One aspect of the ICCS study's measurement of young people's citizen competence is "civic engagement". In this article it is argued that even though the study's assessment captures important aspects of young people's civic engagement, too strong educational reliance on it may contribute to meagrenesss in the educational assignment to see to an engaged citizenry. By providing deeper insight into the ICCS study's assessment rationale, and by presenting qualitatively derived examples of young people's civic engagement, it is suggested that in order to see to fruitful ways of approaching the educational task of providing for young people's civic engagement, we need to maintain openness to different depictions of civic engagement. Among them those that matter as such for the young people themselves in and through the social and material practices they take part in.