Twenty percent of the officials, reports Richard Brake in AOL News, thought that the ElectoralCollege was a school for "training those aspiring for higher political office."
"The fact that our elected representatives know even less about America's history and institutions than the typical citizen (who doesn't know much either) is troubling indeed," writes Brake, who is co-chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute's National Civic Literacy Board, "but perhaps helps explain the lack of constitutional discipline often displayed by our political class at every level of our system.The average overall score was 49% and for those who had held elected office it was 44%. Having taken the quiz myself, I can't possibly convey how sorry a performance this is. Halfway through the thing, I almost thought it was a joke because the questions were that easy. However, toward the end it got a little more sticky. I ended up scoring an 88%, mostly because I over-thought a few of those at the end.
Take the exam yourself and see if you, too, are smarter than a politician!
I got 79%--did some overthinking myself. Otherwise, this is stuff that should be taught in a proper civics course and everyone should know.
ReplyDeleteIf you go back to the Reece Committee, it was found in the original minutes of the Carnegie Foundation that the most efficient way to effect change in the US was 1. War 2. Take over the State Dept. 3. Infiltrate and change the teaching of US history and civics in the schools, both at k-12 and in the colleges.
ReplyDeleteThis is the information that made Committee researcher Catherine Casey have a nervous breakdown.
There hasn't been "civics" courses in American high schools in several decades.
I scored 84%, then linked you.
ReplyDeletehttp://mindnumbedrobot.com/2011/01/30/smarter-elected-official/3994
Keep shining that light, TrM. God bless.