ISI Civics Quiz

Here is an interesting civics quiz which nearly everyone who has taken it flunked. So much for our schools.

In 2006 and 2007, ISI published the first ever scientific surveys of civic learning among college students. Each year, approximately 14,000 freshmen and seniors at 50 schools nationwide were given a 60-question, multiple-choice exam on basic knowledge of America’s heritage. Both years, the students failed. The average freshman scored 51.7% the first year and 51.4% the next. The average senior scored 53.2%, then 54.2%.

Interestingly, the summary says:

Officeholders typically have less civic knowledge than the general public. On average,they score 44% , five percentage points lower than non-officeholders.

I think this supports my idea that we don't pay these jobs nearly enough: Bright, highly educated, motivated people have much better things to do with their time than suffer the privacy invasions, campaigning efforts, and nuts and bolts of politics for a lot less money than they can get in the private sector. My suggestion: Pay Congresscritters and Senators at least a half million bucks a year. At least.

Big city alderman/county councilmen should get a few hundred thousand each.

You couldn't find the difference in the overall budgets, and we would at least have a chance of attracting decent people.

As for students not knowing anything, it seems to me that the people setting the curricula should be payed more too. The current crop are not producing very impressive results.

I wonder what percentage got 100? 90% puts one in the top 0.8%