TAKE THE TEST HERE (if you dare).
TYWKIWDBI is embarrassed to have scored only 10/12 correct. Analysis by the Pew group [don't read this before taking the test because it contains spoilers] showed that the most important demographic variable was the age of the respondent:
For each of the 12 items tested, a greater proportion of older people (50 and older) than younger people (younger than 35) knew the correct answer...Overall, those who are 50 or older answered an average of 8.4 questions correctly, while those younger than 35 answered just 5.9 questions correctly on average. College graduates fared better than those with less education: On average, college graduates correctly answered 8.7 questions correctly, while those with some college got an average of 7.6 right and those with no more than a high school education got 6.2 correct.
Men correctly answered an average of 8.3 out of 12 questions correctly; women answered an average of 6.7. Republicans received higher average scores on the quiz than both Democrats and independents. Republicans averaged 8.1 correct answers, compared with 7.3 for independents and 7.2 for Democrats.
I got 10 of 12 correct as well, but I should have gotten 11 of 12.
ReplyDeleteOne of my wrong answers was the current unemployment rate, which they state is around 8%.
The problem with this is that after Reagan, unemployment was calculated differently.
If we were to calculate it CORRECTLY, the nationwide average is over 12%, with some states closer to 16%.
I got 11 of 12 but I guessed on a couple. Regarding the low scores for those younger than 35 -- that would have been true for me too. That's about the time I started paying attention to the news.
ReplyDeleteThat's not a current affairs quiz. It's a current American affairs quiz, typical of the "us, us, us" attitude. No wonder it's called the US.
ReplyDeleteI'm 12 of 12, and I'm from Germany.
ReplyDeleteYay!
12 out of 12 here.
ReplyDeleteKingdom Studies - "The problem with this is that after Reagan, unemployment was calculated differently."
Partially correct. Every president since JFK has tweaked the economic calculations in some shape or form. Nixon was known to have two sets of numbers and only released the ones that made him look better. I'm pretty sure that he was not the only one.
11 out of 12 here, and I am shocked at how low the ladeez score, on average. Cringe-able! I can't be that much more jacked in than most women, can I? I don't watch the news or read the newspaper (except the Sunday Times, aka "Church"). Of course, I am umbilically tied to google reader...
ReplyDeleteGot 12 out of 12, (guessed on 3 or 4). I am Swiss, living in Switzerland (and would do abyssmally on a quizz about swiss politics). Reading A. Sullivan's daily dish apparently gets you somewhere...
ReplyDeleteHere's Your Score: You correctly answered 12 of the 12 possible questions along with approximately 6% of the public. You did better than 94% of the general public.
ReplyDeleteI'm an older woman, and I didn't guess on any answer. I get my news from NPR almost exclusively.
Interestingly, the question with the least correct answers (36%) is: 'Since the start of military action in Iraq, about how many U.S. military personnel have been killed?'
ReplyDelete4300! I got that wrong as well
Michael, that one was one of my "educated" guesses. An absolutely astounding number, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteA homeowner near my office flew one small American flag in her small yard for every military death. She quit at 3800-plus flags because somebody kept uprooting them. I have to say the sight was emotionally comparable to Arlington Cemetary.
30 yo German male living in NZ at the moment, 11 correct. But educated guesses (something I am very good at) at most of the questions.
ReplyDeleteNot following any US news.
The question I got wrong was about the three automakers.
32 yr. old American female high school graduate-I got 10 out 12 right. I was wrong about the Dow Average and the number of soldier deaths in Iraq (I thought there were more).
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said, "That's not a current affairs quiz. It's a current American affairs quiz, typical of the "us, us, us" attitude. No wonder it's called the US."
Way to generalize. The name of the post, by the way, does say "The public's knowledge re U.S. (as in the United States) current events".