In an analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress data, Niemi and Junn (1998) found that students in the United States know very little about politics. While this news may be unsettling to those who place a premium on engaged citizenship, it is hardly surprising given the general lack of political knowledge and civic interest among the American electorate that has been well documented within political science research (e.g., Delli Carpini, andKeeter, 1996; Hibbing andTheiss- Morse, 2002; Putnam, 2000). Yet, many of those concerned with this lack of political engagement in the United States point to the perpetually uninformed and politically lethargic 18-to-25-year-old voting bloc and argue that public education must do a better job of informing and engaging students in the political process (Macedo, Alex-Assensoh, Berry, Brintnall, Campbell, Fraga, Fung et al., 2005).
