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Americans struggle with civics test

Nov 29, 2008 - 04:06:18 CST

Are American voters civically stupid?

If you're to believe a recent report by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, then you might want to say an extra prayer or two (or 12) for the future of our democracy this weekend.

In a report released last week, the ISI, a non-profit group that tracks civic knowledge of your fellow compatriots, found that 70 percent of 2,500 Americans who took a 33-question civics test were unable to achieve a passing grade. The average college graduate who took the test scored a 57 percent, otherwise known as an F. Even more disturbing, self-described elected officials earned an average of 44 percent.

So what kind of questions were these people unable to answer?

Questions like this doozey: What part of the government has the power to declare war? (Forty percent incorrectly answered the president. It's actually Congress.)

Or this one: What are the three branches of government? (Less than half knew they are the executive, legislative and judicial.)

And this stumper: What was the source of the following phrase: "Government of the people, for the people, by the people"? Only 21 percent correctly answered President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, while 56 percent of the respondents knew that Paula Abdul is a judge on American Idol.

"People may be listening to television experts talk about economic bailouts and the platforms of political candidates, but they apparently have little idea what our basic economic and political institutions are," ISI's Richard Brake said.

The guy might be right, but does it matter?

Mark Jendrysik, chairman of the University of North Dakota's political science department, doesn't think so.

"You could probably be an effective citizen and not know anything about Socrates," Jendrysik said. "You could make a nuclear physicist look stupid with this."

Jendrysik said surveys like the ISI's, which mirrors Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" bit, don't test someone's ability to become engaged in the civic process.

Sure, voters may not know the outcome of the Scopes Monkey Trial (hint: it had nothing to do primates using mouthwash), but can they identify issues that are important to them and then do something about it?

It's no secret that Americans traditionally score poorly on these types of civics tests. The Freedom Forum's annual State of the First Amendment report usually delivers dismal news about Americans' knowledge of their rights to self expression.

Take this year's report for example:

About 31 percent of respondents would not permit musicians to sing lyrics that others might find offensive. And only 56 percent could name "speech" as one of the five freedoms guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Sad, but true.

So do yourself a favor this weekend and check out the test, it's online at www.americancivicliteracy.org.

Do a favor for democracy and give it to your neighbor, your children or a stranger on the street. Hopefully you'll find some better news.

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@bismarcktribune.com. Read his blog Nodak Central at www.bismarcktribune.com/blog/?wnodakcentral.)

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Comments

Chad wrote on Dec 8, 2008 12:24 AM:

" I'm not going to defend Palin. She's a good governor for Alaska. She's not presidential material. But Joe Biden made many, many gaffes as well. Your pals in the media had more fun with Palin's mistakes.

I do know what an average is, thank you. On average, North Dakota fares quite well in most of the categories you mentioned (low crime rate, murder rate, divorce rate; high graduation rate, and literacy rate). We're also high in church membership and attendance. I don't think you'll like that one. "

Ezra wrote on Dec 7, 2008 6:25 PM:

" Chad, perhaps you don't understand the concept of averages. You take all the red states and add their statistics, do the same with the blue states. The statistics don't specifically apply to North Dakota, many do, but the point is why would we want to associate with the losers, and why are they losers? The fact that North Dakota voted overwhelmingly for McCain should clearly show we have a problem. The people of North Dakota did not notice Sarah Palin could not cite anything she read on a regular basis. They did not notice she though Africa was a country, she did not know what the job of vice president was. The majority of people in the blue states knew what they were seeing when they saw Sarah Palin. Nothing proves my point better. "

Chad wrote on Dec 7, 2008 2:22 PM:

" Ezra, I'd like to see some proof of those claims that you just made. Really... North Dakota has a higher crime rate, poverty rate, murder rate, and/or divorce rate than California? I doubt it. We have high rates of high school graduation and college enrollment, so I find it hard to believe that we have a low literacy rate.

