Decay about the diminishing role that facts play in making important public policy decisions, calls the unfolding situation with the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 a worst-case scenario.
Mar 17, 2020
essay

American News Habits and the Challenge of Truth Decay
RAND researchers asked people where they get their news, how reliable they think it is, and whether they seek out viewpoints that are different from their own. The results provide some new clues to help diagnose and treat Truth Decay.
Mar 4, 2020
blog

Panel: How the Media Can Help Fight Truth Decay
Truth Decay is the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life. As part of this phenomenon, Americans are losing faith in once-trusted sources of information, including the news. How might media organizations address this?
Feb 25, 2020
blog

Most Popular RAND Research of 2019
The search for lasting solutions to difficult policy problems starts with facts. Here are the 10 research projects that rand.org readers engaged with the most in 2019.
Dec 24, 2019
commentary

The RAND Institute for Civil Justice: 40th Anniversary Reflections
For 40 years, the RAND Institute for Civil Justice (ICJ) has supplied government and private decisionmakers and the public with the results of objective, empirically based, analytic research. In this era of the diminishing role of facts and analysis in public life, or Truth Decay, the mission and research of the ICJ have never been more important.
Nov 6, 2019
blog

RAND's Summer Reading List for Congress
For busy staff, August's respite from back-to-back meetings, hearing preparation, and late votes is hard-earned. The summer recess also provides an opportunity to get ahead of issues that will resurface in the fall. To that end, we have compiled recent RAND research on topics likely to top the congressional agenda come September.
Aug 5, 2019
blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2018
RAND serves as an objective source of facts that help inform the world's most pressing policy debates. When decisions are based on the best evidence, that's when public policy can have a positive impact on people's lives. We're highlighting the 10 research projects that RAND.org readers found most engaging this year.
Dec 21, 2018
blog

Best RAND Videos of 2018
RAND research yields findings that run the gamut of potential applications and promising policy solutions. Here, we highlight three of 2018's most captivating videos featuring RAND research and its potential to inform policy.
Dec 19, 2018
commentary

What Role Should Schools Play in Teaching Pupils to Spot Fake News?
Since social media is not regulated in the same way as traditional news media, anyone can convey information with little fact-checking. So how do we help children develop critical literacy skills to enable them to interpret the media correctly?
Nov 28, 2018
blog

Conversation at RAND: Truth Decay
The recent erosion of public trust in facts and institutions is not the first period of Truth Decay in U.S. history. What's different this time is the increasing disagreement about objective facts. Jennifer Kavanagh and William “Pat” Getty discussed the trend and how to stop it.
Oct 2, 2018
commentary

Truth Decay, America's Latest Pastime
Detailed data and complex analysis are the foundation of decisionmaking in baseball and many other professions and occupations. But facts are out of favor in current U.S. political and civil discourse, and the public policymaking that accompanies it.
Jul 12, 2018
commentary

In Reckoning with Today's Truth Wars, Look to America's Past
The declining regard for factual evidence may be a defining characteristic of our current age. Previous eras suggest it is within society's power to restore respect for objective facts. Humankind just needs to put it on the agenda.
Jun 19, 2018
blog

Regulation or Research? The Search for Solutions to Reduce Truth Decay in the Media
What is social media's role in the decline of trust in the media? Is government intervention needed to help stop the spread of misinformation? A panel of researchers discussed the connection between the media and Truth Decay at a recent RAND event in Boston.
May 22, 2018
article

How to Increase Immunity to Truth Decay
Americans have always held differing views about policy issues. But more and more, they disagree about basic facts. This is a symptom of what RAND calls "Truth Decay," and it's doing severe damage to democracy in the United States.
May 16, 2018
commentary

People—Not the Tech Companies—Will Ultimately Stop Disinformation in Europe
Authorities can continue to seek to punish the tech companies for the circulation of false articles. But this is unlikely to make a difference until more people take the time and acquire the skills to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Apr 9, 2018
commentary

Truth Decay and the Spirit of the Law
The widening gap between how the law is expected to be (and generally is) practiced, and certain events transpiring in America's political and policymaking realms, is of increasing concern.
Mar 23, 2018
commentary

The Danger of Truth Decay Across Europe
“Truth Decay” poses a threat to the health and future of democracy across Europe. With partial facts, disinformation, and incompatible versions of “the truth” competing for attention, it's more and more important for Europeans to recognize this phenomenon.
Mar 19, 2018
q&a

The Perils of Truth Decay: Q&A with Three RAND Leaders
Truth Decay is defined by disagreement about facts, the blurred line between opinion and fact, increased volume of opinion and personal experience over fact, and declining trust in formerly respected sources of facts. RAND president and CEO Michael D. Rich, journalist Soledad O'Brien, and political scientist Francis Fukuyama discuss the phenomenon and the search for solutions to it.
Feb 27, 2018
commentary

The Diminishing Role of Facts in American Public Life
Without agreement about objective facts and a common understanding of and respect for data and analytical interpretations of those data, it becomes nearly impossible to have the types of meaningful policy debates that form the foundation of democracy.
Jan 17, 2018
commentary

Strengthening Our Democracy Starts in School
The teaching of civics and other social studies courses has hit hard times in most states, driven in part by accountability systems that reward schools for math and reading scores. Yet civic education is critical to the stability of our democracy and seems warranted now more than ever.
Dec 17, 2015
commentary

Nine Lessons on How to Teach 21st Century Skills and Knowledge
Despite widespread agreement among parents, educators, employers and policymakers worldwide that students need skills like critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and creativity, these skills are stubbornly difficult to teach and learn, write Anna R. Saavedra and V. Darleen Opfer.
Oct 19, 2012
blog

10 Books That Will Change the Way You Think
The Pardee RAND Graduate School asked its faculty members to name the books that inspired them, and remain essential reading for anyone who wants to stretch themselves and how they view the world.
Jul 19, 2012