NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

E.D. TABS March 1997

1996 National Household Education Sumey

Adult Civic Iiwolvement

in the United States

.

National

Household

Education

Survey

U.S. Department of Education

Offke of Educational Research and Improvement NCES 97-906
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS

E.D. TABS March 1997

1996 National Household Education Survey

Adult

in the

Civic Iiwolvement

united states

National

Household

Education

Survey

Mary Jo Nolin

Westat, Inc.

Chris Chapman

Education Statistics Services Institute

Katkyn Chandler, Project Officer

NationaJ Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Educational Research and Improvement NCES 97-906
U.S. Department of Education

Richard W. Riley

Secretafy

OffIce of Educational Research and Improvement

Marshall S. Smith

Acting Assistant Secretary

National Center for Education Statlstlcs

Pascal D. Forgione, Jr.

Commissioner

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March 1997

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Suggested Cltatlon

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics. Adult Civic

h’rvohement in the United States, NCES 97-906, by Mary Jo Nolin and Chris Chapman. Project

Office~ Kathryn Chandler. Washington, DC: 1997.

Contact

Kathryn Chandler, Project Officer

(202) 219-1767

(e-mail) nhes@ed.gov

http://www.ed.gov/NC EWNHES

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Washington area) or (202)219-1692 (local), or send a FAX request to (202) 219-1693.
Introduction

This report presents data on the civic involvement of adults in the United States, including sources of

information, community and political participation, and attitudes toward government and democratic

principles. The data are from the 1996 National Household Education Survey (NHES:96), Adult Civic

Involvement component.

Highlights

Sources of Information

Adults were asked about regular reading activi~, that is, reading a newspaper at least once a week,

reading magazines on a regular basis, or reading any books during the last months. They also reported

on their sources of national news.

●

●

●

●

●

Highest level of education is associated with reading activi~. Adults who did not complete a high

school program are less likely to read a newspaper at least once a week (71 percent) than those

with a high school diploma (85 percent), some college (89 percent), or a bachelor’s degree or

higher (91 percent, table 1). The same pattern exists for reading at least one magazine on a regular

basis. .

The percentage of adults who reported having read any books in the past 6 months increased

significantly with each level of education. Percentages ranged from 42 percent of adults with less

than a high school diploma to 83 percent of adults with a bachelor’s degree or above (table 1).

U.S. adults are more likely to receive news about national issues on a daily basis from television or

radio than from a newspaper or news magazine (table 2). Thirty-one percent said they read the

national news in a newspaper or news magazine ahnost every day, while 75 percent said they

watched the national news on television or listened to the mtioml news on radio almost every day.

The percentage of adults who read the national news in a newspaper or news magazine almost daily

increased with each age category, from those 18 to 24, to people 25 to 39, to those 40 to 54, to

adults 55 or older. The Nation’s younger and middle-aged adults, those 18 to 24, 25 to 39, and 40

to 54, also were less likely to report that they watched the mtional news on television or listened on

the radio than were older Americans (table 2).

A lower percentage of adults who were parents with children 18 years old or younger living in the

household (25 percent) reported reading about the mtioml news in a newspaper or news magazine

on a daily basis compared with those adults who had no children in that age range living with them

(34 percent, table 2).

Knowledge of Government

Two five-item sets of questions about government were included in the survey. Each respondent was

randomly selected to receive one set of questions.

. On a five-item index of knowledge about government, about half of American adults (55 percent)

answered three or more questions correctly (table 3).

. . .
. A greater percentage of men (65 percent) than women (46 percent) and a greater percentage of

people who are white andnot Hispanic (61 percent) than people ofother racial/ethnic 9roups (36

percent) scored three or more on the knowledge index (table 3).

● Anadult’s highest level of education was also related tohisor her score onthe knowledge index.

Fifteen percent of adults with less than a high school education, 43 percent of those with a high

school diploma or equivalent, 67 percent of adults with some college, and 84 percent of those with

a bachelor’s degree or above answered at least three questions correctly (table 3).

Community Participation

Indicators of community participation included membership in an organization, attending religious

services on a regular basis, and participating in community service.

● Fifty-nine percent of adults belong to a community or professional organization, 50 percent attend

religious services once a month or more, and 39 percent participate in ongoing community service

(table 4).

● Younger adults, those 18 to 39 years old, are less likely to belong to an organization or attend

religious services regularly than are their elders, but they are-just as likely to do community service

on a regular basis (table 4).

● More highly educated adults are more likely to participate in community service than those less

educated. Approximately half of those with a bachelor’s degree or above versus about 40 percent

of adults with some college reported that they do community service work (table 4), and both of

these groups are more likely than adults with a high school diploma or less to participate in that

type of activity.

● Adults who report that they read about or watch or listen to the national news nearly every day are

more likely than adults who neither read about nor watch or listen to the national news on a daily

basis to participate in more ways in their communities by belonging to an organization, attending

religious services once a month or more, or doing community service (table 6).

Political Participation and Attitudes

Voting and five other types of political participation were measured, as well as skills related to civic

participation. In addition, adults were asked their opinion about statements related to political efficacy

and democratic values.

● Persons who are white and not Hispanic are more likely than others to have said that they voted in

the past 5 years. Eighty percent of white, non-Hispanics reported voting in contrast to 57 percent

of those of another race/ethnicity (table 5).

