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Strollerderby
Are You Smarter Than an Oklahoma Teenager?
Three out of four Oklahoma teenagers can’t name the first President of the United States.
That’s according to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, who commissioned a telephone survey of 1,000 Oklahoma high school students. The teens were asked 10 questions from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services citizenship test, the test that immigrants need to take to become American citizens. Only three percent of Oklahoma teens passed the test. On the other hand, 92 percent of people applying for citizenship pass it on their first try.
Here are five questions from the survey — see how you measure up on the test below:
- What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
- What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
- What ocean is on the east coast of the United States?
- What are the two major political parties in the United States?
- Who is in charge of the executive branch?
(Answers: 1. The Bill of Rights, 2. The House and the Senate, 3. Atlantic, 4. Democratic and Republican, 5. The President)
For all ten questions, click here. How did you do? And why do you think that teens aren’t coming out of school knowing these basic facts about our country?
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0 Comments
Yes, but you aren't commented on Sep 22 09 at 12:24 pmSeriously. You misspelled Oklahoma in the post title. That’s embarrassing, especially given the content of your article.
feefifoto commented on Sep 22 09 at 12:28 pmComments But I bet every last one of them can tell you who’s doing what on American Idol.
Amanda B. commented on Sep 22 09 at 12:38 pmSocial Studies education isn’t much of a priority for schools anymore. It’s not a priority for colleges, either. The ACT tests reading, English, math, and science, but not social studies. The less people know about our government and our history, the easier it is for those in power to exploit us.
bethanysanders commented on Sep 22 09 at 1:19 pmYes, but you aren’t — You’re right! It is embarrassing! Typos happen, fixed now.
Feefifoto — Headlines yesterday also included a teen scoring 1 billion or something on Guitar Hero. Probably not a coincidence!
Thanks for commenting.
jennifer commented on Sep 22 09 at 2:00 pm#4 (as written in this post) is a trick question ;)
M commented on Sep 22 09 at 3:31 pmWhen I was in high school, we had this district wide standardized test we had to take every year. Some of the students in accelerated classes, in particular, found it to be demeaning and a waste of time. So, one year, they threw the test- answered every question wrong on purpose, or made pictures on the scantron, or whatever.
If I were a high schooler that got a call saying, essentially, “Your government would like your help to prove that you are a moron,” I’d be tempted to come up with some creative answers myself.
PlumbLucky commented on Sep 23 09 at 7:44 amI had not thought of that M; but at the same time, I read some of the comments made by folks in the local paper, and its quite obvious that unless they’re being sarcastic, they have no clue about social studies (meaning civics, history, how gov’t works….) even though I know they were required classes in the district.
FN commented on Apr 15 11 at 4:22 pmthe saddest part is i got them all and i’m in CANADA.
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