I am doing your quizzes, besting your citizens. (Yes, I am boasting. So there. :D)
Yesterday, I took...
But first, I was tempted to use "Iz in ur interwebz..." as the subject line, but I decided against it. Maybe I should leave alone the lolcats and the loljesus for a while. Now to our regularly scheduled post.
Yesterday, I took the 'Civil Literacy Quiz' created by Intercollegiate Studies institute. The quiz, composed by 33 questions, is supposed to measure how well U.S. citizens know their history and governmental structure.
My score? I answered 28 out of 33 correctly: that is 84.85 % (I failed questions 10, 11, 29, 30 and 33).
The average score? 75.2%
I want to say two things. Or maybe three:
1) Question number 10: ' Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.' Damn, I chose 'Religion' first, then I decided against it and chose the right to have bear arms. Imagining people with bear arms was a too-attractive image to ignore. :D
2) Question number 29: 'A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:'. Read the options. I do not know you, but I could not find any decent answer there. :/
3) Question number 33: 'If taxes equal government spending, then:'. I think answer (A) is also correct. What do you think?
Well, they were three things, after all.
The funniest thing about the test is not the questions, actually, but some of the 'major findings' of the survey:
"Less than half can name all three branches of the government."
"Only 55% know that Congress shares authority over U.S. foreign policy with the president. Almost a quarter incorrectly believe Congress shares this power with the United Nations."
"Less than one in five know that the phrase “a wall of separation” between church and state comes from a letter by Thomas Jefferson. Almost half incorrectly believe it can be found in the Constitution."
(I must admit that I answered that one right because it certainly sounded Jeffersonian to me. :P)
And do yourselves a favor, and check the additional findings: Joe Sixpack knows more about history and government than people who said they "have held an elected government office". Omy... :D
And maybe I should stop here. I am pretty sure my country-fellows are not better than yours. *snort*
But first, I was tempted to use "Iz in ur interwebz..." as the subject line, but I decided against it. Maybe I should leave alone the lolcats and the loljesus for a while. Now to our regularly scheduled post.
Yesterday, I took the 'Civil Literacy Quiz' created by Intercollegiate Studies institute. The quiz, composed by 33 questions, is supposed to measure how well U.S. citizens know their history and governmental structure.
My score? I answered 28 out of 33 correctly: that is 84.85 % (I failed questions 10, 11, 29, 30 and 33).
The average score? 75.2%
I want to say two things. Or maybe three:
1) Question number 10: ' Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.' Damn, I chose 'Religion' first, then I decided against it and chose the right to have bear arms. Imagining people with bear arms was a too-attractive image to ignore. :D
2) Question number 29: 'A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:'. Read the options. I do not know you, but I could not find any decent answer there. :/
3) Question number 33: 'If taxes equal government spending, then:'. I think answer (A) is also correct. What do you think?
Well, they were three things, after all.
The funniest thing about the test is not the questions, actually, but some of the 'major findings' of the survey:
"Less than half can name all three branches of the government."
"Only 55% know that Congress shares authority over U.S. foreign policy with the president. Almost a quarter incorrectly believe Congress shares this power with the United Nations."
"Less than one in five know that the phrase “a wall of separation” between church and state comes from a letter by Thomas Jefferson. Almost half incorrectly believe it can be found in the Constitution."
(I must admit that I answered that one right because it certainly sounded Jeffersonian to me. :P)
And do yourselves a favor, and check the additional findings: Joe Sixpack knows more about history and government than people who said they "have held an elected government office". Omy... :D
And maybe I should stop here. I am pretty sure my country-fellows are not better than yours. *snort*