U.S. Department of Education Launches the Presidential 1776 Award to Celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced the launch of the Presidential 1776 Award, a nationwide competition recognizing exceptional student knowledge of the American founding. This award program establishes a national scholarship contest that evaluates students' understanding of civics and the principles that shaped the United States.

High school students will compete in three rounds of multiple-choice and verbal examinations developed independently by the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation. Three winners will receive scholarships totaling $250,000, with the national finals to be held in Washington, D.C. in June 2026.

"What better way to get our students excited about learning more of our nation's deep and rich history than a friendly competition meant to challenge high schoolers to show off their knowledge of our great nation's founding ideals?" said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "As we prepare to celebrate America's 250th birthday, this competition is an opportunity for young people to push themselves, learn our history, and take pride in the principles that unite us. I am grateful to the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation and all of the educators, partners, and families who are helping to make this effort possible. Game on!"

"The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is honored to serve independently as both the writers of the questions and the judges for the Presidential 1776 Award," said Executive Secretary and CEO of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation Julie E. Adams. "Our James Madison Fellows are among the best teacher-scholars on the U.S. Constitution and the American Founding and they will write challenging but fair questions for the intrepid students who take part in the award. The knowledge of American civics and history is vital to the survival of the Republic. We agree with our namesake James Madison who wrote in 1822, 'Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.'"

"There's something truly inspiring about young people today rising to the occasion with the same grit and curiosity that fueled the founding of our great nation so long ago," said Executive Vice President of EBSCO Kristin Delwo. "The EBSCOed team is thrilled to deliver the secure digital experiences that comprise the Presidential 1776 Award program and recognize the achievements of all competitors with validated Learning & Employment Records (LERs) that they can build upon for a lifetime at LER.me."

The Presidential 1776 Award competition unfolds in three distinct stages designed to identify and celebrate high school students' knowledge of America's founding:

• In Round One, held during the week of February 22 to 28, 2026, students take The Impossible Civics Test, an online, timed, electronically proctored multiple-choice exam. Students have 90 minutes to answer up to 4000 randomized civics and founding history questions in three 30-minute sections of increasing difficulty. Answers will be graded on a weighted system that accounts for both the number of correct responses and the difficulty of each question. This serves as the qualifying round, and four finalists from each state are selected.
• In Round Two, held in May 2026, the finalists from each state advance to five regional semifinals, which consist of short answer verbal competitions held simultaneously across the country. The top four students from each region move on to the national final.
• Round Three, the National Final, will take place in Washington, D.C. at the end of June 2026. Students will answer short answer verbal questions and will be awarded a point for each correct answer. The top three winners receive scholarships of up to $150,000.

Background

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is a government entity established by Congress after the Bicentennial in 1986 with a mission to improve the teaching of the U.S. Constitution in secondary schools throughout the nation.

The Presidential 1776 Award is one of the Department's initiatives to celebrate America's 250th Birthday. The Department has also separately launched the History Rocks! Trail to Independence Tour, coordinated with the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, a national partnership with the America First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College, and more than 50 national and state organizations. This coalition is dedicated to advancing civic education and expanding opportunities for students to learn about the ideas, individuals, and events that define the American story.

To learn more about the Department's America 250 initiatives, including the Presidential 1776 Award, please visit the site here.

Contact

Tags