The National Civics Bee, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is held annually to encourage young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. The Farmington Chamber of Commerce, a co-sponsor, will organize the competition for youths in grades 6 to 8 graders in the region.
Are the majority of students lacking in their basic proficiency in the subject of civics? These statistics from The Nation's Report Card in 2018 suggest the answer is yes.
“In 2018, about 24% of eighth-grade students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on the civics assessment, which was not significantly different from the 23% of students performing at this level in 2014, the previous assessment year,” according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress website.
The National Civics Bee offers those who believe they’re up-to-speed in their understanding of how government works – an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge.
The contest began Jan. 13, with entries ending at 11:59 p.m., Feb. 24. By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the official rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the official rules. This is a skills-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of winners.
Young people in the Four Corners region who wish to participate should go to http://bit.ly/3XqKrTF or mailing a hard copy submission, postmarked by Feb. 24 to 5101 College Blvd., Farmington, NM 87402.
Hard copy submissions must include the student’s first and last name, school name, ZIP code, and guardian phone number/email. Entries received by any other means will not be considered.
There are three contest phases. Phase 1 is a 500-word essay. In Phase 2, 20 local finalists will be selected based on the essay judging criteria listed below. In Phase 3, the top three winners from each local competition will advance to compete in their state’s Civics Bee Competition. The state finalists will compete live.
Each local finalist who participates in the Civics Bee Competition will receive a certificate commemorating their participation.
Full contest rules are available at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, https://civics.uschamberfoundation.org/national-civics-bee.
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