● Low scores on a five-item knowledge of government index are associated with low levels of

political participation (table 6).

i
●

●

9

Thirty-seven percent of American adults believe that politics and government are too complicated

to understand, and 42 percent perceive that their own families have no say in what the government

does (table 7).

Eighty-three percent of U.S. adults agreed with a statement endorsing freedom of speech (table 7).

Adults who have more education than a high school diploma were more likely than those having a

high school diploma or less to agree that a speech against religion should be allowed. The

percentages of adults endorsing a right to make such a speech ranged from 70 of those with less

than a high school diploma to 93 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Most American adults believe that they possess some skills that are usefhl for participating in

political life. Ninety-two percent said that they could write a letter to a government official that

clearly states their opinion, and 85 percent reported that they could make a comment or statement

at a public meeting (table 8).

Improving Public Education

Adults gave their opinions on four potential actions that might improve public education.

. When Americans were asked their opinions about possible actions that might improve public

education, the two that received endorsement from the highest percentage were evaluating teachers

according to high performance standards (69 percent) and not promoting students until they met

strict academic standards (63 percent, table 9).

v

Contents

Introduction . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..iii

National

Tables

Table 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Table 5.

Table 6.

Table 7.

Table 8.

Table 9.

Household Education Suney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Percent of U.S. adults reporting reading activity, by selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...3

Percent of U.S. adults reporting sources and frequency of receiving national news, by

selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Percent of U.S. adults who correctly answered selected questions measuring knowledge

about government, by selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...5

Percent of U.S. adults reporting community participation, by selected characteristics:

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................8

Percent of U.S. adults reporting political participation, by selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . ...9

Percent of U.S. adults reporting community and political participation, by indexes of

reading activity, source of national news, knowledge of government, and community

participation: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..lO

Percent of U.S. adults holding various opinions about statements related to political

efficacy and democratic values, by selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...11

Percent of U.S. adults holding various opinions about skills related to civic

participation, by selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..l2

Percent of U.S. adults reporting that selected actions would improve public education a

great deal, by selected characteristics: 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..l3

Technical Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

vii
The National Household Education Survey

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center

for Education Statistics (NCES), which has as its legislative mission the collection and publication of

data on the condition of education in the Nation. The NHES is specifically designed to s~pport this

mission by providing information on educational issues that are best addressed by contacting

households rather than schools or other educational institutions. The NHES provides descriptive data

on the educational activities of the U.S. population and offers policymakers, researchers, and educators

a variety of statistics on the condition of education in the United States.

The NHES is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized, civilian population of the United States.

Households are selected for the survey using random-digit-dialing (RDD) methods, and data are

collected using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) procedures. From 45,000 to 64,000

households are screened for each administration, and individuals within households who meet

predetermined criteria are sampled for more detailed or extended interviews. The data are weighted to

permit estimates of the entire U.S. population. The NHES survey for a given year typically consists of

a set of screening questions (Screener), collecting household composition and demographic data, and

extended interviews on two substantive components addressing education-related topics. In order to

assess data item reliability and inform future NHES surveys, each administration also includes data

quality studies such as reinterviews with a subsample of respondents.

The primary purpose of the NHES is to conduct repeated measurements of the same phenomena at

different points in time, although one-time surveys on topics of interest to the Department of Education

are also conducted. Throughout its history, the NHES has repeatedly collected data in ways that permit

estimates to be tracked across time. This includes repeating topical components on a rotating basis in

order to provide comparative data across survey years. In addition, each administration of the NHES

has benefited from experiences with previous cycles, resulting in improvements to the survey

procedures and content. Thus, while the survey affords the opportunity for tracking phenomena across

time, it is also dynamic in addressing new issues and including conceptual and methodological

refinements.

A new design feature of the NHES program implemented in the NHES:96 is the collection of

demographic and educational information on members of all screened households, rather than just those

households potentially eligible for a topical component. In addition, this expanded screening feature

includes a brief set of questions on an issue of interest to education program administrators or

policymakers. In 1996, the topic was public library usage. The total Screener sample size is sufficient

to produce state estimates of household characteristics for the NHES:96.

The NHES has been conducted in 1991, 1993, 1995, and 1996. Topics addressed by the NHES:91

were earl y childhood education and adult education. The NHES :93 collected information about school

readiness and school safety and discipline. The 1991 components were repeated for the NHES:95,

addressing early childhood program participation and adult education. Both components underwent

substantial redesign to incorporate new issues and develop new measurement approaches.

The NHES:96

Parent and Family Involvement in Education and Civic Involvement were the two major topical

components of the NHES: 96. Each topic addresses aspects of the Natioml Education Goals. The

Parent and Family Involvement component was guided by Goal 1, concerning children’s readiness for

1
school, and Goal 8, which encourages parental participation in education by recommending school

promotion of partnerships with parents in the education of their children. The sample population for

this component of the NHES :96 was children age 3 years through 12th grade. Their parents were

interviewed about types and frequency of involvement with the school, student experiences that may be

correlates of family involvement, school practices to involve and support families, and learning

activities that take place in the home, including helping with homework. Older youth, that is, those in

grades 6 through 12, also responded to some questions about family involvement in their education.

