The Department of Education (DOE) announced the Presidential 1776 Award for Civics in December to honor and celebrate America’s semiquincentennial while also recognizing the scholarly accomplishments of high school students. Registration for the nationwide competition began on February 1 and will remain open until February 21.
As part of the contest, high school students will be tested on their “knowledge of the road to independence, the American Revolutionary War, and the ideas that shaped our nation.” Students who participate must take a “first-round online exam,” also known as “The Impossible Civics Test.” The online test window will be February 22-28. For students who score well, this will be followed by “in-person regional semifinals” and then a “nationally-broadcast final in Washington, D.C.”
The grand prize for the winner will be a $150,000 scholarship. The second place finisher will receive a $75,000 scholarship, with third place receiving a $25,000 scholarship.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon explained that the contest will push students to learn more about their history.
“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?” McMahon said. “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.”
The DOE is partnering with the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation to run the scholarship competition. The exams that students take will consist of “multiple-choice and verbal examinations developed independently” by the foundation.
Julie Adams, who serves as executive secretary and CEO of the foundation, said that her organization will also judge of the competition.
“The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is honored to serve independently as both the writers of the questions and the judges for the Presidential 1776 Award,” Adams said. “Our James Madison Fellows are among the best teacher-scholars on the U.S. Constitution and the American Founding, and they will write challenging but fair questions for the intrepid students who take part in the award. The knowledge of American civics and history is vital to the survival of the Republic.”
As DOE explained, students will have 90 minutes to answer a random selection of up to 4,000 “civics and founding history questions in three 30-minute sections of increasing difficulty.” Four students will be chosen as finalists from each state.
The second round will then be held in May. The chosen finalists will advance to “five regional semifinals, which consist of short answer verbal competitions held simultaneously across the country.” The top four students in each of these regions will then advance to the televised final.
The third and final round will take place at the end of June in Washington, D.C. The students who make it this far will “answer short-answer verbal questions and will be awarded a point for each correct answer.” The top three winners will then receive the scholarships.
High school students throughout the country will have an equal opportunity to participate in and eventually win the competition. Students who are “U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents” from all 50 states can enter the contest for this chance to earn a significant scholarship to further their education.
The registration link can be found HERE.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
I do hope that many children in the public school system will try for this award. When they do, I hope they become appalled at how much their public school leaves out of their education, and begin to research and study our history on their own. I also hope they gain respect, for the foundations of the country they live in, and the freedoms it gives them.
AMAC — you got to love this as you just deleted a bunch of this nonsense.