NC Civic Index

A volunteer work group of the Civic Education Consortium developed the NC Civic Index in response to a lack of comprehensive and meaningful measures of civic engagement.Nearly 800 non-voting age youth, ages 13-17, were asked about their civic skills, behavior, knowledge, attitudes and opportunities. To establish a benchmark for civic education and engagement, the Consortium also surveyed 800 adults on the same issues. Following the release of the Civic Index, the Consortium conducted community forums across the state; information on the forums can be found here.

Within six weeks of its release, the General Assembly passed new civics provisions for middle and high schools aimed at index findings. In Fall 2004, the State Board of Education adopted a requirement for future high-school seniors to complete a graduation project with an option of a civic engagement focus. The Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding for the youth component of the NC Civic Index, and the Smith Richardson Foundation provided funding for the adult component.

• Final Report (pdf)
• Key Findings
• Recommendations
• Talking Points
• Complete Results and Methodology (pdf)
  • Adult Civic Index
  • Youth Civic Index

Community Forums

Between fall of 2003 and spring of 2005, the Consortium convened nine community forums around the state to discuss how citizens, grassroots organizations, or local leaders might use the results of the Civic Index to improve civic education and participation in their communities. Regional results of the Civic Index were released and discussed at the forums. The purpose of the forums was to engage the community in a process to develop more effective strategies to improve civic participation and education. Ideally, these strategies will lead to community specific solutions, such as youth advisory councils, youth and adult leadership programs, or school-neighborhood collaborations.

The Consortium was not able to reach all of North Carolina's municipalities through the community forums. However, to ensure that all communities benefit from discussion of the Civic Index results, the Consortium has published a Community Forum Tool Kit - a how to guide for communities to host their own community forums.

For more information on the Community Forums please contact Kelley O'Brien, Director, (919) 962-8273, obrien@sog.unc.edu.

Statewide Summary Report