The Civic Involvement component was inspired by two other National Education Goals. Goal

3, dealing with student achievement and citizenship, states that students in America’s schools will learn

to “use their minds well, so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship ...,” and Goal 6 says that

adults should possess “ . . the knowledge and skills necessary to... exercise the rights and responsibilities

of citizenship. ” There were three populations of interest for the Civic Involvement component of the

NHES:96: students in grades 6 through 12, parents of those students, and U.S. adults. Adults were

defined as persons 18 years or older, not currently enrolled in grade 12 or below, and not on active

duty in the armed forces. This random sample of adults, some of whom were parents, was included in

the Civic Involvement component to provide information on civic involvement that would be

representative of the entire noninstitutionalized, civilian population.

The data in this report are from the Adult Civic Involvement component of the NHES:96. In

this component, there were questions measuring general reading activity, as well as items focused on

obtaining information about the national news from the media. Other items measured participation in

the community and participation in a range of political activities. The Civic Involvement component

included measures of attitudes and skills related to civic life. ,There were also two versions of a fiveitem test of knowledge of government; each was administered to one of two randomly selected split half

samples of adults. Items asked in the Adult Civic Involvement component were similar to civic

involvement items asked of parents and students. See the Technical Notes, page 14, for more

information on the Adult Civic Involvement component and the NHES:96. Researchers who are

interested in obtaining the data may do so by contacting NCES. (Contact information is on page ii. )

2
Table 1.--Percent of U.S. adults reporting reading activity, by selected characteristics: 1996

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18 - 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 - 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40 - 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55-69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 andolder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school diploma/equivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,0000r less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001-30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001-50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,0010r more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or younger

in household2

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Material and frequency

Read a newspape]

at least oncea

week

Percent

85

81

83

87

90

87

84

87

88

78

71

85

89

91

74

83

90

92

85

86

se.

1.0

3.4

1.7

1.7

1.9

2.4

1.3

1.6

1.0

2.3

3.6

1.6

1.6

1.3

2.9

1.9

1.4

1.2

1.6

1.2

lead one or more

magazines on a

regular basis

Percent

86

91

88

85

82

82

85

87

87

82

66

86

89

94

75

81

90

94

86

86

se.

0.9

2.1

1.7

1.7

2.3

,2<5

1.3

1.5

1.0

2.0

3.7

1.6

1.5

1.1

2.9

2.3

1.4

1.0

1.6

1.1

Lead any books i]

past 6 months

Percenl

66

72

68

65

66

52

71

59

68

58

42

57

74

83

52

62

69

76

66

65

se.

1.3

3.7

2.3

2.5

2.8

3.7

1.7

1.9

1.5

2.5

3.5

2.1

2.3

1.7

3.1

2.8

2.3

1.8

2.1

1.7

Percen[ who

reported all three

types’

Percent

54

56

55

55

56

41

57

51

56

47

30

45

61

74

37

47

59

68

55

53

se.

1.3

4.0

2.3

2.6

3.0

3.3

1.8

2.0

1.6

2.4

3.9

2.1

2.6

1.9

3.0

2.8

2.6

2.0

2.2

1.5

‘ Read anewspaper atleast once aweekand read oneormore magazines onaregular basis andread any books inthepast6 months.

2 This question wasasked ofallrespondents whose households contained members age 180ryounger andwhowere at least 12 years

older than those children. “Parent” includes stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: se. is standard error. Numbers maynotadd tototals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult

Civic Involvement component.
Table 2.--Percent of U.S. adults reporting sources and frequency of receiving national news, by selected

characteristics: 1996

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18 -24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 -39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55-69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethrticity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school dip!omalequivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,0000r less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001- 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001-50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,001 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or younger

in household*

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Source of dai

Read national news in

newspaper or news

magazine almost every

(

Percent

31

9

21

33

49

50

26

36

34

22

18

27

33

42

21

29

32

39

25

34

se.

1.0

2.5

1.6

2.1

3.1

3.4

1.6

1.5

1.2

2.1

2.8

1.5

2.1

2.4

2.5

2.3

2.1

2.3

1.6

1.5

national news

Watched national news

on television or listened

o national news on radi(

almost every day

Percent

75

5-7

67

79,

88

91

74

77

75

76

78

73

73

79

76

75

73

77

73

77

se.

1.2

4.7

1.9

1.9

2.1

2.3

1.5

1.7

1.4

2.0

3.0

1.9

2.6

1.7

2.6

2.6

1.9

1.8

2.0

1.4

National news from

newspaperlnews

magazine and from

television/radio almost

every day

Percent

26

8

16

27

47

46

23

30

29

19

15

23

28

37

17

25

27

34

21

30

se.

1.0

2.3

1.4

1.9

3.4

3.5

1.5

1.6

1.1

2.0

2.7

1.4

2.0

2.3

2.4

2.2

1.9

2.1

1.7

1.4

* This question was asked of all respondents whose households contained members ‘age 18 or younger and who were at least 12 years

older than those children. “Parent” includes stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: se. is standard error. Numbers may not add to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult

Civic Involvement component.
Table 3.--Percent of U.S. adults who correctly answered selected questions 1 measuring knowledge about government, by selected characterist its: 1996

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 -39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55-69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70ando1der . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

m White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Less thanhigh school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school diploma/equivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,0000r less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001- 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001 -50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,0010r more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or younger

in household4

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

~thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89.795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

What job or political

office is now held

by Al Gore?

Percent

70

59

68

75

72

69

65

75

77

48

28

62

84

90

49

57

79

88

67

72

se.

