Education, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

31/33

38 Comments

That was my score on this quiz. It really should have been 32 — I somehow misread the question on enemies during WW II, and read it as “allies.” And I accordingly was frustrated because none of the answers were correct (I just assumed that they meant the USSR instead of “Russia”). The only question I really missed (in terms of the actual knowledge, as opposed to misreading) was the one about the anti-Federalists. What’s dismaying, but not surprising, is how poorly not just the general public, but academics do. It would explain the disastrous results of many elections.

38 thoughts on “31/33”

  1. Some of the distractor answers are unintentionally (?) hilarious:

    What are the three branches of government?

    bureaucratic, military, industry

  2. You answered 33 out of 33 correctly — 100.00 %

    *does a Snoopy dance*

    The results page said college educators scored 55%. It must’ve been those ‘trick’ questions about capitalism and the vast gulf between academic liberal myths and reality.

  8. 32/33 I muffed the question about the first amendment.
    I new it dealt with freedom of the press, and assembly, but failed to remember the religion part…….

  10. I blew it and got two wrong.

    Question: The phrase that in America there should be a “wall of separation” between church and state appears in:
    Your Answer: George Washington’s Farewell Address
    Correct Answer: Thomas Jefferson’s letters

    #

    Question: The Puritans:
    Your Answer: opposed all wars on moral grounds
    Correct Answer: stressed the sinfulness of all humanity

    That ticked me off, because, darn it, I knew the one from Jefferson about religion and forgot. I hate it when I misremember stuff like that.

    *IF* they are serious about average and college professor scores (49% and 55% respectively) I find that utterly terrifying! Most of these questions were easy and basic.

    If there was a way to fairly implement it (I don’t think there is) I’d be in favor of a knowledge test as a requirement for voting; if you don’t know the issues, you can’t vote on that subject or contest. (an uninformed vote is far worse than not voting). I self-impose this restriction on many judicial elections, because I don’t know the records in many cases. So, I leave those races blank on my ballot.

  14. 28/33, I definitely need to do a bit of reading – admittedly I did rush it and I am a New Zealander. But even so, my father would probably get 33/33.

    55% average for US college educators is a little unbelievable.

  15. 30/33 and I’m surprised I did this well because I’m not a US citizen. I got it wrong on the anti-Federalists, Lincoln vs Douglas and the origin of the phrase “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”.

  16. 24 or 25 out of 33 (I didn’t write or copy it down).

    I incorrectly answered: Lincoln/Douglas debate, “Of the, by the, for the”, Roosevelt’s response to the Supreme Court (I incorrectly guessed between impeachment and adding more justices), the Anti-Federalists, the Socrates/Plato/et. al. question, Susan B. (even though I should have known it, having gotten S.B.A. dollar coins all through my childhood), who Congress shares Foreign Policy power with (I thought that the president was higher, and thus it wasn’t a “shared power”), and had taxes going in the wrong direction on the fiscal policy question.

    All in all, I think that I got some of the more important questions correct, although I think all of them were pretty important, too. Then again, there were more questions on the test than I’ve had birthdays, so maybe I can blame it on my “modern” education?

  17. Well, well, well… I’m British and despite that got 33/33. Now who was it who was saying I don’t understand America?

  19. 32/33 – I got sloppy on the last question.

    If taxes equal government spending, then:
    Your Answer: government debt is zero
    Correct Answer: tax per person equals government spending per person on average

    Can’t recall the source, but I remember an old joke punchline about the three branches of government being the lobbyists, the media, and the ACLU. Sounds like a test answer that Skyler from the “Shoe” comic strip would come up with.

  20. Well, it looks like rocket scientists (even non-American ones) blow the top out of a US civics test. Now can we see how the civics majors do on an aerospace/rocket science quiz?

  22. 32/33

    I cynically answered “raise taxes and spending” as the fed response to recessions, they were looking for lowered taxes, raised spending. I might quibble about that…

  25. 33/33… although I’d want to see the data before pronouncing definitively that Doug Jones’ and my scores shouldn’t be switched.

    For those missing the Anti-Federalists question: that debate about the Bill of Rights was almost prophetically relevant to many of the political posts here. One side, concerned that the enumerated powers in the Constitution would still be interpreted in ways that create liberty-destroying loopholes unless overridden by clear statements of citizens’ rights… Another side, warning that any bill of rights would be redundant to the plain meaning of the text and would risk destroying the very understanding of the federal government as an entity of specific, limited powers in the first place…

    Much of modern politics derives from the tragedy that *both* sides were right.

  26. I also hesitated a long time about the “response to recessions” question — finally concluding (correctly) that they were seeking the “textbook” answer of “lower taxes and raise spending”. I think Doug Jones’ answer might actually be correct more often than not.

  28. 30 / 33

    and at least one of those, “Three Branches of Gub’ment” I knew but evidently ‘tagged’ the wrong button.

    I missed the Greek Philosophers question. (when in doubt, CHARLEY out) I don’t do Greek Philosophers and they’ve been dead 3000 years, WHY should I care what they thought?

    I missed the business profits question because I misread both the question AND answer. And yet, our P/T bid’ness makes money! So does that mean that I, just like GM and Obama, just seem to understand how bid’ness works?

    I can tell you, that I know plenty of ‘educated’ people who would bomb the E-mortal sh!t outta that test. And most of them still have Obama / Biden stickers on their SUVs. Which means we’re probably doomed!

  30. You answered 33 out of 33 correctly — 100.00 %

    I admit I had to guess on 3 or 4 of them. I second the motion about civics majors taking an aerospace/rocket science quiz. That quiz should contain a lot of thermodynamics-related questions, so hopefully when the civics majors (and the community organizers, etc.) get them all wrong, they’ll realize they don’t know squat about feasibility, costs, and schedules for their “green energy” fantasies. (Yeah, I know it’s my fantasy that those folks could ever realize and admit they have unachievable “green energy” fantasies!)

  31. Bluemoon, I’m reminded of a Secretary of Transportion under President Clinton who said in a USA Today article that we should switch to flying cars, which would be more efficient than ground vehicles “because they have no drag.” Our gub’mint appointed leaders are right on top of things. Yes siree bob.

  35. Now can we see how the civics majors do on an aerospace/rocket science quiz?

    Is there an Orbital Mechanics for Dummies book? Maybe next to Cardiothoracic Surgery for Dummies (in the null set).

  36. John Hare,
    this is a FAST class bud.

    A cut above the norm of America, several levels of smarts beyond the norm. Besides, 31 / 33 on that test is pretty good IMHO. Like IcePilot said a few were ‘least’ bad answer. So missing those questions seems questionable in looking at how you did.

  37. 33/33. Partly luck, I couldn’t remember whether the “wall of separation” phrase was Washington’s or Jefferson’s. I agree that a few of them were questionable, but I’ve found that’s the case on any multiple-choice test.

    Alan, the last question almost got me too- it hinges on you knowing (and remembering!) the difference between “debt” and “deficit”.

  38. I must have been cheating (looking over doug jones shoulder and gettting the exact same answers.)

    Wish me well. I have a saturday lunch to discuss a s/w partnership with a local businessman. Will have to get the internet at home again.

    It turns out this mushbrain can still write code.

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