While we're making blanket statements about red states vs. blue states - Red staters give more to charity and are also more likely to donate blood and volunteer. http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2682730&page=1 "

Cynical Independent wrote on Dec 5, 2008 8:20 PM:

" Another civics lesson for those that think this should be a test to vote. Please review the National Voting Rights Act of 1965. "

Ezra wrote on Dec 5, 2008 8:10 PM:

" Since you are good at noticing things Halitosis, you might have noticed that the red states lead in a few key areas, they have the highest pregnancy rate, lowest literacy rate, pay the teachers the least and pay the least into the federal government in taxes. Additionally the red states have a higher poverty rate, crime rate, murder rate, and divorce rate. Unfortunately North Dakota went with the red states that did not notice how the Republicans raped the country under Bush, but this is what happens when you listen to televangelist, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Rielly "

Halabis wrote on Dec 5, 2008 5:28 PM:

" Yes Ezra, I've noticed it too, people are definitly dumber this past eight years. They have no problem when Hillary tells how she ducked down to avoid bullets whizzing over her head in Bosnia. Biden tells about FDR on TV in 1929 explaining the great depression to the American people. Then there is Chris Dodd who got loans at the same rate as everyone else from Countrywide--as did Sen. Conrad--we gotta believe cause we got really dumb the last eight years.
I suppose this dumbing down applies to us all, especially me, because I can't figure out why smart people hang around here when they could be in the Mecca of the intelligensia--like Minneapolis or maybe Boston. "

Ezra wrote on Dec 5, 2008 2:55 PM:

" Americans have dumbed down quite a bit in the last eight years. The resurgence of evangelical religion is a key indicator. Foreign students come to this country as exchange students and are amazed how poorly educated the average American is. This is the country that fell for the Y2k nonsense, the WMD lie promoted by Bush, and the whole trickle down fantasy that got us in the current economic mess. Americans would rather go to church, watch sports, or play video games than read anything meaningful. The fact that such a high percentage of Americans believe in a sky God that is going to come solve all theri problems is in and of itself a good indication about the intellectual mess we are in. "

NDTaxpayer wrote on Dec 5, 2008 1:41 PM:

" Hey BC: How many years has it been since you were in school and studied Civics. I had it when I was a 8th grader and that was 55 years ago. I don't think at that time there was any talk of bailouts, Socrates, or some of the other questions that did not pertain to any general knowlege of civics. Maybe you were among those like Biden that thought FDR was on television, but he wasn't on in North Dakota until the 50's, but maybe you weren't aroung then either. "

BC wrote on Dec 5, 2008 9:37 AM:

" Hmmmm....I got through it with only 3 wrong...

Should be a requirement to vote! "

ND Taxpayer wrote on Dec 4, 2008 12:03 PM:

" Hey I scored about 68 on the test but it has been quite a few years since I have even seen a Civics Text Book. I thought I did pretty well except for some of the questions that didn't even pertain to Civics class. "

Kimbelry M wrote on Dec 4, 2008 10:29 AM:

" Keep it on topic, people. No one wants to listen to your partisan rants. Biden and Palin respect each other, why can't you? You're making yourselves look foolish. "

Ezra wrote on Dec 4, 2008 6:22 AM:

" Comparing Biden and Palin is the difference between night and day. Biden can actually say a coherent sentence. If you have ever seen some of the things Palin has said they are totally incoherent. Biden can actually answer a question that is asked, on the other hand Palin ofter started her answer by stating she was not going to answer the question and just went on to talk about moose hunting. It is on thing to get a number wrong by a digit, and another thing not even to know the answer is a number. No comparison. We need intelligent people to solve the current crises. It took Palin five colleges to achieve a degree. Ronald Reagan and his trickle down welfare for the rich is the man who started this mess. "

Cynical Independent wrote on Dec 3, 2008 10:19 PM:

" Sorry Ezra, I'm no fan of Bush. But I do like to evaluate people with a little objectivity. My point was Biden said just a many stupid things as Palin. As long as you let your hatred for Republicans cloud your logical thinking people will dismiss your arguments.
Now I admit that I liked Reagan and thought he did some good things. He was an optimist like Kennedy. Kennedy had great potential which was cut short. But you do realize he got us into Vietnam and we lost over 58,000 soldiers during that 16 year war. No president is going to be without their faults. "

Ezra wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:27 PM:

