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The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation reports:
Just a third of Americans can pass a multiple choice "U.S. Citizenship Test", fumbling over such simple questions as the cause of the cold war or naming just one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for.
And of Americans 45 and younger, the passing rate is a tiny 19 percent, according to a survey done for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.
Worse: The actual test only requires that 60 percent of the answers be correct. In the survey, just 36 percent passed.
Among the embarrassing errors uncovered in the survey of questions taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test and conducted by Lincoln Park Stragtegies:
- 72 percent of respondents either incorrectly identified or were unsure of which states were part of the 13 original states.
- 24 percent could correctly identify one thing Benjamin Franklin was famous for, with 37 percent believing he invented the lightbulb.
- 12 percent incorrectly thought WWII General Dwight Eisenhower led troops in the Civil War.
- 2 percent said the Cold War was caused by climate change.
Also at Sputnik and The Tri-City Herald
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1-in-3 Pass `US Citizenship Test,' Just 19% for Americans 45 and Younger
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(Score: 4, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:08PM (8 children)
A couple days ago I read of some politician's call for "civics to be taught in school again".
They don't teach CIVICS anymore? Civics teaches stuff like what it is about America that leads us to believe we have freedom of speech or the God-given right to drive Heavy Armor down main street provided we equip our tanks with rubber treads.
It happens that I went to high school in an Air Force town, not far from a Navy town. So my high school was _heavily_ into the teaching of civics and history.
However, it was taught in the second semester of my Senior year. I regard leaving civics for last as a fundamental error: it should be taught in the _first_ semester of the Freshman year. And why? Because otherwise kids who drop out of high school will be completely unaware of their Constitution Rights. Doubtlessly that's why hilarity ensues so much among high school dropout who come to the attention of the legal authorities.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:11PM (2 children)
When I was going to school (in Oregon) back in the 90s we did not have a civics class in k-12. What little civics we discussed was mostly the modern Ginsburg style civics where you look to other model countries from Europe or post-apartheid South Africa. It isn't just that in some areas they are not teaching civics, there appears to be a disdain for civics.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:16PM (1 child)
Because there is no practical use for civics and only education that Does Stuff (tm) is deemed worthwhile these days.
(Score: 1) by ChrisMaple on Saturday October 06 2018, @02:40AM
Practical uses for civics are immediate and obvious. Such as, knowing that you don't have to allow a policeman to search your car. Knowing that a lawyer can represent you in court. Knowing what eminent domain is, and how to fight it. Understanding what taxes are for, and what can happen to you if you don't pay them. Knowing the ramifications of trying to bribe a public employee. Etc..
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:28PM
I've posted this before but I'll leave this here [thedreyfussinitiative.org] too and a great interview. [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 04 2018, @11:58PM (2 children)
What kills me is it was one of the *easiest* of classes. If you could not get an A in that class you simply did not pay any sort of attention. The way our gov works and the history of it is fairly simple. Yet I was at some point taught this info. I too was also fairly shocked they no longer taught it.
You can hit most of what is on those tests with a month or two of civics classes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @12:05AM (1 child)
Civics class back in middle school in the 1970s was easy for me, since I'd already learned most of it via the 'Schoolhouse Rock' videos in between Saturday morning cartoons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @03:21AM
He signed you, Bill! Now you're a law!
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday October 05 2018, @02:21AM
Weird.
Way back when I was in high school around 1990, civics was taught in the sophomore year, for 1 semester. American history was a full year, and IIRC was taught in the senior year, though they ran out of time around WWII. This wasn't a military town.