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U.S. college students fail civics test
UPI ^
| September 18, 2007
| none
Posted on 09/19/2007 9:27:58 AM PDT by WinOne4TheGipper
WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Harvard, even though it scored the highest, was among elite U.S. colleges where students proved dismal in their knowledge of civics and history, a report said.
The non-profit Intercollegiate Studies Institute analyzed scores of a test given to 14,419 freshmen and seniors at 50 U.S. colleges last fall, USA Today reported Tuesday.
Overall, the freshmen tested averaged 50.4 percent on a civic literacy test, while the seniors tested averaged 54.2 percent.
Seniors tested at Harvard had the highest overall average at 69.6 percent, nearly 6 points higher than its freshmen but still a D-plus, said the ISI report.
A Harvard senior was the only student among the 14,419 tested to get 100 percent correct.
Yale had the highest scoring freshman at 68.94 percent with freshmen at Princeton, Duke and Cornell also out scoring seniors who took the test, the report said.
William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told USA Today students have fewer civics requirements because the value of higher education more often is defined by knowledge of economics.
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: academia; civics; college; history; schools
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To: WinOne4TheGipper
“Harvard, even though it scored the highest, was among elite U.S. colleges where students proved dismal in their knowledge of civics and history, a report said.”
That is directly due to the fact that since the federalization of education and the advent of the NEA, students have intentionally been “dumbed down” and turned ignorant in these disciplines.
Sheep are easier to herd than Lions.
21
posted on
09/19/2007 9:58:36 AM PDT
by
Hornet19
(It's Time to Put Up or Shut Up...Where Do You Stand?)
To: dfwgator
An OK score:
Civics Quiz
You answered 52 out of 60 correctly 86.67 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 73.8%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 73.8%
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.
To: thefactor
You are close to my score. I got 47 our of 60, or 78.3%. I could have done better if I had gone slower and read the questions more closely. ;) But some of them are quite hard. Looks like I did better than Harvard students though so that makes me feel good.
23
posted on
09/19/2007 10:08:17 AM PDT
by
TNCMAXQ
To: dfwgator
My results:
You answered 54 out of 60 correctly 90.00 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 73.7%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 73.7%
And history was one of my weakest subjects back in high school. I missed one of the economics questions that I really should have gotten right, but didn’t like any of the choices until rereading the correct answer a couple of times after knowing it was the right answer.
24
posted on
09/19/2007 10:10:23 AM PDT
by
VRWCmember
(Fred Thompson 2008! Taking America Back for Conservatives!)
To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus
You answered 50 out of 60 correctly 83.33 %.
Higher than I was expecting.
25
posted on
09/19/2007 10:10:23 AM PDT
by
rb22982
To: Sacajaweau
It is the job of every citizen in a republic, to have that job.
26
posted on
09/19/2007 10:11:37 AM PDT
by
FreedomPoster
(Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
To: MeanWestTexan
You answered 52 out of 60 correctly 86.67 %
Not bad for an engineer.
same score, not bad for a bartender :)
27
posted on
09/19/2007 10:21:49 AM PDT
by
absolootezer0
(stop repeat offenders- don't re-elect them!)
To: WinOne4TheGipper
55 out of 60, for 91.75% Not too bad, for some really hard questions.
To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus
This, in turn, depends on your definition of "republican". Our republicanism is significantly different from the republicanism of, say, the Roman Republic, or even the republics in Europe during the Middle Ages (Novgorod, Dutch, Venice, etc.). Excuse me, the type of government our constitution established does NOT depend on anyone's definition of republican except that of the people who wrote it. They established a republic, not a democracy. You sound like Clinton and the definition of "is".
29
posted on
09/19/2007 10:24:47 AM PDT
by
calex59
To: VRWCmember
IMO, "Indirect democracy" is a reasonable-enough description of republican government, since in republican government, the power of the citizens is exercised indirectly through elected representatives.
To: Constitutionalist Conservative
I concur. And I got a 98.33% having missed question 58. I’ve decided to blame Alan Greenspan for my error.
31
posted on
09/19/2007 10:30:49 AM PDT
by
brothers4thID
(FDT: "Every notice that while our problems are getting bigger, our politicians are getting smaller?")
To: WinOne4TheGipper
You answered 55 out of 60 correctly 91.67 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 74.0%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 74.0%
Damn. The ones missed, I think, are open to argument.
To: WinOne4TheGipper
Well. All I can say is “God bless my parents, my teachers, and Free Republic!”
You answered 55 out of 60 correctly 91.67 %
Average score for this quiz during September: 74.1%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 74.1%
...
Answers to Your Missed Questions:
Question #23 - B. Marbury v. Madison.
Question #31 - A. Edmund Burke argued that society consists of a union of past, present, and future generations.
Question #36 - D. The authority of a legitimate sovereign.
Question #38 - A. Military
Question #60 - B. social security.
33
posted on
09/19/2007 10:34:03 AM PDT
by
Little Ray
(Rudy Guiliani: If his wives can't trust him, why should we?)
To: Hornet19
You answered 52 out of 60 correctly 86.67 %
And I’m really kicking myself over one of the questions. I picked an answer before reading all of them.
Some of the questions seemed a little subjective, but a pretty good quiz.
I usually like quizzes that I score 80%+ on though!
34
posted on
09/19/2007 10:34:10 AM PDT
by
Deut28
(Cursed be he who perverts the justice)
To: jdm
Equally tough was a course I took that had a "mutliple choice exams". We all celebrated... until it was test time. You had to choose ALL of the correct answers, even if that number was zero. Basically, there were 16 possibilities.
I got Cs on the first two tests until I got used to it. Yee-ouch!
(And yes, I inflicted this kind of test on my honors students from time to time, LOL)
To: Little Ray; All
36
posted on
09/19/2007 10:38:33 AM PDT
by
WinOne4TheGipper
(Now more popular than Congress!* *According to a new RasMESSen Poll.)
To: WinOne4TheGipper
At least the seniors beat the freshmen this time.
To: dfwgator
Better than me, squeeked by with 80% but it’s been 20 years since I was in college.
To: Little Ray
I was surprised by #60, I didn’t realize that Social Security was responsible for so much of our expenditures.
39
posted on
09/19/2007 10:46:30 AM PDT
by
dfwgator
(The University of Florida - Still Championship U)
To: dfwgator
Doesn’t surprise me. I just wish I could remember the (wrong) answer I picked was...
40
posted on
09/19/2007 10:49:10 AM PDT
by
Little Ray
(Rudy Guiliani: If his wives can't trust him, why should we?)
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