" Dear cynical it will be hard to beat the current Republican mistake we are now enduring. No one has ever topped Bush for creating a mess like this since the depression. Clinton left a surplus, George blew it. Sorry Karl Rove is trying to help W write a book with a version of history that will make him look good, you could help "

Cynical Independent wrote on Dec 3, 2008 8:48 PM:

" And Joe Biden talked about president FDR on television when the stock market crashed in 1929. FDR was not president in 1929 and television was barely invented. He also said that Article 1 of the Constitution enumerates the vice president's powers when in fact it is Article 2. Article 1 refers to the legislative branch. Liberals on this blog have very little credibility as they pick and choose events showing Republican mistakes without considering the enormous mistakes Democrats have made. "

Halatbis wrote on Dec 3, 2008 3:52 PM:

" For crying out loud Ezra, give it a rest! "

Ezra wrote on Dec 3, 2008 9:30 AM:

" Keep in mind that 49% of Americans still believe Iraq attacked the world trade center. If you gave people a sports quiz, or a celebraty quize they would do better. Knowing what is going on in this world seems to be of little importance. One need only look at how North Dakota voted in the recent election to see how ill informed the public is. The people of North Dakota saw no problem with the fact Sara Palin thought Africa was a country, and could not name one newspaper she read, and then to top that off she had no clue of what the Vice Presidents job was, yet North Dakotan's had no problem with this incompetent woman becoming Vice President. Even the Tribune was clueless about her ineptness. "

hmmmm wrote on Dec 3, 2008 12:35 AM:

" I scored a 100%; however, I have a college major in economics and wouldn't have had a correct answer to most of the questions until I was in college. Honestly, I think the 75% average score is pretty impressive.

Also, some of the questions are a bit silly:

For example:
27) Free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than governments centralized planning because:
"Correct Answer": A. the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends

Someone could (and has) write a book about why free markets typically work better than central planning. Its a bit simplistic and probably even wrong to suggest that the only and even primary reason is for this is that "
the price system utilizes more local knowledge of means and ends" "

Helena H basket wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:49 PM:

" Monkey trial- A teacher being brought to court over teaching the theory of evolution... it seems a little obvious now... thanks wikipedia ... I can feel my civics score rising... "

Helena H basket wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:38 PM:

" What in the heck is the monkey trial? I got a 79%- the economics questions did me in. I graduated from college with honors, but obviously still have some learning to do- I'm going to start by googling the monkey trial. Wish me happy learning... "

Westriver wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:27 PM:

" What is really scary is that the elected officials scored lower than the general population on all but four questions. I scored 84.something. "

Facts wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:39 PM:

" Are American voters civically stupid? Yes! Ask any God-fearing, Bible-believing, Evangelical-Christian. "

Rasmus wrote on Dec 2, 2008 5:09 PM:

" I didn't do well on questions relating to economics, resulting in an 85%. But given the track record of government economists, they deserve an even smaller score. "

Grumpy Old Republican wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:04 AM:

" I haven't "brushed up" on my civics information since high school over 20 years ago. I did score 87 on the test, which apparently is quite respectable. I agree with another poster that there should really be some responsibility placed upon voters to know for what and whom they are voting, and to understand the basic principles of our government. Too many completely uninformed people cast their votes (in both directions, I might add) based on what the media tells them instead of what they SHOULD have learned and maintained in school. "

Virgil H. Soule wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:11 AM:

" The United States of America is a republic in which certain people are designated and empowered to make laws, administer those laws, and decide whether those laws are legal under the Constitution. The legislators and administrators are placed in office (and can be removed) through free, democratic elections. The adjudicators are nominated by the administrators and accepted or rejected by the legislators. It's a great system as long as everybody follows the rules of law. Great test! Some of the questions were real toughies. (I missed three.) "

Kimberly M wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:54 AM:

" It may sound discriminatory and will never happen, but I feel that in order to vote, every voter must pass a basic citizenship test, like new immigrants have to. The questions aren't THAT hard as long as you have a basic understanding about how our country works. Then at least we can ensure that voters have a basic understanding of what they are voting for and how it will ultimately affect them. "

Error in Quiz wrote on Dec 2, 2008 1:01 AM:

