Back in November 10, 2010, I wrote a posting that combined
concerns over a lack of both political knowledge and social capital. I made the point that while I had, to that
point in this blog, reported on low levels of political knowledge among
American students, there was research that favorably compared the knowledge of
American kids to that of youngsters in other countries. I also made the assertion that there is a
link between political participation and political knowledge; that is, there is
an obvious educational result from people gaining the experience of actual
political work. In trying to update
information I used in those early postings, I do have one more recent study,
but before relating it, let me point out that gauging how knowledgeable US
students are or how knowledgeable their adult counterparts are is dicey at
best. One can give knowledge tests, but
you might shortchange what political knowledge a person tested has by “missing”
that knowledge in the questions one asks.
So, in this update – of sorts – let me just qualify what I am reporting
by making this point: any generalization
over what Americans know or do not know is speculative, at best. What often goes unreported are the types of
knowledge that stem from more day to day experiences; the type of knowledge
obtained on the streets.
The only meaningful study I can add to the earlier reporting
is one conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2014.[1] They found the following:
(Paraphrasing the questions, the percent of respondents
getting the questions correct, and the correct answer)
·
What
is the federal minimal wage? 73% of
respondents got it correct. The right
answer: $7.25.
·
In
what nation does ISIS control territory? 67% of respondents got it correct. The right answer (in 2014): Syria.
·
Ukraine
was a part of what political entity? 60%
of respondents got it correct. The right
answer: USSR.
·
What
is Common Core? 49% of respondents got
it correct. The right answer: national educational standards.
·
What
is the source of North Dakota’s economic boom?
46% of respondents got it correct.
The right answer: oil.
·
In
what country is there an outbreak of Ebola?
46% of respondents got it correct.
The right answer: Liberia.
·
What
is the name of Israel’s prime minister?
38% of respondents got it correct.
The right answer: Netanyahu.
·
What
is the current unemployment rate? 33% of
respondents got it correct. The right
answer (in 2014): circa 6%.
·
In
which country do Shiites outnumber Sunnis?
29% of respondents got it correct.
The right answer: Iran.
·
Who
is the chairperson of the Federal Reserve (FED)? 24% of respondents got it correct. The right answer: Yellen.
·
In
which budget line item does the federal government spend most funds? 20% of respondents got it correct. The right answer: Social Security.
·
What
portion of the US population is below the poverty line? 20% of respondents got it correct. The right answer: 15%.
Is this a good or not so good level of political
knowledge? Are the questions reflective
of useful political knowledge or are they random concerns that a person engaged
or interested in politics and government might know or not know? These are useful questions about which I can
only speculate. I do know that the state
of our politics today and how general political issues are discussed and argued
about, at least in how the media portray that process, give one concern. When you have a candidate for president who
is leading in the polls and is accused by other candidates as being a non-serious
candidate, questions of how knowledgeable the general public is pop up. The above numbers are interesting. Distressful are the results on the questions
concerning the unemployment rate, FED chairperson, government spending, and
poverty line. These questions reflect
how well our nation is doing. One would
suppose that such questions would have higher correct rates in a nation where
it was common to be involved in the political environment of the day. I believe that these numbers reflect poorly
on not just how we as a people are involved, but on the educational efforts in
civics and government to promote that involvement.
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