Text 8384, 65 rader
Skriven 2008-11-23 20:49:39 av Richard Webb (1:116/901.0)
Ärende: not surprising
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Hello all!


  WASHINGTON (AFP)  96 US elected officials scored abysmally on a test
  measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44
  percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

  Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent
  correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate
  Studies Institute (ISI).

  "It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic
  literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of
  elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting,
  chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI.

  "How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't
  understand the American experience?" he added.

  The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US
  government and economics.

  Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly
  selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected
  officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries
  that were our enemies during World War II."

  Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and
  Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia,
  Canada, Mexico and Spain.

  Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the 

  US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly
  answered that that power rests with Congress.

  Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials
  incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised
  presidential debates."

  In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect
  electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitutio n.

  The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16
  percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic
  principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic
  prosperity than government's centralized planning?"

  Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the 

  phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and
  documentaries, ISI said.

  Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs,
  taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and
  history, the group said.

  Copyright  2008 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.



Regards,
           Richard
--- timEd 1.10.y2k+
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