Check this out. Should take about 5 minutes to answer the 33 questions. I scored 32 of 33, missing question #7 for some reason. The rest of America, not so well:
Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen? The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better? Questions were drawn from past ISI surveys, as well as other nationally recognized exams.
A few notes. The fact that educators averaged 55% on this should come as no surprise. It doesn't take much knowledge to teach liberal arts.
Finding 1:
Americans Fail the Test of Civic Literacy
Seventy-one percent of Americans fail the test, with an overall average score of 49%.
- Liberals score 49%; conservatives score 48%. Republicans score 52%; Democrats score 45%.
- Fewer than half of all Americans can name all three branches of government, a minimal requirement for understanding America’s constitutional system.
Additional Finding
Elected Officials Score Lower than the General Public
Officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average, they score 44%, five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.
- Thirty percent of elected officials do not know that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are
- the inalienable rights referred to in the Declaration of Independence.
These are our voters and our representatives. Does anyone doubt that we get the government we deserve? I actually am pleasantly surprised that anything functions at all. Should I bother asking how long a nation can survive when its people and leaders are ignorant. Obviously, we've made it a long time already.
Perhaps our founders' highest achievement is passing on a model that can exist and thrive despite the stupidity of its citizens.
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