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American Civics Literacy Exam

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  • American Civics Literacy Exam



    Are you more knowledgeable than the average citizen? The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better? Questions were drawn from past ISI surveys, as well as other nationally recognized exams.
    That is terrible. No wonder our political system is so screwy.

    I scored a 93.4%. Got these ones wrong:

    Spoiler:
    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

    Question: What was the source of the following phrase: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”?
    Your Answer: Declaration of Independence
    Correct Answer: Gettysburg Address


    If taxes equal government spending, government debt would be zero, though, right? What's with that?
    "Flutie was better than Kelly, Elway, Esiason and Cunningham." - Ben Kenobi
    "I have nothing against Wilson, but he's nowhere near the same calibre of QB as Flutie. Flutie threw for 5k+ yards in the CFL." -Ben Kenobi

  • #2
    1) you are an idiot
    2) I got 100% without even having to think hard
    3) I have never broken my shins from running

    Conclusion: I am obviously more fit than you to join the US army
    12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
    Stadtluft Macht Frei
    Killing it is the new killing it
    Ultima Ratio Regum

    Comment


    • #3
      "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
      Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

      Comment


      • #4
        I got one wrong. I thought Lincoln Douglas debate was value debate and checked the box about the moral debate about slavery. In reality it was about the expansion of slavery into the territories.
        Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

        Comment


        • #5
          I missed the Plato question. Meh. Otherwise, got em all right.
          If there is no sound in space, how come you can hear the lasers?
          ){ :|:& };:

          Comment


          • #6
            Got them all right.

            I got one wrong. I thought Lincoln Douglas debate was value debate and checked the box about the moral debate about slavery. In reality it was about the expansion of slavery into the territories.
            Indeed. The slavery answer was schmuck bait.

            Ooh, it says Lincoln, it should be slavery!1!
            Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
            "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
            2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

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            • #7
              Question: What was the source of the following phrase: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”?
              Your Answer: Declaration of Independence
              Correct Answer: Gettysburg Address
              Really Al?

              Even I know that the rest of the quote is "shall not perish from this earth". Which is how I teach my class to remember that it was Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address after the Union won the battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War.

              If taxes equal government spending, government debt would be zero, though, right? What's with that?
              The deficit would be zero, the debt would not. Different concepts. Deficit is the yearly outflow, the debt is the accumulated yearly outflow plus interest.

              I notice that they have finally reworded the question about 'what should the government do in times of fiscal hardship' to "what has the government usually done". Their answer is still wrong.

              This is a bad question, because the government, overall has usually cut spending and lowered taxes in the face of a recession. At least it did for about 150 years, and hasn't for the last 80.
              Last edited by Ben Kenobi; July 16, 2011, 17:01.
              Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
              "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
              2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

              Comment


              • #8
                It's curious as high school debate has "Lincoln-Douglas Value Debate" where you debate abstract values. I remember doing that in high school and that's what made me think it was a value debate instead of a policy debate.
                Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Al B Sure....for government debt to be zero, government spending would have always had to have equaled taxes. I think you are confusing debt with deficit. If government spending equals taxes there is a 0 deficit (but the government could still be in considerable debt due to prior deficits). 0 deficit means that the government is not incurring any more debt.

                  /me
                  "Clearly I'm missing the thread some of where the NFL actually is." - Ben Kenobi on his NFL knowledge

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    So it was a stock vs flow question?

                    What the hell? That's what I get for assuming the question was implying if taxes always have equaled spending.
                    "Flutie was better than Kelly, Elway, Esiason and Cunningham." - Ben Kenobi
                    "I have nothing against Wilson, but he's nowhere near the same calibre of QB as Flutie. Flutie threw for 5k+ yards in the CFL." -Ben Kenobi

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      What the hell? That's what I get for assuming the question was implying if taxes always have equaled spending.
                      That's why the test had the option that the debt was zero. The test is well crafted to get people to select answers that are the wrong ones. This way despite the fact that people know the answer they can get them to put the wrong answer down. Anyways, remember that, "shall not perish", and you'll never get the Gettysburg address wrong again.
                      Scouse Git (2) La Fayette Adam Smith Solomwi and Loinburger will not be forgotten.
                      "Remember the night we broke the windows in this old house? This is what I wished for..."
                      2015 APOLYTON FANTASY FOOTBALL CHAMPION!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Wow, Al is a dummy. But we knew that. The only hard question, IMO, was the one about philosophers.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%.
                          Yeah, right. Who are these "college educators" if they're more stupid than Al?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by gribbler View Post
                            Wow, Al is a dummy. But we knew that. The only hard question, IMO, was the one about philosophers.
                            How the **** was that hard. Everyone ****ing knows Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and Thomas Aquinas were all about reason and rational thought! All the other options made NO SENSE for those philosophers!

                            I mock you and HC for having no grasp on that obvious duh question which was one of the easiest there
                            "Flutie was better than Kelly, Elway, Esiason and Cunningham." - Ben Kenobi
                            "I have nothing against Wilson, but he's nowhere near the same calibre of QB as Flutie. Flutie threw for 5k+ yards in the CFL." -Ben Kenobi

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              http://www.americancivicliteracy.org...l_finding.html

                              Who the hell are these "elected politicians" who don't know about the Cuban Missile Crisis?

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