1.5

5.0

2.5

3.0

3.7

4,9

2.4

2.4

1.6

3.2

5.2

2.6

2.4

1.8

4.4

3.6

2.7

1.9

2.6

1.9

joes President, Congress

or Supreme Court

determine if a law is

constil

Percent

56

46

54

66

50

59

48

64

61

41

25

46

66

78

36

48

62

72

57

55

tonal?

se.

1.5

6.3

3.3

3.2

3.9

5.8

2.1

2.4

1.7

3.3

5.2

2.8

3.5

2.7

3.9

3.9

3.3

2.9

2.7

2.0

Knowledge items - Set A

Which party has the mosl

members in U.S. House

of Representatives?

Percent

64

53

58

71

71

65

58

71

67

54

41

52

77

83

48

64

67

73

64

64

se.

1.7

5.2

3.0

3.4

3.8

4.9

2.5

2.4

2.0

3.8

5.6

2.8

3.0

2.6

4.1

3.8

3.3

2.9

2.8

2.3

What majority is needed

to override a

presidential veto?

Percent

33

37

26

41

36

28

23

44

38

17

6

23

39

59

18

24

36

50

28

36

se.

1.3

5.6

2.4

3.1

4.1

4.5

1.9

2.6

1.7

2.0

2.7

2.4

3.3

3.3

3.5

3.1

3.2

3.3

2.7

2.0

Which party is more

conservative at the

national level?

Percent

51

49

51

58

50

41

46

57

56

37

15

38

65

79

29

42

57

72

53

51

se.

1.7

5.6

2.9

3.4

4.2

5.2

2.3

2.8

1.9

3.7

4.3

2.9

3.1

3.1

3.4

4.1

3.1

2.9

3.0

2.3
Table 3.--Percent of U. S.adults whocomectly answered selected questionsl measuring howledge about government, byselected characteristics: 1996

--Continued

Knowledge items - Set B

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18-24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 -39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40 -54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55-69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

m Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school diploma/equivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,0000r less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001 -30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001 -50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,0010r more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or younger

in household4

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

What job or political

office is now held by

Newt Gingrich?2

Percent

56

37

57

58

62

55

49

62

61

37

25

47

57

85

37

46

62

73

53

57

se.

1.6

6.1

2.3

3.3

4.5

5.7

2.1

2.5

1.9

3.8

4.5

2.4

3.8

2.3

4.3

3.3

3.1

3.0

2.8

2.5

Does President,

;ongress, or Supremt

Courtnomimte

judges to the federal

Col

Percent

42

25

40

47

52

37

35

49

46

29

18

34

42

68

25

36

45

57

40

43

s?

se.

1.7

5.4

2.7

3.0

4.5

4.3

1.9

2.7

2.1

2.8

4.0

2.9

3.1

3.5

3.4

3.4

3.1

2.8

2.6

2.3

Which party has the

most members in

U.S. Senate?

Percent

69

54

66

72

80

67

63

75

74

51

4

37

62

77

88

55

63

74

79

65

71

se.

1.4

5.7

2.9

3.0

3.2

4.7

2.1

2.5

1.5

3.4

5.2

2.3

2.9

2.2

4.2

3.7

2.9

2.6

2.7

1.7

Whatarethefirstl O

amendmentsto the

U.S. Constitution

called?

Percent

46

51

50

47

46

24

42

51

51

28

7

36

55

73

25

38

53

62

46

46

se.

1.6

5.6

3.1

3.2

4.3

4.2

2.0

2.4

1.8

3.0

2.6

2.6

3.5

3.2

3.3

3.7

3.0

3.3

2.9

1.9

Which party is in

favor of the larger

defense budget?

Percent

47

31

58

53

41

27

40

56

50

39

16

39

53

73

28

35

56

64

52

44

se.

1.5

5.3

2.9

3.7

3.7

4.0

2.4

2.6

1.8

3.2

3.6

2.8

3.4

3.1

3.8

4.0

3.2

3.3

2.8

2.0

Knowledge score

of 3 or more3

(Set A or Set B)

Percent

55

39

55

62

58

49

46

65

61

36

15

43

67

84

32

46

62

73

53

56

se.

1.1

3.1

2.1

1.9

2.8

3.6

1.6

1.8

1.2

2.4

2.8

1.6

2.3

1.6

2.9

2.6

2.0

2.0

1.8

1.3
Table 3.--Percent of U.S. adults who correctly answered selected questions measuring knowledge about government, by selected characteristics: 1996

--Continued

1 Due to the requirements of another component of the NHES :96, two sets of questions were asked. One set was administered to each of two randomly selected split half samples,

Subsamples were weighted to national population totals.

~ “Speaker of the House of Representatives,” “Congressman, ” or “Representative” were all correct answers to this question.

Knowledge score was computed by adding the number of correct answers to the five questions (either Set A or Set B) the respondent was asked. The possible scores were O to 5.

4 This question was asked of all respondents whose households contained members age 18 or younger and who were at least 12 years older than those chiIdren. “Parent” includes

stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: se. is standard error. Numbers may not add to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult Civic Involvement component.
Table 4.--Percent of U.S. adults repofiing community participation, by selected characteristics: 1996

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18 -24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 -39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40 -54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55 -69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Less than high school

High school diploma/equivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,0000r less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001- 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001-50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,0010r more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or younger

in househo1d2

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Type

Memberofan

organization

Percent

59

46

52

62

66

72

59

58

60

55

45

49

62

78

47

53

60

71

57

60

se.

