THE CIVICS TEST AMERICA FLUNKED
Yet another report shows that Americans are supposedly morons when it comes to understanding what might be called Civics 101. This kind of hand wringing report has become a regular feature of the news pages, with the predictable clicking of tongues by the self-appointed guardians of American literacy. We have been told repeatedly that we are ignoramuses of history, geography, basic science, law, religion, and math. By contrast we as a people are reputed to be experts on the sex lives of B-grade starlets. We are a nation so collectively stupid, that we should evidently refrain from even trying and turn everything over to some panels of academic philosopher kings. Or maybe not.
The latest report, impartially titled Our Fading Heritage: Americans Fail a Basic Test on Their History and Institutions was compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). According to a press release:
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.
Of course this kind of thing is alarming. And a never ending source of wonder to history geeks and political junkies like myself. But it is important not to get too smug. I can’t really use my cell phone beyond getting and receiving calls-and I probably manage to accidently cut off half of my incoming calls. I can’t successfully perform the simplest home repair projects, dress myself in the morning in a way that is not a deep embarrassment to my family, balance a check book, or drive a car. When it comes to ignorance of vast swaths of knowledge commonly required for day to day life these days, I am without peer. And I suspect that the same is true of many of the professors who conducted the study.
The quiz used by the researchers is posted on line here. Take it yourself. See how you measure up. I did. These are my results:
You answered 32 out of 33 correctly-96.97%
Average score-78.1%
What Question did I miss? The last one:
If taxes equal government spending, then:
A. Government debt is zeros
B. Printing money no longer causes inflation
C. Government is not helping anybody
D. Tax per person equal government spending per person
I answered A. The correct answer is D. Of course it is.