Toolsview all


Americans score poorly on civics knowledge test

 
BY CHRIS CASTEEL | Published: November 23, 2008    Comment on this article Leave a comment

WASHINGTON — People know their "American Idol” judges.

More Info

DID YOU KNOW?

Sample questions from civics test

1. What are the three branches of government?

2. The Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits:

a. prayer in public school

b. discrimination based on race, sex or religion

c. the ownership of guns by private individuals

d. establishing an official religion for the United States

e. the president from vetoing a line item in a spending bill

3. What was the source of the following phrase: "Government of the people, by the people, for the people?"

a. the speech "I Have a Dream"

b. Declaration of Independence

c. U.S. Constitution

d. Gettysburg Address

4. In the area of United States foreign policy, Congress shares power with:

a. president

b. Supreme Court

c. state governments

d. United Nations

Online: You can take the entire test at www.americancivicliteracy.org.

Answers: 1-Legislative, executive, judicial; 2-d; 3-d; 4-a

another survey

A poll conducted by Zogby International in 2006 found that 77 percent could name two of the seven dwarves, but only 24 percent could name two Supreme Court justices.

Advertisement

American history? Not so much.

That’s the conclusion of a survey done by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute to measure Americans’ knowledge of their history and their systems of government and economics.

Though 56 percent can name Paula Abdul as a judge on the popular television show, less than half can name all three branches of government.

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute gave a 33-question test to 2,508 Americans, and 1,791 of those got less than 60 percent — a failing grade.

"It can truly be said we are suffering from an epidemic of civic ignorance,” said Josiah Bunting III, chairman of the group’s National Civic Literacy Board.

College degree holders also fail

The institute has done two previous studies that focused only on college students. The most recent one also includes people who never attended college, allowing for a comparison with college graduates who are presumably more educated.

Turns out, according to the results, that the average score for a college graduate was still below 60 percent, though it was about 13 percentage points higher than the score for those who only finished high school.

Page 1 of 2

Toolsview all



Related Topics: Education, Education Issues, Education Standards



Leave a Comment

Thank you for joining our conversation on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy. Please help by flagging comments that violate these guidelines. Posts that contain obscene or vulgar language will be immediately flagged and not posted.

If you prefer your thoughts to appear in The Oklahoman, we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor.

Would you like to leave a comment?

Log in or sign up (it's free).

comments powered by Disqus

Ads by Yahoo!

53yr Old Woman, Looks 25
Mom reveals simple wrinkle trick that has angered doctors...
www.ConsumerLifestyleMag.com
Investing Guide
Get a Free Investing Guide When You Signup For Investing Tips Online.
investingpathways.com

News Photo Galleriesview all