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An Anonymous Coward writes:

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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