Jätkuuuringu eesmärgid võib võtta kokku kahe põhipunktina: mõõta progressi, mis on toimunud eesti hariduses õppekavareformi tulemusel. Selleks saab kõrvutada 8. Klasside õpilaste tulemusi aastal 1999 ja 2005. - tuua välja muutused noorte hoiakutes, mis illustreerivad Eesti demokraatia ja kodanikeühiskonna arengutrende ja probleeme.
The observations from the case studies were then used to develop an instrument for gathering information about students’ civic knowledge and their civic attitudes and engagement. The content domains covered democracy and citizenship, national identity, and social cohesion and diversity. The instrument consisted of five types of items measuring the students’ knowledge of fundamental principles of democracy; their skills in interpreting political communication; their concepts of democracy and citizenship; their attitudes related to trust in institutions, their nation, opportunities for immigrants, the political rights of women; and their expectations for future participation in civic-related activities.