Anthony Hennen of the Martin Center documents the disturbing dearth of knowledge among college students in the history surrounding this nation’s creation.

Though college leaders constantly remind the public about the value of a college degree, graduates sometimes leave without important knowledge. As Americans celebrate the 4th of July holiday, it’s a good time to reflect on just how little college students know about the Declaration of Independence and American history.

The data are depressing. A 2016 report from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni called the lack of knowledge “a crisis in civic education.” Surveying over 1,000 liberal arts colleges, ACTA found that only 18 percent require an American history course for graduation. Almost 40 percent of college graduates didn’t know that Congress holds the power to declare war. And almost 60 percent couldn’t give one method for ratifying a constitutional amendment. “Instead of demanding content-based coursework, our institutions have, in too many places, supplanted the rigorous study of history and government—the building blocks of civic engagement—with community-service activities,” the report noted. Volunteering near campus may be good for some things, but it’s a bad substitute for learning.

Nor is ACTA the only group to study the failure of American civic education. The Obama-era Department of Education worried that civic ignorance meant fewer young Americans would engage in the democratic process. Groups on the left, such as the Center for American Progress, had similar fears. The problem is well-known, but a solution is less clear.

Some of the concern over students’ ignorance can be dismissed as hand-wringing. The minutiae of historical facts can be forgotten out of context. College students forgetting a few key names and dates, for example, might be embarrassing, but it is also forgivable. But not all the ignorance is so benign, and the legitimate concerns are not focused on knowledge mostly useful during Jeopardy! and trivia nights at the local bar. Many college students don’t know which rights are codified in the Bill of Rights or basic information about the structure and limits of government.

That ignorance cannot be glossed over or defended easily.