" The quiz has its own error. Question 1 refers to "inalienable" rights mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. The document says "unalienable;" there is supposed to be a difference. For those curious, my score was 94%. "

to IDC wrote on Dec 1, 2008 6:18 PM:

" You are correct, I did not know it wasn't required anymore. That is INSANE. We need to be aware then contact education committees and demand this is added back in. I was going to make a smart remark about our representatives wanting to keep the new generation uninformed but I'll let it go. "

Joe wrote on Dec 1, 2008 2:18 PM:

" I failed...went from Horizon middle school to Century right on up the ladder to the University of Mary. Thanks for nothing but this chip on my shoulder! "

Liberty wrote on Dec 1, 2008 2:01 PM:

" Thirty-eight years after the Declaration of Independence, John Adams warned:
Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy that did not commit suicide.

John Marshall, chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835 observed:
Between a balanced republic and a democracy, the difference is like that between order and chaos.

Article IV, Section 4, of the constitution "guarantees to every State in this union a Republican Form of Government."

Interesting reading by Benedict D. LaRosa: Democracy or Republic, Which is it? http://www.devvy.com/pdf/larosa/larosa_democracy_or_republic.pdf

http://www.campaignforliberty.org/blog.php?view=4300 "

dlj wrote on Dec 1, 2008 1:58 PM:

" I just took the test and got an 79%. Unless a person is a civic's instructor or a history buff I doubt very much that fiscal conservative or anyone else for that matter will score above a 90%. For these reasons: How many people even remember who Stephen A Douglas is from a civics class or what he and Lincoln debated about. How many people can remember what Jimmy Carter and Reagan debated about. What % of people remember what Socrates and Plato said. How about the monkey trial, or the anti federalists, or the puritans. Thats 5 questions that a large majority of americans would not know, no matter how educated. If you get those 5 wrong that leaves you a 85%. "

IDC wrote on Dec 1, 2008 11:07 AM:

" Guess what?? I bet not many of you know that government/civics is NOT required in the state of ND. Thats right, if a school doesn't want to offer it as a course, it doesn't have to. I know of a few schools that do not teach a government course because they don't have to. That is a sad, sad reflection of our state. I've contacted numerous legislators on the education committees and not one single response in regards to this issue. "

warmachine wrote on Dec 1, 2008 10:16 AM:

" I took the test and passed. I thank my junior high civics teacher & class for that knowledge. It was at Simile Junior High School quite some time ago. Don't recall the his / her teachers name but it was well worth it. "

Harleyp wrote on Dec 1, 2008 9:06 AM:

" Once again turns in to a argumentative issue. Question should be how this can be changed.

Answer is to make it a required course once again in high school classes which would help dramatically. Plus family interaction would help. Sad thing is the people who come into this country and get citizenship are required to learn all this and more. Heck how many can recite the pledge allegiance anymore or sing the national anthem. "

Dewdrop wrote on Nov 30, 2008 8:06 PM:

" Thank you dlj, for setting Fiscal Conservative straight on this matter! I also am tired of hearing the same old, same old from this person..... that claims he scored over 90-% on the test but stllll blames Bush alone for the war in Iraq! I did not score over 90 but, scored better than the averge college person although I never had any formal college education. What dies that tell us about the average college student or is it actually the colleges that it is reflective of? and dos it matter? Yes, of course it does..... no wonder people don't have a clue when they go to vote for anything or for any body! "

dlj wrote on Nov 30, 2008 2:42 PM:

" fiscal conservative, why do you keep bringing up the same old hate bush speech ??? But since you have let me say this:
U.N.Security Council Resolution 1441 is a resolution by the UN security council passed unanimously Nov. 8th 2002, offering Iraq a fial opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations that had ben set out in several other resolutions. Resolutions 660,661,678,686,687,688,707,715,986,1284.That is is 10 different chances that the United Nations (not George Bush) gave Sadaam Hussien to dissarm. Now how much more of a last resort can there be ?? Not only did congres give Bush the authority to go to war but so did every nation in the United Nations UNANIMOUSLY. So apparently every leader of every majhor nation in the world including the US congess thought the inteligance gathered about Iraq was correct at the time. I guarentee the people who could not pass he civics test are the same peole who had no idea taht these resolutions that were violated over and over and over, are the same people who still to this day say that Bush lied and led us into a false war. "

