American knowledge Test.. (results)

[He Man]

 [roll]I'd like to see the test and those who took it to make sure its not another company thats out to make a statistic to make fun of the government.

WASHINGTON (AFP) â€" 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.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/od_afp/ushistoryeducationoffbeat

[DY]

I took the test, got a 78%.

Here's a link to that test.

http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

[Triple J]

I got 26/33 right...or a 78.79%

[Bick]

I missed 4

[Drjones]

85%

[DesmoDiva]

I scored a 66%.   

Guess I should have paid closer attention in history class. 

[erkishhorde]

You answered 24 out of 33 correctly â€" 72.73 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 78.1%
Average score: 78.1%

Wow, I actually didn't do so bad. Little below average what the hey. 

I saw lots of tips that a moderately informed person could use to figure out the answer even if they didn't actually know it. Like one question told you the answer to an earlier question.

[Drunken Monkey]

You answered 30 out of 33 correctly â€" 90.91 %

8, 11 and 27

And to be fair to the "low scores" they are reporting, some of those questions (especially the obsession with FDR) are a bit esoteric.

[superjohn]

29 of 33 for 87.88% but had I given some of the questions a little more thought would easily have done better.

It does seem they have some bizarre fascination with FDR and some of the economic questions are overly simplistic which I can see people answering incorrectly if they don't break it down completely.

[DCXCV]

You answered 31 out of 33 correctly â€" 93.94 %

Welcome to U.S. History 101 - you may not know/recall every last bit, but a 44-49% average is horrid.

[the_Journeyman]

Rushing through, I picked up 69%

I did think some questions are odd

JM

[ducsix]

90.9%...

#8, 11, and 33 were wrong...but I disagree with their answer to #33:
33)   If taxes equal government spending, then:
A. government debt is zero
B. printing money no longer causes inflation
C. government is not helping anybody
D. tax per person equals government spending per person
E. tax loopholes and special-interest spending are absent

I said 'A', even though this assumes zero debt to start with.  The "right" answer is 'D', but for this to be accurate they should insert the word "average" before tax and spending...

[Slag]

Why was Sputnik relevant? What was the 1st US sat?

Explorer 1

[Slag]

Not saying that Sputnik was irrevelant. It just is USSR history.

[DY]

Not saying that Sputnik was irrevelant. It just is USSR history.

because Sputnik sparked the start of the U.S./Soviet Space Race.