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.
For more information, see the test rules or register for the test.
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 22-28, 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.
###