Long time reader (one of my first!) Ralph Gizzip sent me this link
Students don't know much about history, and colleges aren't adding enough to their civic literacy, says a report out today.The study from the non-profit Intercollegiate Studies Institute shows that less than half of college seniors knew that Yorktown was the battle that ended the American Revolution or that NATO was formed to resist Soviet expansion. Overall, freshmen averaged 50.4% on a wide-ranging civic literacy test; seniors averaged 54.2%, both failing scores if translated to grades.
For the record, I dropped out of college in my junior year. I did go back to night school and took some business courses like Economics and Accounting. (At one time I wanted to be a manager. Found out that they couldn't pay me enough to take that job. I would have had to manage people like me.) Haven't taken any college courses in 25 years. I do stay up on current events and I read a lot of history but no American history. My American history knowledge comes from high school and I graduated in 1964. My results?
You answered 57 out of 60 correctly — 95.00 % Average score for this quiz during September: 75.1% Average score since September 18, 2007: 75.1%
From the article, college "seniors averaged 54.2%". So we have a 60 year old college dropout almost doubling the average score of a college senior. WTF are they teaching in school? Oh. I know. Women's studies. Black studies. Socialism. Bullshit. Don't want the populace to know too much about gummint and that pesky Constitution thingy. But they do know that Britney Spears doesn't wear any panties.
BTW, my major was engineering. None of that in this quiz. Wonder how my sister will do. She's smarter than I am and she's good at history as well.
Posted by denny at September 20, 2007 10:42 PMI got 84%. am more then a little disappointed. did not do so well on the plato, puritan, and pre constitution stuff....I guess I am a 20th century guy. need to brush up.
Posted by: patrick on September 20, 2007 11:34 PMI only got 88%. When I looked at what I'd missed, I felt even dumber. I should have only missed four.
Posted by: Jeremy on September 21, 2007 12:16 AMI got 87%, so I feel your shame, Jeremy & Patrick!
Posted by: Peggy U on September 21, 2007 01:00 AM50/60 83.3%
78.8% I didn't know much about plato and socrates
Posted by: Hammer on September 21, 2007 02:48 AMWhat amazes me, although it shouldn't, is that Harvard seniors averaged under 60%. Me, with my associate degree, scored 100%. Geez....
Posted by: Rob Cooper on September 21, 2007 03:33 AMBTW, I'll be the first to admit there were a LOT of guesses based on eliminating answers I was sure were not correct...
Posted by: Rob Cooper on September 21, 2007 03:44 AM81% and I am mad at myself. I am now going to read about economics and philosophy...
Posted by: Stonemason on September 21, 2007 08:47 AM55/60......91.66%...I guessed at two...missed them both
Posted by: dudley1 on September 21, 2007 09:01 AM88.33%
Take THAT College Seniors! This old jarhead with not much more than a high school diploma kicked your sorry Leftist butts! :)
Mattski
Posted by: Mattski on September 21, 2007 09:02 AM93.3% from a former music major who hasn't seen a schoolroom since 1976. And I'm ashamed of myself for missing a couple of them that I should have known.
Posted by: Juan Paxety on September 21, 2007 09:30 AM85%...missed a couple based on reading the question bassackwards, and the rest not knowing much about dead Greeks and economists. Not bad for a hard-core MSEE/IT type whose last formal history course was taught by an avowed Communist, I figure.
I shudder to think how my son, the sophomore Poli-Sci major at [school name redacted], would score.
Posted by: Grumpy Old Ham on September 21, 2007 10:34 AMI scored a 75%. Not bad for a non-citizen, I suppose.
90%. Seeing as to how I'm a high school dropout and got my GED a few years later, I thought this wasn't bad.
However, seeing the questions that I missed, I can only hang my head in shame. No excuses.
Posted by: Greg on September 21, 2007 11:22 AM
You answered 52 out of 60 correctly — 86.67 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 75.1%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 75.1%
You can take the quiz as often as you like, however, your score will only count once toward the monthly average.
If you have any comments or questions about the quiz, please email americancivicliteracy@isi.org.
You can consult the following table to see how freshmen and seniors scored on each question as part of the survey administration.
Where to from here?
Answers to Your Missed Questions:
Question #1 - D. 1601-1700
Question #18 - D. The Declaration of Independence.
Question #19 - C. philosopher kings.
Question #27 - D. Man trusts his ability to know in order to reject his ability to know.
Question #33 - C. To receive ambassadors.
Question #36 - D. The authority of a legitimate sovereign.
