November 25, 2008
AMERICANS, INCLUDING ELECTED OFFICIALS, EARN A FAILING GRADE WHEN TESTED ON AMERICAN HISTORY AND ECONOMICS
From the American Civic Literacy Program website:
Are most people, including college graduates, civically illiterate? Do elected officials know even less than most citizens about civic topics such as history, government, and economics? The answer is yes on both counts according to a new study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). More than 2,500 randomly selected Americans took ISI’s basic 33 question test on civic literacy and more than 1,700 people failed, with the average score 49 percent, or an “F.” Elected officials scored even lower than the general public with an average score of 44 percent and only 0.8 percent (or 21) of all surveyed earned an “A.” Even more startling is the fact that over twice as many people know Paula Abdul was a judge on American Idol than know that the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” comes from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Complete results from ISI’s third study on American civic literacy are being released today in a report entitled Our Fading Heritage: Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions. The new study follows up two previous reports from ISI’s National Civic Literacy Board that revealed a major void in civic knowledge among the nation’s college students. This report goes beyond the college crowd however, examining the civic literacy of everyday citizens, including selfidentified elected officials. But according to ISI, the blame and solution again lie at the doorstep of the nation’s colleges.
More here.
Take the quiz yourself here. I was proud that my Italian wife managed to score 10% higher than the average American college graduate (she got 67%), but then in my infinite arrogance, I lost a dishwashing bet with her that I could ace the quiz by getting three answers wrong! :-)
I did eke out an 'A' though! Report your own score in the comments.
Posted by Abbas Raza at 04:18 AM | Permalink
Comments
30/33=90.9%
Posted by: IdaReggaeMon | Nov 25, 2008 4:37:20 AM
I challenge that some of these question have anywhere close to as simple an answer as the test posits. Eg:
31) International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?
The answer they want is clearly A), an increase in a nation’s productivity. But what about C), a decrease in a nation’s standard of living. There are, indeed, serious economic arguments that for the U.S., economic liberalization will lead to exactly that over the medium term, at least in the absence of meaning social programs. This doesn't mean it's a bad idea - the country has been living outside its means for years. But it appears this test sticks with the old market fundamentalist truths. Maybe I'm mis-interpreting "trade" as "free-trade," or there is some other argument of wording to be had.
Some of the other economic questions were the same way. It was clear which answer they wanted, yet the actually answer was less clear, and somewhat of a combination of the possibilities.
Before I rattle on, the bottom-line: we need to stop treating economics the same way we treat historical fact, and start treating it like a real science. This test does not do that.
(BTW, my score was an 87.88%, missing questions 7, 8, 10, and 33, with 10 being the most embarrassing, and 33 being questionable.)
Posted by: Cyrus Hall | Nov 25, 2008 5:04:59 AM
28/33 is 85% for me. not bad, considering I'm British. Most of the ones I missed were US history ones, and I'm with Cyrus in thinking that 33 is questionable - the way it's phrased could imply that spending on each individual is equal to the tax they pay, which is clearly not true. It's more accurate to say that government debt is zero for that year. Still, these are quibbles. Good quiz, depressing results.
Posted by: Nik | Nov 25, 2008 5:49:14 AM
I also had a problem with 33. Ambiguous to say the least. 91% (three wrong).
Posted by: Pietr Hitzig | Nov 25, 2008 6:43:21 AM
I found the questions about capitalism and the market more ideological than soberly factual, and would have wanted to see quite different questions there, or at least different wording.
Anyway, I got 30 out of 33. I am American, but have not lived in the States for, oh, long enough to have kids and see them grow up. So am quite proud of myself. On the other hand, I have had a ridiculous amount of education. I've practically got a degree in getting degrees. So I suppose it's not surprising.
As for those politicians who turn out to know so dismally little: if this survey really does represent them, then shame. You'd think they would pick up the gist of these things in the process of informing themselves of their business.
Posted by: Michael | Nov 25, 2008 6:57:32 AM
33/33 for me (also British, but I did live in the States for a few years)
Posted by: Mar | Nov 25, 2008 7:08:30 AM
petersacks
I got four wrong, so my standardized mind weighs in at 87.88% of the perfect standardized mind. It's terrible to deviate by so many percentage points! ;-)
Posted by: CriticalMassI | Nov 25, 2008 8:14:31 AM
33/33! I can't wait to go back offshore and show the Obama-haters I work with this quiz.
