Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress for eighth graders in the subjects of civics and history . The results are a national embarrassment. Among eighth graders, just 22% were proficient in civics, and 13% were proficient in history.

Students’ civics scores, in particular, dropped for the first time since the assessment was initiated 25 years ago, while the scores for history have been falling since 2014. It is clear something has gone terribly wrong in our education system, and our students are not learning what they need to know about American civics and history.

This has far-reaching implications that go well beyond the American education system. Student’s inability to demonstrate basic knowledge about the country and the way its government works raises important questions about whether this rising generation of Americans, which includes our future elected leaders, has core civic knowledge, historical perspective, and sense of responsibility required for citizenship in a self-governing society.

History, properly presented, gives us an awareness of our shared story, flaws and all. Civics teaches the way in which all can be included in the American experiment in democracy. Both subjects are critical to acknowledging diversity and advancing inclusion in American society. We can teach students about both our national sins — slavery, segregation, the mistreatment of Native Americans — and our national glories, including the Declaration of Independence, emancipation, and the Civil Rights Movement.

What the NAEP scores show, however, is that we simply are not teaching students much about American history. Our national story should be a key focus of K-12 education, but too often it is sidelined or ignored.

That our middle school students are falling so far short of the mark on history in civics indicates a real crisis of priorities. In a survey that was connected to the latest NAEP assessment, more than one-third of eighth-grade students reported never having taken a civics or history class. We cannot put our faith in citizenship-by-default. We need to take a more active role teaching the rising generation about the rights and duties of citizenship.

As we approach the 250th anniversary of America in 2026, we must do everything we can as a nation to ensure that America’s middle school, high school, and college students have the foundational civic knowledge and awareness of American history that is essential to citizenship in a constitutional democracy. The Semiquincentennial of our national independence is an opportunity for all Americans to come together and remember the principles we fought a revolution to establish, and the sacrifices made by past generations to preserve them. Schoolchildren and students should be just as involved with this commemoration as their parents and grandparents.

States can also take action to improve high school graduation requirements in history and civics, invest in high quality, content-based professional development for teachers, and implement incentives for high-achieving college students to pursue careers as social studies teachers. Private foundations and donors can invest philanthropic dollars in innovative approaches to civics and history instruction and recognition programs for outstanding teachers. Volunteers can get involved in after-school and summer youth civics programs like the YMCA’s Youth in Government program and the American Legion’s Boys State and Girls State program. And parents can put pressure on their school boards and state legislators to make civics and history the priority it needs to be.

These NAEP scores should be a wake-up call to every citizen. As Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” We need to invest in the next generation of citizens and teach them that liberty is a precious heritage. We cannot allow the American civic tradition to go extinct.

Hans Zeiger is president of the Jack Miller Center , a nationwide network of scholars and teachers committed to advancing the core texts and ideas of the American political tradition.