Question #58 - B. An increase in the volume of commercial bank loans.
Question #60 - B. social security.
I feel like a dumbass-I only got 75 %...Boy, do I need to bone up...
Posted by: chg657 on September 21, 2007 12:24 PMHaven't been in school for 45 years and still scored 82%. Obviously the gazillions spent on education over the years by the big government central planers has been a total waste. If the Dept. of Education was held accountable, it would have been disbanded years ago. Thanks to the NEA for the fine job they have done in dumbing down our kids while lining their pockets. "Those that can do, those that can't teach!" It would be interesting to see what the test results were for home schooled kids.
Posted by: Walt on September 21, 2007 01:05 PMIsn't it amazing that you all outscored Harvard seniors? What does that say about our educational system? Most of this stuff should be taught in high school and middle school. In the Webster Groves system we took American Hustory in elementary school, junior high school (no middle school back then), and senior high school. We also had to take a history class other than American History in high school. I took Ancient History. We had to study the American and Missouri constitutions twice, in junior high and in senior high. I think I also had an American History requirement in the junior college I attended in the early 70's.
I scored an 83.33%. Not too shabby for a guy who graduated college in 1962. Gee, that's 45 years ago. . . . Am I old?
Posted by: Pixelkiller on September 21, 2007 04:48 PMBuncha damned show-offs. I got 49 out of 60 but then I only took 10 minutes to do the test.
Posted by: Ralph Gizzip on September 21, 2007 06:56 PM83.3%.
Posted by: Ric on September 22, 2007 12:00 AMHey, Hey, Hey!
I'm a HS dropout who went on to earn TWO Master's degrees!!
and my score is?
....
93.3%
FUCK!
I may not go in and engage my Saturday morning Class.
I will have a choice: as·sas·si·nate Denny or Off myself. Either way, we did NOT measure up to who we thought we were.
I think it's the corrosive-effect of that damn MSM!
NO WAY does DUDLEY1 score mere percentage points below ME! :^) NO WAY does Denny score mere percentage-points ABOVE me!
That would make me Dudley-Dan-Den!
Dang!
Lord! Do I look forward to the DAY when I can give a good God Damned Dudley-Dan-Den! to something posted here!
I'm just in from hard-work with recalcitrant-Students from 0830 until 2230 today, so forgive me this indulgence.
Hey Prosper & Sally: Since everyone else is jumping on you (albeit perhaps for reason, from time-to-time?), here's a response;
I Don't Give a Good God Damned Dudley-Dan-Den!
Means NOTHING! Was but merely an opportunity to coin a phrase.
Can be used by any & all as in:
"I Don't Give a Good God Damned Dudley-Dan-Den!" WHAT Kerr-Cato or CD think!"
^,^
(With apologizies to both KC and CD!)
You answered 59 out of 60 correctly — 98.33 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 74.8%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 74.8%
Answers to Your Missed Questions:
Question #8 - E. Thomas Jefferson's letters.
Given its multiple choice nature, this wasn't much of a quiz. But I learned one thing - a wall of separation of church and state was proposed in Jefferson's letters, not the Constitution.
Posted by: Zhang Fei on September 22, 2007 11:06 AM90 per cent. But then, I'm not a philosophy type, not an economist, and I didn't pay much attention to Johnson or exactly what year women got the right to vote.
Most of that stuff I haven't thought about in depth for over 10 years.
Posted by: Dave on September 22, 2007 02:11 PM"You answered 52 out of 60 correctly — 86.67 %"
Mumpppf. Found a couple more that I just didn't read right but that probably balanced out the ones I just guessed correctly on. My one and only econ class was in 1969 -- freely admit to being majorly ignorant. (I also left college as a junior -- LOL bigger fish to fry!) But I still did better than the average Harvard student? Would be more gratifying if I hadn't just spent several days proofing med school residency apps for a young neighbor -- who has an MD from UPenn and still can't manage to put together a concise and coherent Statement of Purpose. Shudder.
DanS.....
Stuck in the middle are you & no apologies for Denny or me? You only got one more then me ..... Mom always said if you have to guess, even if you get lucky you are still wrong since you did not know the answer in the first place....Now subtract the ones you guessed & let us know what your real percentage is.....remember you are on scouts honor!
Posted by: dudley1 on September 23, 2007 08:50 PM86.66%. Missed questions related to the social philosophers, an area I know I am weak on.
P.S.- Graduated HS in '77, BBA in '85 (finance), MBA in '88. No school since.
Posted by: Chris in AZ on September 26, 2007 02:16 PM