Worked sample
GOV-01 · Read a real fiscal note
Take a real, published fiscal note for a real bill or budget item and explain exactly what it estimates, what assumptions drive the estimate, and what it does not tell you.
Capstone pathways · Government & Policy Analysis
A free government capstone brief bank, grounded in real public sources
Students read a real fiscal note, build an evidence-based stakeholder map, compare how two states handle the same problem, and write the one-page memo a real decision-maker would actually read — every claim sourced to a document the student can produce on request. No AI or tech background required. Free. No account.
The real-source rule
Every finished piece cites sources a reader can independently verify — the actual fiscal note, the actual statute, the actual budget document. No invented figures, votes, or outcomes. An AI tool may optionally help a student summarize a long document during research; it never replaces the primary source.
How to run one
- Students choose the brief. You confirm the real fiscal note, jurisdiction pair, comment batch, or budget document is genuine and current before they proceed.
- Scheduled checkpoints. Score with the five questions below.
- Mentor is advisory — school-supervised, never one-to-one unsupervised.
Featured packet
Catalog (7 briefs on the page)
- GOV-02 · Stakeholder map
Build a real, evidence-based stakeholder map for a currently active policy question — who is affected, how, and what each stakeholder group has actually said in public.
- GOV-03 · Two-state comparison
Compare how two real jurisdictions handle the same policy problem differently, and explain what the difference actually produces.
- GOV-04 · The decision-maker's memo
Write the one-page memo a real decision-maker would actually read before a vote or a decision on a real, currently open policy question.
- GOV-05 · Public comment analysis
Read a real batch of public comments on a rule or bill and summarize the actual range of views — not just the loudest ones.
- GOV-06 · Implementation gap
Compare what a real, already-enacted policy says on paper to how it is actually being implemented, using real evidence of the gap (or its absence).
- GOV-07 · Budget tradeoff
Model a real tradeoff between two funded priorities using actual budget figures from a real, publicly published government budget.
- GOV-08 · Policy retrospective
Evaluate whether a real, already-enacted policy achieved what it set out to do, using the policy's own stated goals and real outcome evidence.
Five-dimension rubric
- R1 — Is one policy question, one decision point, and one analytical task named?
- R2 — Could another student find and open every source cited, using only the citation given?
- R3 — Does the piece use a real analytical tool correctly, not just describe one?
- R4 — Are competing stakeholder perspectives represented, and are gaps in the analysis named?
- R5 — Could a real decision-maker act on this memo without tracking the student down?