News IQ

Here's a test from the Pew Research Center. Most political news geeks will find the questions laughably easy. And, yes, I scored 100%.

Comments

[laelaps]

Ha! I got 100%, too. We must be spending too much time reading blogs, Baldi.

[Terry Ann]

I missed one question :(

[notropis]

I wonder if they update the correct answer to the Dow question when it drops below 11000?

One thing that's scary is that 30% of respondents said that the Republicans control the House -- and given that it's a 50/50 chance, you know that a good chunk of the remaining 70% just happened to guess it correctly.

And as a hopeless pedant, I also get a bit upset when the question is phrased "do you happen to know...." and the options are not yes/no.

[Casey]

Urk! I missed the one about the Federal Reserve Board.

[Maggie45]

100% too. notropis, me too. lol

[AProudVeteran]

Somehow I managed 100 as well. I didn't realize I knew as much as I do.

[Steve Skubinna]

Got 100%, and once the test was done I would have been ashamed to do any less. When I was in 7th grade Social Studies we had to memorize LBJ's cabinet secretaries. Nobody that I recall complained, we all just studied and did as well as we could.

I expect that any teacher silly enough to mandate such a requirement today would have the ACLU, as well as the union, sitting on her neck. For whatever reason we just don't expect people to be aware of these kinds of things unless they're a political junkie or a nerd.

Unlike the vast majority of my generation I never went through a socialist phase, aside from some vague generalized angst at the world's unfairness. The reason? I read The Communist Manifesto and Capital in high school. That nipped in the bud any incipient tendency towards a statist or collectivist bent.

[RojoLoco]

Yep, aced it like any self respecting blog junkie would.

But Steve S. is right- this was a mighty low bar to step over.

If only they'd challenged us and asked for the names of all 57 states, or what dialect of Arab is spoken in Afghanistan, or to demonstrate how plant food can kill all life on our planet- then you'd have a quiz.

[cynwoody]

I, too, aced it. And you're right: it's absurdly easy.

I did find it interesting that the second most missed question was the one on the Dow. The MSM has had some success in talking down the economy.

[Aureus Puer]

76% for me. But I'm Canadian and had to guess at the political questions.

I'm somewhat shocked that the overall average was 50% and average of college graduates(where I fit) was only 63%.

[AME]

Aureus: I think those were not percentages, but percentiles. One should expect the percentile average to be 50%, meaning that half the population did better, half did worse.