1.3

4.7

1.9

2.2

2.6

3.8

1.8

1.9

1.5

2.1

4.4

1.8

2.8

1.8

2.9

2.9

2.3

2.0

1.9

1.7

]fcommunityp artil

Attended religious

services oncea

month

Percent

50

38

42

52

61

64

55

45

48

57

50

49

49

53

51

51

47

51

50

50

more

se.

1.3

4.1

2.0

2.8

2.8

3.5

t.6

1.9

1.5

2.3

3.8

2.4

2.7

2.4

3.3

2.8

2.4

2.2

2.1

1.6

ation

Didongoing

community service

Percent

39

30

41

42

38

33

42

35

39

39

19

33

44

52

29

36

39

48

48

33

se.

1.2

4.6

2.3

2.6

2.7

3.4

1.7

1.9

1.5

2.2

2.7

2.0

2.9

2.5

2.7

2.5

2.1

2.5

2.3

1.7

Participated in all

three types’

Percent

25

13

22

28

30

28

28

21

24

26

13

21

28

34

17

25

24

31

27

23

~ Member ofanorgantition andatiendti religious semices once amontior more anddidongoing comunitysenice.

se.

1.0

3.0

1.9

2.4

2.7

3.3

1.4

1.5

1.3

2.0

2.6

1.8

2.5

2.3

2.1

2.1

1.9

2.1

1.8

1.3

“ This question wasasked ofallresWnden~ whose households con@ined members age180r younger andwhowere at least 12years

older than those children. “Parent” includes stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: s.e. isstandard error. Numbers maynotadd tototals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult

Civic Involvement component.

8
Table 5.--Percent of U. S.adults reporting political participation, by selected characteristics: 1996

Type of political participation

During the past 5

Du g the past I 2 mon years...

Attended a public

~orrtributed money

to a candidate,

political party, or

political cause

Number

thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Worked for a

andidate, political

party, or political

cause

Vrote, telephoned,

x signed petition

about an issue

Characteristic ‘ercent who voted

Participated in a /Oted in a national nd participated in

JOycott

.

one other type —1

se.

0.6

2.5

0.9

1.0

1.3

0.6

0.9

0.7

0.6

1.3

1.5

0.8

I .0

1.5

1.1

1.0

1.3

I.1

0.9

0.8

or state

Percent

74

49

69

78

87

88

74

75

80

57

51

68

so

91

61

71

79

84

71

76

ection

se.

0.9

4.1

1.9

2.2

2.0

2.3

1.5

1.6

1.2

2.2

3.8

2.0

1.9

I .4

2.6

2.4

1.7

1.6

1.8

1.1

me

Percent

28

21

25

35

35

21

25

31

28

28

13

24

31

40

18

24

31

37

31

27

%

se.

1.1

3.9

2.0

2.4

3.1

3.0

1.6

1.9

1.3

2.3

2.9

1.7

2.4

2.3

2.7

2.2

2.1

2.6

1.8

1.4

]rotest (

‘ercent

5

7

6

6

4

1

6

4

5

6

1

4

5

10

3

5

6

6

6

5

Percent

15

3

11

18

23

20

13

17

15

14

7

10

16

25

10

9

13

25

14

15

Percent

6

1

5

6

9

5

6

6

5

6

3

5

4

10

4

4

4

9

5

6

‘ercent

33

31

33

39

34

22

33

33

37

21

7

27

41

50

21

27

37

45

36

31

‘ercent

44

se.

1.2

4.1

2.0

2.4

3.4

3.3

1.8

1.8

1.4

2.2

3.4

2.2

2,7

2.2

3.2

2.6

2.2

2.2

2.2

1.6

se.

0.8

1.2

1.2

1.6

2.5

2.3

1.0

1.3

0.9

1.6

2.0

1.1

2.0

1.7

1.7

1.3

I .3

2.0

I .3

1.1

se.

0.5

0.6

0.9

1.0

1.6

1.6

0.7

0.8

0.6

1.1

1.1

0.8

0.8

1.4

1.2

1.1

0.9

1.2

0.9

0.6

se.

1.1

4.3

1.8

2.2

3.0

2.8

1.6

1.6

1.2

2.1

2.2

1.7

2.5

2.6

2.6

2.7

2.0

2.2

1.8

1.4

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18- 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25- 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40- 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55-69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/etbmicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

a

Highest level of education

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . High school diploma/equivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . .

Household income:

$15,000 or less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001- 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001-50,000

$50,001 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or younger

in household

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29

40

53

52

39

41

47

48

33

15

37

51

65

27

37

49

59

47

43

1 Includes persons who voted in the past 5 years and did at least one of the following activities during the past 12 months: contributed monev to a candidate. Dolitical narty. or tJolitical

cause; worked (as a volunteer or for pay) for a candidate, political party, or political cause; wrote, telephoned, or signed petition about an issue; attended a public meeting; p~rticipated

. . . . . .

in a protest or boycott.

2 This question was asked of all respondents whose households contained members age 18 or younger and who were at least 12 years older than those children. “Parent” includes

stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: se. is standard error. Numbers may not add to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult Civic Involvement component.
Table 6.--Percent of U.S. adults reporting community and political participation, by indexes of reading activity, source of national news, knowledge of

government, and community participation: 1996

Levi

None

.—Level of commu )f political participation

One type

:y participation]

Index Two types Three or more

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reading activity3

None orone type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Twoor three types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Frequent source of national news4 . . .

 .

