November 18, 2009 9:35 PM
Pew News IQ Score - you gotta take this test
Shannon sent me this. I'm embarrassed to publish my results since I should have scored 100% - but it is so shocking to see how uninformed our citizenry is. No wonder they are so easily controlled and manipulated. And it goes a long way toward explaining something that's been difficult to understand: the venom for Sarah Palin - they're just regurgitating what they are fed:
Take it for yourself at Pew Research
Posted in Obama Nation | Permalink
Comments
Having seen the results chart here before taking the test, I was expecting some challenging questions! Wow. I did get all 12, but was just a little iffy about the troop numbers. I wonder if our President got that one correct.
Posted by: Marian | November 18, 2009 10:38 PM
Well I only got 11 correct. I missed the question about the Dow, and my excuse is since I'm pregnant(and have to be careful of my blood pressure), I had to stop paying attention to the Dow since our 401K account has been tied up in it.
We really shouldn't be surprised at the results, since there was a poll out a few months ago where more people got their news from Stephen Colbert than normal news outlets.
Posted by: Heather P. | November 18, 2009 10:53 PM
I got 9 of 12. The 3 I missed were unemployment, who chairs the FED and doIsrael and Iran share a border. Now, the last two I really did not know but I just read yesterday that our actual unemployment rate is at 17% so used that knowledge to answer. Hmph.
oh, I really did think Ben Beneke (or however you spell his name) was chairman. I have not even heard of Max whatshisname.
Posted by: Ouida Gabriel | November 18, 2009 11:46 PM
Cool! I got 11 questions correct (with the help of my husband, who has better information retention than I do, although the one I got wrong was his guess - mine would have been right), which put me in the 5% group. But there were a couple I really didn't know, so more accurately, I'm in the 7%. No matter what, it's pretty scary. What I find the most interesting is that the 50+ group only averages almost 6 questions correct and that's the highest voting block.
Posted by: Lucy | November 19, 2009 12:25 AM
I surprised myself. I only missed 3....There are so many names to keep track of.....Good test....Becky
Posted by: Rebecca Wold | November 19, 2009 1:14 AM
I got 9 correct and wished I had gotten 2 more right! :)
Yes, we are a very UNinformed bunch - watching those Jay Leno "man on the street" interviews is painful!
Posted by: Sheila | November 19, 2009 2:20 AM
I missed the Iran/Israel border question. And the one about how US health care spending compared to European nations.
I just went back and looked at the demographics and they are very disturbing. Youth average 4 questions right!
Moms, our job is clear: get our kids involved in politics early. If they are at all inclined, raise them to serve their community by becoming reporters, teachers and running for office.
Posted by: barbara | November 19, 2009 6:41 AM
If you go into how well people answered question by question, only 75% got the question right about which party is in majority in Congress.
HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHO IS IN THE MAJORITY IN CONGRESS????????????
Sigh.
Got 10/12, not bad:). I guessed too high on unemployment.
Posted by: Sarah | November 19, 2009 8:30 AM
I got 11 - missed the Dow question. Though, if there wasn't a multiple choice quiz and I was just asked those questions, I might have missed a few more. I was able to weed out the answers I knew were incorrect and recognize correct names, etc. My husband got 6 and said it's because he just doesn't care and why should he. I lit into him about the reason the government is taking us to hell in a hand basket is because too many people have that same attitude. ;)
Posted by: Elle | November 19, 2009 8:47 AM
11 out of 12, guess I'd better start checking the stock market.
Posted by: A Mac and a Mug O' Joe | November 19, 2009 9:01 AM
I missed the same two as Barbara. I guess all that news watching paid off a bit, though I should've gotten the health care spending one correct. Duh.
Posted by: Susanne | November 19, 2009 9:26 AM
12/12, not bad for someone w/out an Ivy League education. Actually never finished college. Wish I had found my passion for politics 20 years ago, maybe I would have finished. Scary graph. I'll sign off with a quote from Thomas Jefferson. "Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government."
p.s. Best way to educated our children is to teach them about our founding fathers. Their courage, wisdom, and faith are inspiring. William J. Bennett has many GREAT books you can use with your kids. "Our Country's Founders-A Book of Advice for Young People", is a good one to start with.
Posted by: Melissa | November 19, 2009 9:49 AM
11 out of 12. I got the number of troops in Afghanistan wrong. I thought it was 70,000 but I just wasn't sure so I went with a higher number. Not bad for someone who is NOT a US citizen.
I will tell you though the real test is to answer those question WITHOUT the multiple answers.
It's sad to see that the majority do not know their geography or keep up with the current issues. :(
Wake up, America!!!!
Posted by: tereza crump AKA MyTreasuredCreations | November 19, 2009 11:35 AM
I got all 12, but there were a couple that I was a bit shaky on.
Posted by: Lauren | November 19, 2009 8:10 PM
I got 10 out of 12 but I guessed on a couple of them and guessed right. :) I also wouldn't have done as well without the choices. My husband got 11 out of 12. I don't think any of your readers should get the one wrong about who Glenn Beck is. :)
Posted by: Lisa | November 20, 2009 10:35 PM
