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Civics Quiz

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Now, this is interesting. Looks like AT P&N members are a lot sharper than the average American and even many elected officials. :thumbsup: 😎

US officials flunk test of Amerian history, economics, civics

Thu Nov 20, 2:24 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) ? US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.
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The article doesn't link to the quiz, but I searched Google for "Intercollegiate Studies Institute" quiz, and this is the quiz to which they refer. :light:
 
WASHINGTON (AFP) ? US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.
Click to expand...

A shining example of how our school system sucks and the people that just get passed on through don't have to fear about being unemployed or getting stuck working at McDonald's, they can just run for public office and make the decisions that shape peoples lives.......comforting isn't it?
 
Originally posted by: Wheezer
WASHINGTON (AFP) ? US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI).

"It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

"How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added.

The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics.

Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II."

Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain.

Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress.

Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates."

In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution.

The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said.

Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.
Click to expand...

A shining example of how our school system sucks and the people that just get passed on through don't have to fear about being unemployed or getting stuck working at McDonald's, they can just run for public office and make the decisions that shape peoples lives.......comforting isn't it?
Click to expand...


Not all questions are civics. There are a few judgmental questions. Example, the question which the article says got the fewest correct responses (bolded above) is not a civics questions as it is nether law nor fact. It is an economics questions and is theoretical (even though I agree with it).

 
It would be interesting to see a breakdown by age. Way back 30 years ago I took the CLEP tests for freshman English and History. I placed out, and I received college credit for those courses.
The sad thing is I know if I took the same tests today I doubt if I would pass them. You don't use it. you lose it.
 
Originally posted by: Fear No Evil
At least we know the reason people elected BHO now.
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Um... I believe you are horribly mistaken. The stupid people elected Bush twice. Most of them voted for McCain this time.

then again, your just a troll, so spreading FUD is why your here.
 
If anyone thinks stupidity is only an American problem, I would invite you to travel to England, where stupidity is practiced with a joi de vivre unparalled in the states. It starts with the PM and works it's way down to the pram mothers and drug addicts. If anyone thinks our, say, Dept. of Defense is bad, I'd invite an inspection of The Home Office (or Orifice). One Home Office Secretary (Reid) said it "wasn't fit for purpose", which is a fine example of the English aptitude for understatement.

Darwin's work is never done....

-Robert
 
Harvey Elite Senior Moderator states -- Now, this is interesting. Looks like AT P&N members are a lot sharper than the average American and even many elected officials.
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Well of course...this is the internet!! You can be as smart as you desire....lolol
 
Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
Key point isn't education it's "ELECTED officials" stupid voters will elect stupid leaders.

And it's the same all over the globe.
Click to expand...

They didn't score much worse than the general public, but you might as well make that "most voters" rather than "stupid voters". Each election process we have in this country proves only one thing to the rest of the world; Americans are incredibly gullible. If you tell the people what they want to hear, you will be elected to the office you seek.
All I know is I am happy Obama made it in there so I don't have to worry about buying gas or paying my mortgage. 🙂

 
You answered 31 out of 33 correctly ? 93.94 %

I missed #13-"Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas would concur that:"
and #27-"Free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government?s centralized planning because"

Otherwise, not bad for an old hi-skool drop-out...😀
 
I smelled a rat reading those questions.
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Inc., or (ISI), is a non-profit educational organization founded in 1953 as the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists. Its members, over 50,000 college students and faculty across the United States, take advantage of programs designed to supplement a collegiate education and to provide access to resources that will help one achieve a genuine liberal arts education, which the organization defines as an education based primarily on the works of influential men and women in the European and Christian traditions. The group is known for having distinctly American Conservative views.
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Anyway...
You answered 29 out of 33 correctly ? 87.88 %


Question #7 - D. Gettysburg Address <-- oh well, missed a trivia question

Question #11 - A. their arguments helped lead to the adoption of the Bill of Rights <-- Uhh what? Did they use "anti-federalist" to mean "federalist"?

Question #29 - B. a resident can benefit from it without directly paying for it <-- My reasoning was that you do directly pay... Does direct payment mean you go to the contractor who builds the levee and gives him a few dollars from your wallet? That's why I said "A. citizens value it as much as bread and medicine" assuming that bread and medicine represent products on the free market that your tax dollars could buy instead.

Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person -I wasn't thinking about average tax/spending per capita. They should have said "per capita" if that's what they meant. But spending per person doesn't equal tax per person on an individual basis.

 
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