Letters to the Editor

• Civic Literacy Report - Major Findings

  http://americancivicliteracy.org/report/major_findings.html

  America's colleges and universities fail to increase knowledge about America's history and institutions. There is a trivial difference between college seniors and their freshmen counterparts regarding knowledge of America's heritage. Seniors scored just 1.5 percent higher on average than freshmen, and at many schools, seniors know less than freshmen about America's history, government, foreign affairs, and economy. Overall, college seniors failed the civic literacy exam, with an average score of 53.2 percent, or F, on a traditional grading scale.

  On the other hand, you could say that our high schools are doing an outstanding job. They're producing high school graduates who have 98.5% of a college graduate's understanding of civics!

  Perhaps some of you liberal elitist snobs are thanking God and Mom and Dad that you didn't go to Podunk U.? Read it and weep :

  http://americancivicliteracy.org/report/major_findings-2.html
  Prestige doesn't pay off. An Ivy League education contributes nothing to a student's civic learning. Indeed, there is no relationship between the cost of attending college and the mastery of America's history, politics, and economy. Moreover, of the 50 schools surveyed, including Brown, Georgetown, and Yale, 16 showed negative learning—in other words, at 16 schools seniors scored lower than freshmen, suggesting that they will graduate with even less civic knowledge than what little they had as freshmen.

  In 1957, when the Soviets launched Sputnik, the USA got scared and decided to beef up our math and science education. What's it gonna take before we get scared and realize that we need to beef up our civics education?

  -- sysprog
  [Read sysprog's other letters]
  Permalink Thursday, April 12, 2007 08:57 AM