The Annenberg Civics Knowledge Survey, conducted since 2006, focuses on the public’s understanding of the Constitution of the United States. Since 2013, the civics knowledge survey has been conducted annually for Constitution Day (Sept. 17) as the Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey. Among the most recent findings:
- In 2020, over half of Americans (51%) were able to name all three branches of government – the highest level seen in this survey.
- Asked to name the five rights protected by the First Amendment, in 2020 73% of Americans named freedom of speech — up from 48% in 2017. In fact, Americans’ ability to name all five rights increased substantially since the question was asked in 2017 — perhaps as a result of controversies that have highlighted those rights in the news media.