Neither newspaper/news

magazine nor television radio . . . . . .

Newspaper/magazine and/or

televisionhadio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. Score on knowledge index5

0

0t02 correct answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3t05 correct answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Community participation

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Onetype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Twotypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Three types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

None Three types One or two types

t y[

Percent

:s

se.

1.1

2.5

1.2

1.7

1.2

1.9

1.5

1.6

2.8

2.7

2.4

Percent se. Percent se. Percent se. Percent se. Percent se. Percent se.

188,233

25,800

162,432

38,298

149,935

84,839

103,394

50,761

44,147

46,834

46,490

27

39

25

35

25

33

22

1.3

.3.6

1.4

3.5

1.3

1.8

1.6

23

28

23

24

23

25

22

1.1

3.3

1.2

2.4

1.2

1.7

1.5

25

21

26

22

26

23

27

1.0

2.9

1.0

2.6

1.1

1.7

1.4

i25

13

27

19

26

20

29

1.0

2.4

1.2

1.9

1.2

1.3

1.4

19

42

16

37

15

33

8

32

23

12

8

1.0

3.9

0.9

2.7

0.9

1.9

0.9

2.3

2.5

1.7

1.4

50

45

51

48

51

50

51

52

52

51

46

1.5

3.9

1.3

2.8

1.4

1.9

1.5

2.4

2.7

2.7

2.7

31

13

33

16

34

18

41

16

25

37

46

1

2

3

A

5

Community participation is based on three measures: membership in any organization, having attended religious services once a month or more, and having participated in ongoing

communitv service.

Political pmticipation is based on six measures: having voted in a national or state election within the past 5 years or, within the past 12 months, having done the following: contributed

money to a candidate, political party, or political cause; worked (as a voIunteer or for pay) for a candidate, political party, or political cause; wrote or telephoned an editor or public

oftlcial or signed a petition about an issue; attended a public meeting such as a town meeting, a political rally, or a meeting of a neighborhood organization; or participated in a protest or

boycott.

Types of reading activity were reld a newspaper at least once a week, rcld one or more magazines on a regular basis, or read any books in the past 6 months.

Frequent source of mtional news was defined as reading about the national news in a newspaper or news magazine almost every day and/or watching the national news on television or

listening to the natioml news on the radio almost every day.

Score is the sum of correct answers to five questions; possible scores are O to 5. Two sets of questions were asked, one to each of two randomly selected split half samples. Subsamples

were weighted to national population totals.

NOTE: se. is standard error. Numbers may not add to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Natioml Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult Civic Involvement component.
Table 7.--Percent of U.S. adults holding various opinions about statements related to political efficacy and

democratic values, by selected characteristics: 1996

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Less than high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school diploma/equivalent

or vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,000 or less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001- 30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001- 50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,001 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or

younger in household* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Politics and

government are too

complicated to

understand

Percent

37

38

34

36

38

51

43

32

36

43

63

46

30

16

53

43

34

23

36

39

se.

1.1

4.9

2.2

2.6

3.1

3.0

1.6

1.7

1.2

2.6

4.0

2.1

2.4

1.9

3.1

2.8

1.9

1.8

1.9

1.4

Adults who res

Own family has no

say

in what federal

government does

Percent

42

41

46

41

39

42 ~

45

39

43

4U

60

49

40

25

50

48

41

34

46

41

se.

1.1

4.5

2.1

2.4

2.9

3.4

1.5

1.8

1.3

2.7

3.8

2.0

2.5

1.8

2.5

2.4

2.2

2.1

1.9

1.5

xrded tha t

A person should be

allowed to make a

speech against

-.J4

Percent

83

88

88

86

77

64

81

85

84

80

70

79

88

93

73

82

83

92

86

81

on

se.

0.9

2.5

1.4

1.6

2.4

3.7

1.4

1.3

1.0

2.2

3.6

1.6

1.4

1.3

2.5

1.7

1.6

1.3

1.5

1.2

1 book most people

isapprove of should

be kept out of a

-P!!!2E

Percent

45

35

36

43

58

68

47

42

43

54

73

52

39

24

60

54

40

31

42

47

* This question was asked of all respondents whose households contained members age 18 or younger and who were at least 12 years

brary

se.

1.2

4.1

2.1

2.6

3.0

3.5

1.8

1.7

1.4

2.4

3.3

2.1

2.6

2.1

3.0

2.8

2.5

2.3

2.0

1.7

older than those children. “Parent” includes stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: se. is standard error. Numbers may not add to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult

Civic Involvement component.

11
Table 8.--Percent of U.S. adults holding various opinions about skills related to civic participation, by selected

characteristics: 1996

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18.24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 . 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40. 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55.69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethnicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

,

Highest level of education

L.essthan high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school diploma/equivalent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree orhigher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,000 or less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001 -30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001 -50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,0010r more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 180r

younger in household*

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Adults whorespol

Could write a letter to

government

official that clearly states

hislher

Percent

92

95

94

94

92

82

92

93

93

92

77

91

97

99

81

92

95

99

94

92

pinion

se.

0.7

1.9

1.1

1.3

1.5

2%4

1.0

1.0

0.8

1.5

2.9

1.3

0.8

0.3

2.4

1.4

1.1

0.5

1.2

0.9

ied that they . . .

Could make a comment or

statement

at a public meeting

Percent

85

86

89

85

84

71

81

89

84

86

69

83

87

94

74

81

90

92

89

82

se.