Posted by: James | Nov 25, 2008 8:33:35 AM
4 Wrong 87.6%
Posted by: aguy109 | Nov 25, 2008 9:15:57 AM
You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 %
Average score for this quiz during November: 78.1%
Average score: 78.1%
Whew, I'm not stupid. I always wondered.
Posted by: messiestobjects | Nov 25, 2008 10:03:13 AM
93.9%
The economic questions are pretty laughable. Apparently the ISI, who conducts/designs this quiz, is some kind of libertarian outfit (sample site headings from their homepage: "Western Civilization"; "Free Markets and Civil Society"; "America's Security"; Conservative Thought" - http://www.isi.org/about_isi.html ).
In that sense, I'm tempted to view their purported discovery of rampant voter stupidity as part of the surprisingly common right-wing trend of quizzing voters on right-wing talking points then claiming "civic illiteracy" when they fail. (See the "How Obama Won" video on YouTube.)
At the same time, ideological silliness aside, there is no reason for elected officials to score so abysmally low on this type of test, even if the questions are biased. So I have no idea what's going on there.
Posted by: K | Nov 25, 2008 10:29:42 AM
Poor Southern college art student gets 84%.
Posted by: Nick Adams | Nov 25, 2008 10:40:43 AM
30/32
Missed #7 and #14 because I thought the Prudies were more pacifist than misanthropic and because I haven't read the Gettysburg Address(in its entirety) in almost a decade.
Posted by: s. weynard miller | Nov 25, 2008 10:43:49 AM
whoops, make that 30/33, i guess i was annoyed by getting question #33 wrong and wanted to disqualify it :)
Posted by: s.weynard miller | Nov 25, 2008 10:47:50 AM
31/33 for 94%
Missed #11 (should have gotten that one) and #15 (couldn't remember where the "wall of separation" phrase came from. Oh well.)
Posted by: heyref | Nov 25, 2008 10:54:56 AM
Hats off to Margit, Nik, Mar and aguy109 for knowing more than Americans born and bred, including this one. I scored so low I can't remember the number.
Years ago, I helped a Salvadoran neighbor prep for his US citizenship test by reading off the questions to him and checking his answers against the answers in the booklet. Had we both taken the test just after the prep session, he would have scored higher than I. If he has held onto what he learned in order to pass the test, he would score higher than I on this one, too.
I like John Allen Paulos's tests MUCH better.
Posted by: Elatia Harris | Nov 25, 2008 10:59:49 AM
4 wrong...and to think I was almost a high school history/civics teacher.
Posted by: payeras | Nov 25, 2008 12:00:07 PM
30/33. The pitch of the bias of the questions-included vs. the questions-left-out, fairly much disqualifies the test as representative or indicative of common and consequent knowledge.
I missed the 'trick' questions. It's not nice to try to fool Uncle Sam.
Indeed, it's sorta subversive; at least, insubordinate. Damn Libertarians. There was no recognition of Populists and Anarchists, two on-going movements which are of vital importance to the improvement of America, (present tense).
And there was no mention of the known corruptions and crimes, also of vital importance to improvement as only mistakes make learning.
Posted by: Meremark | Nov 25, 2008 12:10:50 PM
31/33. I was particularly annoyed though that I got the "Gettysburg address" question wrong. I knew that the expression is in Lincoln's speech but second guessed myself that the "source" was the constitution. Oh well!
Posted by: Fawad | Nov 25, 2008 1:23:31 PM
Anyone care to guess at Sarah Palin's score? Maybe she thinks that the president has the right to declare war, or that the Vice-President should have the right.
Posted by: Just wondering | Nov 25, 2008 1:23:41 PM
31/33, which surprises me.
Didn't know just what kind of threat FDR used to pass New Deal legislation. I also didn't know how a 'public good' was defined. I assumed it was as simple as being necessary for a minimal standard of living, and one we would expect our government to provide, at least in part, i.e. bread and medicine.
Posted by: Scott | Nov 25, 2008 4:07:52 PM
31/33; missed #7,8
some were answered via process of elimination though, and the ideological bias was apparent. still; the relative performance of elected officials is pathetic.
Posted by: bifyu | Nov 25, 2008 6:21:58 PM
31/33; missed #7,8
some were answered via process of elimination though, and the ideological bias was apparent. still; the relative performance of elected officials is pathetic.
Posted by: bifyu | Nov 25, 2008 6:22:25 PM
31/33; missed #7,8
some were answered via process of elimination though, and the ideological bias was apparent. still; the relative performance of elected officials is pathetic.
