America, the ignorant...

#1

therealUT

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#1
Washington, D.C., November 20, 2008 – 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 33question 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.

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/content/our_fading_heritage_11-20-08.pdf

Civic Literacy Report - Civics Quiz

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/additional_finding.html
Great insight...
 
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#6
#6
It seems really strange that an officeholder would not know what makes up the three branches of government. On the other hand, it is pretty well documented that most Americans fail at our own history, and that many immigrants who take the U.S. naturalization exam know more than we do. Also, I highly doubt I would have done as well had I been administered the exam by phone (which was their method), rather than by the internet. Having been a surveyor I can tell you that phone interviews are a pain in the ass because it can become hard to keep track of the answers as time goes on, especially when it is multiple choice instead of a scale / Likert scale. Still, the results are pretty pitiful no matter how you look at it.
 
#8
#8
The last one about tax revenues and expenditures had 2 choices that both seemed only partially right. I'm guessing most of us picked that the debt would be zero if tax revenues equalled government expenditures. If it said deficit, we would be correct but there could have been prior debt so wasn't technically right - however, it was missing information.

The other choice (and right answer) didn't sound right either since it used terms like average tax per individual and average expenditures per person. Technically this is correct but we all know that different individuals contribute different amounts of tax revenue and receive differing amounts of government expenditures. It was a bit misleading if you ask me.
 
#9
#9
91%

Missed 4,7,27

Looks like #27 was the killer on this test.
 
#12
#12
Now I can't remember what I missed - I think I got 27 and 30 correct. Definitely missed 33.
 
#14
#14
It was 4, 15 and 33 that I missed.

Also, why is Sputnik a civics related issue? I know it was big in the space race but really?
 
#15
#15
It was 4, 15 and 33 that I missed.

Also, why is Sputnik a civics related issue? I know it was big in the space race but really?
some of it mattered, but most was trivia.

who cares where Jefferson penned the "wall of separation?" I just want people to know that he did pen it and the idea has become a part of what we believe to be right. Same with "government of the people...."
 
#16
#16
Obviously, there is an enormous subjective component to deciding what 33 questions will yield a proper index of people's level of knowledge of "civics."

Such tests are great in pop culture, and the headlines about how many people "fail" them make people shake their heads at how stupid the rest of the country is and is getting (as in this thread), but neither the test nor the results is defensible as relaible in any sense of that word.
 
#18
#18
32/33 96.97%

Missed #28

I've had this discussion with both my sons...One is in college at UT-Martin and the other is a soph in high school...During the election, they were both asking me questions they should easily already know...Civics is not being taught in school like it was when I was in high school.....80-84....
 
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#20
#20
and ppl wander why I think this past election was a joke. Most people have no idea who or what they are voting for.
 
#21
#21
Obviously, there is an enormous subjective component to deciding what 33 questions will yield a proper index of people's level of knowledge of "civics."

Such tests are great in pop culture, and the headlines about how many people "fail" them make people shake their heads at how stupid the rest of the country is and is getting (as in this thread), but neither the test nor the results is defensible as relaible in any sense of that word.

Sounds like someone didn't do so good on the test...
 
#23
#23
Obviously, there is an enormous subjective component to deciding what 33 questions will yield a proper index of people's level of knowledge of "civics."

Such tests are great in pop culture, and the headlines about how many people "fail" them make people shake their heads at how stupid the rest of the country is and is getting (as in this thread), but neither the test nor the results is defensible as relaible in any sense of that word.
This would be a great argument if the statistics were not stacked completely against it. The fact that of the respondents, 80% answered the questions concerning Susan B. Anthony and MLK, Jr. correctly, yet ~75% missed "The Bill of Rights explicity prohibits..." and 50% of the respondents do not know how to calculate profit, actually lends credence to the argument that Americans know much more trivial knowledge and much less about the actual mechanics that the U.S. was founded upon.
 
#24
#24
This would be a great argument if the statistics were not stacked completely against it. The fact that of the respondents, 80% answered the questions concerning Susan B. Anthony and MLK, Jr. correctly, yet ~75% missed "The Bill of Rights explicity prohibits..." and 50% of the respondents do not know how to calculate profit, actually lends credence to the argument that Americans know much more trivial knowledge and much less about the actual mechanics that the U.S. was founded upon.


Ahhhh, and now we see the real point of the thread (and, perhaps, the test itself).

People are better at knowing things about what might be identified as liberal matters, i.e. who MLK and Anthony were, as opposed to conservative ideals, such as how to calculate a profit, and therefore in your view they are being poorly educated.

You know, one would not have to go too far out on a limb to point out to you that the definition of profit might better be included in a quiz on economics, whereas MLK and Susan B. Anthony questions are indeed right at home in a quiz about civics.

Food for thought.
 
#25
#25
Ahhhh, and now we see the real point of the thread (and, perhaps, the test itself).

People are better at knowing things about what might be identified as liberal matters, i.e. who MLK and Anthony were, as opposed to conservative ideals, such as how to calculate a profit, and therefore in your view they are being poorly educated.

You know, one would not have to go too far out on a limb to point out to you that the definition of profit might better be included in a quiz on economics, whereas MLK and Susan B. Anthony questions are indeed right at home in a quiz about civics.

Food for thought.

:lolabove:

I love twit lawyers....

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