US Officials Flunk Test On Civic Knowledge

A test on civic knowledge given to elected officials proved that they are slightly less knowledgeable than the uninformed people who voted them into office. Elected officials scored a 44 percent while ordinary citizens managed an amazing 49 percent on the 33 questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. "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. The three branches of government aren't the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria?

Comments

Re:I'd care more

[ep32g79]

Perhaps this is what you are looking for: http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

Re:Where's the test?

[krlynch]

Google is your friend....

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

Re:I'd care more

[ep32g79]

It is, and here is the breakdown question by question:
http://www.americancivicliteracy.org/2008/additional_finding.html

It's not a great test

[ratnerstar]

I took it and got all 33 answers right. This is not to brag, but to establish some limited credentials for when I say: this test sucks. Hard.

Okay, yeah, people should know the three branches of government and who has the power to declare war. On the other hand, a lot of questions and answers are very vague or misleading. Some examples:

Q: If taxes equal government spending, then:

A: tax per person equals government spending per person

This question tests your grasp of logic or algebra, not civics. For the record, another option is "government debt is zero." This is incorrect because it's the deficit that's zero, not the debt. It's designed to confuse. A knowledgeable person could get this question wrong merely by being careless.

Q: Free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than governmentâ(TM)s centralized planning because:

A: the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends

This is not the answer I would have given in a non-multiple choice test. I picked it because it was better than the other options.

Q: Free enterprise or capitalism exists insofar as:

A: individual citizens create, exchange, and control goods and resources

This is just phrased poorly. Why not be clear and ask "What is the definition of capitalism?"

Anyway, of course people should be doing better on this than they are. But it's still a crappy test. And for the record, the "officials" cited aren't exactly Barack Obama and John McCain; they're poll respondents who indicated that they have held elected office at one point. That could include your local dogcatcher, the chairman of your condo association, the head of your PTA, etc.

So don't be too alarmed.

Re:Biden is a perfect example

[Skjellifetti]

Vice President Elect Biden is correct. Article I does indeed define the role of the Vice President:

Article I. Section 2:

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided.

Article II merely describes how the Vice President is chosen and the conditions under which the VP may become President (later superseded by Amendment XXV).