Most students don't know today is Constitution Day, study reveals

According to a study sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a majority of high school students do not know about Constitution Day, the anniversary of the document's adoption and the day American students are legally required to learn about it, The Associated Press reports. Today is Constitution Day, the anniversary of the completion of the document in 1787.

The study reports that 51 percent of high school students did not know about Constitution Day, and just one in 10 remembered how his high school observed the day last year. Led by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., Congress created the day in 2004 with a law requiring every school that receives federal money to teach its students about the Constitution on or around Sept. 17.

Eric Newton, Knight Foundation journalism-program vice president, told AP he worries that today's students lack an understanding of their nation's democracy. "We're concerned that teaching to the test and the emphasis on math and science is hurting the American civics education," he said.

AP reports that the study also found that 68 percent of students had taken a class related to the First Amendment, up from the with 58 percent who said they had in 2004. For the full report, go here.