Education: A new survey finds that only a third of Americans could pass the U.S. Citizenship test. It's a dismal testament to the abject failure of the country's education system. And a looming threat to the nation's future.
The survey, conducted by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and released on Wednesday, found that only 36% of Americans would pass the citizenship test given to immigrants. And this is on a test that only requires applicants to get 60% of the questions right.
Fewer than one quarter, for example, knew why the colonists fought the British. More than half don't know how many justices serve on the Supreme Court. Fully 60% don't know which countries the U.S. fought in World War II.
Civics Ignorance
More troubling, the survey found that younger people are far more ignorant about the most basic facts of U.S. history and civics. A pathetically low 19% of those under age 45 passed the test.
"It would be an error to view these findings as merely an embarrassment," said the Wilson Foundation's president Arthur Levine. "Knowledge of the history of our country is fundamental to maintaining a democratic society, which is imperiled today."
He has it exactly right. And blame rests with the nation's education system who turn out students increasingly ignorant of even rudimentary facts about American history and civics.Read the rest of this IBD editorial HERE.
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