Posted by: bifyu | Nov 25, 2008 6:22:31 PM
31/33; missed #7,8
some were answered via process of elimination though, and the ideological bias was apparent. still; the relative performance of elected officials is pathetic.
Posted by: bifyu | Nov 25, 2008 6:22:36 PM
31/33; missed #7,8
some were answered via process of elimination though, and the ideological bias was apparent. still; the relative performance of elected officials is pathetic.
Posted by: bifyu | Nov 25, 2008 6:22:42 PM
bifyu, I wish you the best on tests of patience, but did you really need to leave your comment FIVE times?
We've had people duplicate, and sometimes, even triplicate comments, but I think this is a first. Why do this?
Congratulations on your high score on the quiz.
Posted by: Abbas Raza | Nov 25, 2008 7:22:20 PM
26/33 or 78.9%, which I think is alright for a Kiwi.
Posted by: HamishM | Nov 25, 2008 9:12:52 PM
Abbas, I think it's possible that bifyu's cat was at the keyboard.
urlesque
Or, a postmodern Archy and Mehitabel team.
toonopedia
This thread reminds me of a Cher joke I saw on television eons ago. She admitted that when she was a child, she thought Mt. Rushmore was a natural phenomenon. OK, how many people can name the faces on Mt. Rushmore?
Posted by: CriticalMassI | Nov 25, 2008 9:14:39 PM
31 out of 33. I missed the last question, as well as the question about the government's response to severe recession. I didn't see a response that said "rape the populace of trillions of dollars", so I kinda blanked on that one. I'm a lifelong libertarian, so the bias of the test worked in my favor.
Posted by: Rob Robertson | Nov 25, 2008 9:34:05 PM
Yes, :) once one cannot see the logical 'rape the populace' response the question is kind of void.
Posted by: HamishM | Nov 25, 2008 10:09:41 PM
GW, BF, TR, & Abe?
Only got an 81 on the test though. Stupid careless errors for the most part. I guessed right on the slavery debates, but I don't even know who Lincoln Douglas is!
Posted by: Carlos | Nov 25, 2008 10:14:34 PM
32/33. It would be interesting to see age correlations. Bet oldies do better than young'uns. They actually taught that stuff when I went to school (late '50s).
Posted by: elbrucce | Nov 26, 2008 1:03:09 AM
I'm an American 22 year old who scored 30/33- missing 6, 27, and 31. I'm not sure how anyone could miss #7 considering Abbas put the answer in his post before the test link...
Posted by: ThinkAfrica | Nov 26, 2008 1:20:41 AM
29 out of 33. Immigrant living in US.
The last question is ill-posed; the correct answer is a tautology, and it is not obvious if a) is for the period (in which case it would also be correct) or accumulated.
Posted by: Umit Ertin | Nov 26, 2008 12:15:48 PM
ThinkAfrica, My excuse for missing #7 is that I took the quiz in about 60 seconds, since I was rushing to get to work.
Posted by: CriticalMassI | Nov 26, 2008 1:28:15 PM
Ugh! I got 70%, and every single question I got wrong was one I had first answered correctly, but second-guessed myself on. I guess that tip they teach you in high school, go with your gut instinct on multiple choice questions, is pretty good advice!
Posted by: Christie | Nov 26, 2008 2:56:04 PM
Ugh! I got 70%, and every single question I got wrong was one I had first answered correctly, but second-guessed myself on. I guess that tip they teach you in high school, go with your gut instinct on multiple choice questions, is pretty good advice!
Posted by: Christie | Nov 26, 2008 2:56:25 PM
Got a 32 out of 33, but really a 31 out of 32 because the post gave away the Gettysburg answer.
The quiz is highly ideological, with some fairly meaningless questions.
Q. 25: corporations are "individual citizens"? Isn't government composed of individual citizens too? Therefore, centralized planning = free market capitalism.
Goofy quiz, but i'm glad i nearly aced it.
Posted by: Khalid | Nov 26, 2008 5:06:50 PM
31/33 for 94%. I'm a lawyer. Who's at all surprised by the poor results?
Posted by: bcintheeb | Nov 28, 2008 7:55:43 PM
31/33 for 94%. I'm a lawyer. Who's at all surprised by the poor results?
Posted by: bcintheeb | Nov 28, 2008 7:55:48 PM
30/33 for me. I missed 7, 8, and 15. 7 and 15 are historical trivia, and 8 I misread the correct answer as meaning "expand the Supreme Court", which is clearly absurd. Still, if I beat 90some percent of Americans... that's pretty bad.
Posted by: don | Nov 28, 2008 10:38:41 PM
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