What's New at PA Forward®

2023 Pennsylvania Library Association Conference Announced

The 2023 PaLA Annual Conference will take place in-person at Kalahari Resort in the beautiful Pocono Mountains. The resort offers […]

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Unite Against Book Bans

Removing and banning books from public libraries is a slippery slope to government censorship and the erosion of our country’s […]

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Pa Forward(R) Launches Virtual Programming Library

Pa Forward(R) is excited to announce the launch of a virtual programming library.  Watch high quality library programming brought to […]

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Civic and Social Literacy

How is civic and social literacy defined?

Engaging in discourse while remaining respectful of other individuals of varying opinions; understanding the importance of community engagement which allows individuals to interact with one another, in a participatory manner; invoking societal change.

Good readers make good citizens. Regular readers are more than twice as likely as non-readers to volunteer or do charity work.

Good readers make good citizens. Regular readers are more than twice as likely as non-readers to volunteer or do charity work.

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Greater civic knowledge is the leading factor in promoting the kind of active civic engagement that has proven to be emblematic of effective citizenship..

Only a quarter of Americans can name all three branches of government; nearly a third of Americans cannot name any of the three branches of government.

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Survey after survey shows that recent college graduates are alarmingly ignorant of America’s history and heritage. They cannot identify the term lengths of members of Congress, the substance of the First Amendment, or the origin of the separation of powers.

39% of Americans cannot name any of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

39% of Americans cannot name any of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.

By the Numbers

  • Only 47% of high school seniors have mastered a minimum level of U.S. history and civics.
  • Only 23% of students performed at or above the proficient level on the 2014 National Assessment of Educational Progress civic assessment.
  • In the 2016 presidential election, high school graduates voted at almost twice the level (47%) than those who did not finish high school (24%). Participation continued to increase with the level of education.
  • Over 1/3 of 18- to 29-year-olds named social media as the most helpful source of information about the 2016 election. Less than half of 18- to 29-year-olds voted in the 2016 election.