"Game On!": High Schoolers To Be Tested On Nation's Founding In National Competition Marking America's 250th

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

High school students across the nation this month will test their knowledge of America’s founding in a contest that ultimately rewards the top three finishers with college scholarships.

The first round of the Presidential 1776 Award takes place online the week of Feb. 22–28, according to the program website. In the second round, winners from each state advance to one of five regional semifinals in May. Round three, the national finals, are planned for late June in Washington, just ahead of America’s semi-quincentennial.

“What better way to get our students excited about learning more of our nation’s deep and rich history than a friendly competition meant to challenge high schoolers to show off their knowledge of our great nation’s founding ideals?” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a news release.

“As we prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, this competition is an opportunity for young people to push themselves, learn our history, and take pride in the principles that unite us. Game on!”

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation will provide the scholarship money.

The foundation’s Executive Secretary and CEO Julie Adams said the aim of this program extends far beyond just recognizing and awarding three top students.

“The knowledge of American civics and history is vital to the survival of the Republic,” she said in a news release. “We agree with our namesake James Madison, who wrote in 1822, ‘Knowledge will forever govern ignorance.’”

Teacher-scholars from the foundation wrote “challenging but fair questions” for the young competitors, Adams said.

The upcoming qualifying round, the “Impossible Civics Test,” is an electronically proctored multiple-choice online exam. Students will have 90 minutes to answer up to 4,000 questions on U.S. history across three 30-minute sections of increasing difficulty.

Top-performing students from every state who advance to the second round will engage in a short-answer verbal competition held in five regional locations simultaneously across the country. The top four students from each region will advance to the finals.

The championship in the nation’s capital is a short-answer verbal competition. The finalists get one point for each correct answer. The three winners will receive scholarships totaling $250,000.

The program website notes that the window to register for the qualifying online test, which is free to take, is still open.

Its study library page provides digital access to the Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, a summary of battles from the Revolutionary War, papers from 18th-century American leaders, and many other documents from the critical period and pre-colonial, colonial, and Revolutionary eras.

Its study tips page provides a roadmap to required readings, suggested practice, and test-taking strategies, along with several tips for parents and teachers.

“Parents and teachers for the support system that helps students thrive,” the page says. “With your guidance, they can deepen their knowledge, strengthen their skills, and step into this competition ready to perform at their best.”

While the James Madison foundation has worked for several decades to improve the teaching of the U.S. Constitution in high schools, the federal government’s push for civics education is very recent. It includes McMahon’s “History Rocks” tour across several states so far, and the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, a partnership of more than 50 state and national organizations dedicated to providing instruction about the ideas, individuals, and events that define the American story.

K-12 civics education is gaining ground across the nation. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported that, since 2023, at least 23 states and the District of Columbia passed laws requiring the curricula. This was, in part, a response to a 2022 report from the National Center for Education Statistics revealing that one in six Americans could not name any branches of the U.S. government. On Sept. 15, McMahon announced that $160 million in competitive grants will be available for U.S. history and civics instruction as the federal government shifts money away from education programs based on racial and ethnic quotas.

Education policy experts say that, given the nation’s deep political divisions and lack of confidence in the U.S. education system, civics lessons are needed now more than ever.

“America’s faith in institutions is at a low ebb,” Jenna Robinson, president of the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, previously told The Epoch Times.

“Increased education on our constitutional history and traditions can help public knowledge and public trust.”