0.9

3.5

1.4

1.8

2.2

3.0

1.2

1.5

1.0

1.8

3.5

1.6

1.6

1.1

2.3

2.0

1.3

1.2

1.4

1.2

* This question was asked of all respondents whose households contained members age 18 or younger and who were at least 12 years

older than those children. “Paren~” includes stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: s.e. isstandard error. Numbers maynotadd tototals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult

Civic Involvement component.

12
Table 9.--Percent of U.S. adults reporting that selected actions would improve public education a great deal, by

selected characteristics: 1996

Actions to improve public education

Characteristic

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

18 -24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 -39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40 -54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

55 -69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

70 andolder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sex

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race/ethnicity

White, non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other race/ethrticity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Highest level of education

Lessthan high school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

High school diploma\equivaIent or

vocational education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . .

Household income

$15,0C-t) or less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$15,001 -30,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$30,001 -50,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$50,001 or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Parent with child age 18 or

younger in household*

Yes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number

(thousands)

188,233

21,345

64,157

50,442

31,396

20,893

98,437

89,795

143,297

44,936

23,823

73,185

47,621

43,604

38,583

47,833

49,502

52,315

71,646

116,587

Enforcing stricter

discipline in school

Percent

53

39

46

56

63

67

52

54

53

53

53

54

53

51

52

51

54

55

51

54

se.

1.2

4.8

2.0

2.4

3.1

3.1

1.8

1.8

1.3

2.7

3.9

1.8

2.5

2.6

2.6

2.7

2.3

2.5

2.1

1.6

Not promoting

students until they

neet strict academit

startdards

63

61

60

64

67

65

62

63

64

60

62

66

67

53

63

65

63

61

62

63

se.

1.3

4.5

2.2

1.9

‘ 2.7

3.7

1.6

1.8

1.5

2.5

3.7

2.3

2.3

3.0

3.2

2.7

2.2

2.4

2.1

1.6

Evaluating teachers

according to high

performance

standards

Percent

69

69

66

70

69

74

69

68

69

68

65

69

75

64

69

65

71

71

67

70

se,

1.2

3.5

2.4

2.4

2.9

3.1

1.4

2.0

1.3

2.4

4.4

1.8

2.2

2.7

2.7

2.7

1.9

1.9

1.9

1.3

Making the school

year longer

Percent

19

8

18

22

21

25

18

21

16

30

29

17

20

17

25

18

16

20

18

20

se.

1.0

2.1

1.7

2.1

2.7

2.8

1.3

1.7

1.1

2.1

3.3

1.9

1.8

1.9

2.5

2.1

1.7

2.1

1.4

1.5

* This question was asked of all respondents whose households contained members age 18 or younger and who were at least 12 years

older than those children. “Parent” includes stepparent or guardian.

NOTE: s.e. is standard error. Numbers maynotadd tototals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996, Adult

Civic Involvement component.

13
Technical Notes

Survey Methodology

The NHES: 96 was conducted for the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education

Statistics, by Westat. Data collection took place from January through mid-April of 1996. The sample

was selected using list-assisted, random-digit-dialing (RDD) methods and is nationally representative of

all civilian, noninstitutionalized persons in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. As with the other

NHES administrations, data were collected using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI)

technology.

For the Civic Involvement component, questions were administered to 9,258 parents of 6th through

12th grade students, to 8,044 students in 6th through 12th grade, and to 2,250 adults 18 year> of age or

older who were not enrolled in 12th grade or below and were not on active duty in the armed forces.

The adults composed a separate random sample. This report is based on the responses of those

randomly selected adults.

Sample Selection

The sampling method used for the NHES:96 was a list-assisted, random-digit-dialing method. 1 The

list-assisted method is a single-stage, uncluttered method in which a simple random sample of telephone

numbers is selected from all telephone numbers that are in 100-banks (the set of numbers with the same

first 8 digits) in which there is at least one residential telephone number listed in the white page

directory. Telephone numbers in this listed stratum include both listed and unlisted nunmers. To

support the research goals of the NHES: 96, telephone numbers in smaller states and telephone numbers

in areas with high percentages of blacks and Hispanics were stratified and sampled at higher rates.

Approximately 161,400 telephone numbers were sampled. After sampling, they were randomly

divided into two groups. One group, consisting of 95 percent of the numbers, became the pool of

numbers in which a screening interview would be administered and then a Parent and Youth interview,

encompassing the Parent and Farnil y Involvement in Education component and the Civic Involvement

component, would be administered in eligible households. The other group of telephone numbers

became the pool in which the same screening interview would be administered and the Adult Civic

Involvement interview would be attempted in each household. Of the 55,838 completed screening

interviews, 53,211 interviews (95.3 percent) were completed in households assigned to the parent and

youth sample, and 2,627 interviews (4.7 percent) were completed in households assigned to the adult

sample. One adult in each household in the adult sample was randomly sampled for the Civic

Involvement interview with equal probability of selection.

Response Rates

The response rate for the screening interview was 70 percent. The Adult Civic Involvement interview

completion rate, that is, the percentage of interviews conducted with the sampled adults, was 84

percent. Thus, the overall response rate for the interview was 59 percent (the product of the Screener

response rate and the Adult Civic Involvement interview completion rate).

