This document outlines the framework and assessment design for the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Over the past 50 years, IEA has conducted comparative research studies focusing on educational policies, practices, and outcomes in more than 80 countries around the world. The purpose of ICCS is to investigate the ways in which young people in lower secondary schools are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens in a range of countries. The study will report on student achievement on a test of conceptual understandings and competencies in civic and citizenship education and also will collect and analyze data about student dispositions and attitudes relating to civic and citizenship education. Teacher and school questionnaires will gather information about teaching and class-management practices, school governance and climate, and other matters. A national context survey will collect information about civic and citizenship education and its contexts (aspects related to political, cultural, and educational contexts) in each participating country. The study framework also offers "regional modules" that will allow groups of participating countries from the same region to address region-specific issues in civic and citizenship education. The three regional modules established for ICCS relate to Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Appendices include: (1) Institutions and Staff; and (2) Sample Test Items. (Contains 8 footnotes, 3 figures, and 5 tables.) [In co-operation with the IEA Secretariat, the IEA DPC (data processing and research center), and the NRCs (national research coordinators) the following three organizations are responsible for the study's organization: Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), as lead institution; the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in the United Kingdom; and Laboratorio di Pedagogia sperimentale (LPS) at the Roma Tre University in Italy.]