Civic Literacy Report – Civics Quiz

Civic Literacy Report – Civics Quiz.
It is horrifying to read that of the 2,508 Americans tested in a sample, the average score was only 49% and that College EDUCATORS scored only 55%.
As a non-American, although married to one, I comfortably exceeded the average online score this month which is 75.8%.
“You answered 32 out of 33 correctly ā€” 96.97 %
Average score for this quiz during January: 75.8%”
What does this say about American education?
Can you do better than the online average?

I imagine something similar conducted in the UK on our own history, would probably produce equally dire results from 2,500 people picked at random…

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Author: coldwaterjohn

CWJ travelled extensively with his family, having worked in eleven countries over thirty years. A keen photographer, holding a Private Pilot's Licence, he focuses mainly on landscape and aerial imagery. Having worked in the Middle East extensively he follows developments in that region with particular interest, and views with growing concern, the radicalisation flowing from Islamic fundamentalism, and the intolerance for opposing views, stemming from it.

15 thoughts on “Civic Literacy Report – Civics Quiz”

  1. Oh dear, I only got 84.85%. 28/33. I am embarrassed about getting one of them wrong, just bloody silly. One, I should have known. The other 3 I don’t mind too much that I did not know.

  2. CWJ
    I have to say that they are pretty heavy questions so I would not berate your countrymen to harshly. I would be interested in a similar exercise taking place in the UK.

  3. OMG – not MY countrymen – God forbid you thought I was American! I am reasonably convinced a similar level of test in the UK would have scores in the low 30 percentiles probably, but that shouldn’t surprise us given the poor the level of reading and arithmetic skills in the output of our education factories. Obama was expressing concern in his State of the Unio Address, at the state of education in the States – he should come over here!

  4. As I scored considerably better than the college educators, I shall take it on myself to educate our colonial cousins. Starter Lesson. Repeat after me:-

    1) World War 1 started in 1914, not 1917.

    2) Charlie Chaplin was English.

    3) So was Bob Hope.

    4) World War 2 started in September 1939, not December ’41. (Try to be on time next time)

    5) It’s pronounced ‘al-um-in-i-um’ with FIVE syllables and spelled as it sounds.

    6) It was 11/9 not 9/11

    7) The BAE Harrier II GR9 is British. It’s not a McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II

    8 ) Brits invented the jet engine. Otherwise your 747s would have propellers.

    9) Brits invented everything else apart from the rotary clothes dryer, which is Australian.

    10) American beers are chilled in order to distinguish them from urine, which is warm.

    Yee haw!

    OZ

  5. CWJ: I’m suprised the average score was as high as 49%, and nothing about college educators horrifies me any more.

    I did it quickly got 84.85%, I checked the answers and really did know several that I missed, I should have read the questions more carefully.

    In my opinion a naturalized citizen would outperform most natives, there is a similar test for citizenship and many immigrants take it as adults, when perhaps they are more receptive/retentive.

    Most of those born in the US have forgotten their “Civics” or have them confused with the latest news report.

  6. OZ – love it!
    LW – I keep thinking of the lass in the Post Office in Florida asking me what state Scotland was in, when I was mailing a package back here. The UK, I said – Where’s that? Oh, you mean England? No, I mean Scotland…

  7. I only got 72%, mainly because I answered the later section on economics truthfully not the PC answers!
    Equally some of those questions had more than one correct answer and others had no real answer option given.

  8. cwj how many UK citizens could fill in a blank of the USA with the states names?
    Not many I guess.
    Mind you,I don’t think that any Americans know diddly squat about geography!

  9. christinaosborne :

    cwj how many UK citizens could fill in a blank of the USA with the states names?
    Not many I guess.
    Mind you,I donā€™t think that any Americans know diddly squat about geography!

    They think the world ends at the state line, and the intelligent ones think it stops at the coast šŸ˜‰

  10. Christina – never mind a map – even naming half of them would prove a struggle for me, despite having driven up and down the East coast several times, with the odd meander into North Carolina. Right Brain mutters disgustedly, You don’t even know what state we are in. No, but Mr Garmin does!

  11. Oh dear, I was only in the 60s. I feel very humble. My excuse that I did it hurriedly because it’s time to start preparing dinner and I haven’t lived in the US since the early Seventies is not good enough. I agree with CO that some questions had no answer options that really fitted. Still, it was fun.

  13. Oh well, I don’t feel so bad that I got 81 – I did try to guess the PC answers to some of the questions – obviously failed šŸ™‚

  14. It is an exceptionally good game to test all and sundry, especially knowalls. Print off an outline of countries of the world and get them to fill it in the countries.
    Bloody difficult especially in West Africa and the Balkans these days. Most can’t sort out central America either!

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