My organization, CIRCLE, promotes a set of 19 "core
indicators of civic engagement" as a way of measuring
the level of engagement of any youthful group or community,
and also as a way of assessing the civic impact of a program, class,
or project. These 19 indicators were chosen after an elaborate national
research project managed by Scott Keeter, Cliff Zukin, Molly Andolina,
and Krista Jenkins, who talked to practitioners and young people in
focus groups and then conducted a national survey. Despite its empirical
rigor, their list of indicators provokes an interesting and important
controversy. I have heard the following views expressed: