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
(Score: 2) by suburbanitemediocrity on Thursday October 04 2018, @10:24PM (6 children)
more importantly.
I wonder
(Score: 5, Interesting) by bob_super on Friday October 05 2018, @12:15AM (5 children)
I previously posted around here that people should have to answer five of those citizenship question on every ballot.
Get three or more wrong, your vote doesn't count.
After all, I can't get a job without proving that i have a basic clue. Why would I get to choose the people who control a system I don't understand?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @01:03AM (2 children)
Because that pesky Constitution thingy says so?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday October 05 2018, @03:19PM (1 child)
Which part, exactly?
There are various amendments where you can't be denied a vote because of race (15th), gender (19th), poll tax (24th), and age >18 (26th)...but it doesn't say anything about an IQ test.
Maybe the 14th is most relevant here:
Note that "being a dumbass" is not listed as one of the reasons it's illegal to deny someone a vote. Is voting considered a privilege? Privileges are rights that can be revoked, and you can lose your right to vote if you're a felon, so yes?
Or maybe there's something in one of those Civil Rights Acts from the 1960s, which apparently modify the Constitution. TIL
--
So in conclusion I'd buy that you can't require a history test, but I'm not entirely sure where to point to where it says so.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday October 05 2018, @03:22PM
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/08/what-does-the-constitution-actually-say-about-voting-rights/278782/ [theatlantic.com]
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @08:23PM (1 child)
Who decides what answer is "right?" Same people who claim 6 million Jews perished in Holocaust?
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday October 05 2018, @08:35PM
Ignoring the trolling, the citizenship test questions are fixed and have non-contentious answers.