Editorial correction — September 20, 2026. This article is now explicitly a review of the 2025 survey, not a current-year update or an operating numerical index. It distinguishes separate samples and knowledge questions from attitudes toward the Court.
The 2025 results
Annenberg’s September 11, 2025 release reported that 70% of U.S. adults could name all three branches of government, compared with 65% in 2024. Seventy-nine percent identified freedom of speech as a First Amendment right, up from 74%.
Separately, 41% expressed at least moderate trust that the Supreme Court was operating in their best interests. The Court questions were asked in March; the civics questions used a different panel in August. These are population findings from separate samples, not evidence that the same people became better informed and less trusting.
Knowing a rule is different from trusting its application
A knowledge question asks whether someone can identify a fact about government. A trust question asks how they regard an institution’s conduct. A person can correctly name the judicial branch and have either high or low confidence in it.
That distinction prevents two shortcuts. Disagreement with the Court does not establish civic ignorance. Correctly naming the branches does not establish that a person endorses every constitutional practice or knows how a specific case should be decided.
A discussion exercise
Choose a public decision that concerns you. First identify which institution made it and what authority it claims. Then separate the legal question, the policy preference and the ethical concern. Write down what evidence would change your view in each category.
This is an original discussion exercise, not a test validated by Annenberg. Its purpose is to make disagreement more specific. Saying “I distrust government” leaves unclear whether the concern is an unlawful act, an unwise policy or a failure to explain a decision honestly.
Standards should survive a change in power
My view is that civic responsibility includes applying a standard when it inconveniences one’s preferred side. Demanding transparent reasoning, fair procedures and meaningful conflict-of-interest protections should not depend on liking the result.
The survey raises useful questions about knowledge and confidence. It does not convert either into a national morality score. The work of self-government continues in how people evaluate evidence, challenge decisions and treat others while doing so.