‘ Casady, R.J., and Lepkowski, J.M. 1993. “Stratified Telephone Survey Designs. ” Survey Methodology, 19(1), 103-113.
For the NHES:96, the item nonresponse rate (failure to complete some items in an otherwise completed

interview) was very low. For some items in the interview, a response of” don’t know” or refused was

accepted as a legitimate response. Using an imputation method called a hot-deck procedure,2 responses

were imputed for missing values (i. e., “ don’t know” or “refused” for items not specifically designated

to have those legitimate response categories or “not ascertained”). AS a result, no missing values

remain. The item nonresponse rates for variables in this report were generally less than ! percent;

nearly all had nonresponse of less than 3 percent.

Data Reliability

Estimates produced using data from the NHES :96 Adult Civic Involvement component are subject to

two types of error, sampling and nonsampling errors. Sampling errors occur because the data are

collected from a sample rather than a census of the population. Nonsampling error is the term used to

describe variations in the estimates that may be caused by population coverage limitations and data

collection, processing, and reporting procedures. The sources of nonsarnpling errors are typically

problems like unit and item nonresponse, the differences in respondents’ interpretations of the meaning

of the questions, response differences related to the particular time the survey was conducted, and

mistakes in data preparation.

In general, it is difficult to identify and estimate either the am~nt of nonsampling error or the bias

caused by this error. In the NHES: 96, efforts were made to prevent such errors from occurring and to

compensate for them where possible. For instance, during the survey design phase, focus groups and

cognitive laboratory interviews were conducted for the purpose of assessing respondent knowledge of

the topics, comprehension of questions and terms, and the sensitivity of items. The design phase also

entailed extensive CATI instrument testing and a multi-phase field test in which about 3,200 Screeners,

over 950 parent interviews, about 300 youth interviews, and nearly 40 adult interviews were

conducted.

The objective of the NHES:96 Adult Civic Involvement component is to make inferences about the

entire civilian, noninstitutionalized population age 18 years or older and not enrolled in 12th grade or

below. An important nonsampling error for a telephone survey is the failure to include persons who do

not live in households with telephones.3 The estimates were adjusted to totals of both telephone and

nontelephone households derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to achieve this goal. The

first step was the weighting associated with the sample of telephone numbers. A household weight was

developed to account for the list-assisted sampling of telephone numbers, including the sampling rate

differences for smaller states and by minority concentration strata. The weight was also adjusted for

households that had more than one telephone number, hence more than one chance of being included in

the sample. The household weight was the base weight for the subsequent weighting steps, which

resulted in person-level weights, i.e., weights used to estimate the number of persons with different

person-level characteristics. These steps included adjusting for nonresponse and raking to known

population totals from the CPS.

2 For additional information on the hot-deck procedure, see Kalton, G., and Kasprzyk, D. 1986. “The Treatment of Missing

Survey Data.” Survey Methodology, 12 (1):1-16.

3 For additional information on telephone coverage issues and estimation procedures to correct for coverage biases, see J. M.

Brick, Undercoverage Bias in Estimates of Characteristics of Households in the 1996 National Household Education SuNey.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES working paper

(forthcoming).

15
Due to the requirements of another component in the NHES:96, two versions of a five-item

knowledge of government test were developed and administered to split half samples. The half samples

were randomly determined by the telephone number of the household; therefore, they were not precisely

equivalent to each other in terms of the demographic characteristics of adults. For the analysis presented

in this report, the weights for the half samples were standardized to national population totals. In

constructing the knowledge scale that is based on the sum of correct answers to the set of five questions

administered to the respondent, the standardized weights were divided by two, so that the totals sum to the

population totals. Specific standardization procedures are described in the NHES:96 Data File User’s

Manual, Volume 1 (Collins et al. forthcoming).

Sampling Error

The sample of households with telephones selected for the NHES :96 Adult Civic Involvement

component is just one of many possible samples that could have been selected. Therefore, estimates

produced from the NHES:96 sample may differ from estimates that would have been produced from

other samples. This type of variability is called sampling error because it arises from using a sample of

households with telephones, rather than all households with telephones.

The standard error is a measure of the variability due to sampling when estimating a statistic; standard

errors for estimates presented in this report were computed Using a jackknife replication method.

Standard errors can be used as a measure of the precision expected from a particular sample. The

probability that a complete census count would differ from the sample estimate by less than 1 standard

error is about 68 percent. The chance that the difference would be less than 1.65 standard errors is

about 90 percent; and that the difference would be less than 1.96 standard errors, about 95 percent.

Standard errors for all of the estimates are presented in the tables. These standard errors can be used

to produce confidence intervals. For example, an estimated 85 percent of adults reported that they read

a newspaper at least once a week. This figure has an estimated standard error of 1.0. Therefore, the

estimated 95 percent confidence interval for this statistic is approximately 83 to 87 percent.

The Rae-Scott adjusted Chi-square statistic was used as the significance test for table 6. For the other

tables in this report, the statistic used was Student’s t. As the number of comparisons at the same

significance level increases, it becomes more likely that at least one of the estimated differences will be

significant merely by chance, that is, it will be erroneously identified as different from zero. Even

when there is no statistical difference between the means or percentages being compared, there is a 5

percent chance of getting a significant t value of 1.96 from sampling error alone. As the number of

comparisons increases, the chance of making this type of error also increases.

A Bonferroni adjustment was used to correct significance tests for multiple comparisons. This method

adjusts the significance level for the total number of comparisons made with a particular classification

variable. All the differences cited in this report are significant at the 0.05 level of significance after a

Bonferroni adjustment.