Halatbis wrote on Nov 30, 2008 2:39 PM:

" I do not agree that Bin Laden and/or Al Qaeda are stronger than ever. They are limited to hide-outs and living among "civilian populations" to keep out of sight of civilized authority and forces.
Many writers and policy experts differ on the Iraq and Afghanistan business: these are people dealing with the world "in hind-sight", nor do they have responsibility for our safety and welfare. They can say what they want, and if they are wrong they can write another piece next week or next month.
The world is a safer and more prosperous place thanks to the United States..Question: if it were not the U.S. sacrificing for freedom--who would you have in our place?? "

Fiscal Conservative wrote on Nov 30, 2008 10:45 AM:

" I took the quiz as well. I scored above a 90. Perhpas this quiz should be given to people running for public office. If they fail, they are out of a job. I think we'd have a lot of vacancies in many public offices. "

Fiscal Conservative wrote on Nov 30, 2008 10:43 AM:

" Yes, Congress voted that the president could go to war. However, only as a last resort. So the president declared War in Iraq. We have doubled our national debt. We neglected the War on Terror in Afghanistan and now Bin Laden and company are stronger than ever. Time already has told us that it was a mistake to go to War in Iraq. The Soviet Union went broke and crumbled by having too many foreign fronts. Now we appear to be doing the same. "

Mahonri wrote on Nov 30, 2008 8:20 AM:

" "future of our democracy"
Way to go Trib, the US is not a Democracy. "

Halatbis wrote on Nov 29, 2008 3:02 PM:

" The quiz is interesting. I got three wrong and am thinking that one of the questions could be open to argument.
A recent event in Morton County pointed out the lack of knowledge and the lack of engagement people have at the local level. The zoning flap over a feed lot to be sited 6 or 7 miles north of Mandan and near a country development. The responses were vitriolic and emotional--and this is understandable--people and their investments in property are at stake.
However, many many persons were willing to ignore or toss out a county zoning ordnance that was duly and properly put in place months earlier. The people did not recognize that a county board put months of work into a Comprehensive Plan, had public hearings, and several readings and votes before it took effect.
No one seemed to pay any attention during that time. All of this done in complete open public meetings. "

Halatbis wrote on Nov 29, 2008 2:46 PM:

" Yes, it does matter. As One listens to even a sampling of the talk shows and read the letters to the editor, it becomes clear and even scary that the we do not know much about our own government. That applies to all levels of government-- be it local, county, state or federal--the ignorance is breathtaking; and we remain ignorant at our peril. We elect people to office expecting them to provide favors and largess from the public treasury in the form of social programs that relieve us of our own obligations. In exchange for social programs we willingly give up a small part of our personal freedoms, and bit by bit we give our lives over to the government. We need only look to Europe to see the effect: the people become docile and subservient because their government has power over them to give or to not give. The quality of their daily living is now controlled by government functionaries.
A recent example: a talker on a daily show in ND was indignant that the Electoral College could not remove the Governor of ND.
Or another: the talker was angry about the property tax level; the person said the governor should lower them or be removed from office.
These are people who show up at the polling place. Then we have the advocates who say every one must vote or suffer some kind of penalty. We are already suffering the penalty! Could it get worse? Yes! "

Boks wrote on Nov 29, 2008 2:37 PM:

" I just took this test and realized that I am grateful for having loving parents who taught me to be an engaged participant in society. However, the other thing I noted was that this test seems to have some bias in it. I think there are some things in this quiz that many would disagree for example, the question on what would be best to stimlute the economy. Just my thoughts but then again I scored a 90% the three questions I got wrong I debated between my wrong answer and the correct answer. "

does it matter wrote on Nov 29, 2008 7:36 AM:

" Yes it does matter. All of the uninformed voters who blame President Bush for "lying" about the intelligence they received before going to war need to realize congress had the same intelligence and voted to go to war. Was it the right decision by Congress? Only time will tell. "

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