Civics Literacy Quiz

While talking to my daughter yesterday she mentioned the American Civics Literacy Quiz that had been in the news. It seems that our elected officials score very badly on this 33 question quiz about basic American civics and government. She suggested that I go to see what it looks like. so I did.

--Link to Quiz

My score was an excellent
32 out of 33 correct — 96.97 %

Average score for this quiz during November: 77.5%

The only question I missed- and I am deeply- I say DEEPLY- embarrassed because I simply misread it and forgot which was the 1st amendment and which was the second. The question was:

10) Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.
A. Right to bear arms
B. Due process
C. Religion
D. Right to counsel

The answer of course is C- religion. I got things backward and thought of the right to bear arms, which is of course the 2nd Amendment.

Anyway, here are some of the findings:

Of the 2,508 Americans taking ISI’s civic literacy test, 71% fail. Nationwide, the average score on the test is only 49%. The vast majority cannot recognize the language of Lincoln’s famous speech.

The test contains 33 questions designed to measure knowledge of America’s founding principles, political history, international relations, and market economy.

While the questions vary in difficulty, most test basic knowledge. Six are borrowed from U.S. government naturalization exams that test knowledge expected of all new American citizens. Nine are taken from the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests that the U.S. Department of Education uses to assess high school seniors. Three are drawn from an “American History 101” exam posted online by www.InfoPlease.com. Two were developed especially for this survey and the rest were drawn from ISI’s previous civic literacy tests.

Americans from all age groups, income brackets, and political ideologies fail the test of civic literacy.

* Americans age 25 to 34 score an average of 46% on the exam; Americans age 65 and over score 46%.
* Americans earning an annual income between $30,000 and $50,000 score an average of 46%; Americans earning over $100,000 score 55%.
* Liberals score an average of 49%; conservatives score 48%.
* Americans who go to church once a week score an average of 48%; Americans who never go to church score 50%.
--Findings Link

It is quite intriguing. The test varies from the very simple to some that make you stop and think. But those who say they were elected officials these are scary:

# Seventy-nine percent of those who have been elected to government office do not know the Bill of Rights expressly prohibits establishing an official religion for the U.S.
# Thirty percent do not know that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.
# Twenty-seven percent cannot name even one right or freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment.
# Forty-three percent do not know what the Electoral College does. One in five thinks it either “trains those aspiring for higher political office” or “was established to supervise the first televised presidential debates.”

No wonder some in the government have worked to limit our freedoms. They don't know what they are to begin with. They have a limited understanding of the very essential fact that we have three EQUAL branches of government. They don't understand what the free enterprise system is (and hence probably don't understand why it has failed in recent months.)

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute American Civic Literacy Program is trying to do something about this. They rightly call it "Our Fading Heritage." In the long run it is more than a fading heritage. It will be a fading democracy. I wish them a lot of luck in doing something about it.