# US Civics test - how well can YOU do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 1, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023 "2011-06-01T23:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/1 "2011-06-01T23:56:22Z")
[http://www.isi.org/quiz.aspx?q=FE5C3B47-9675-41E0-9CF3-072BB31E2692](http://www.isi.org/quiz.aspx?q=FE5C3B47-9675-41E0-9CF3-072BB31E2692) The opening page sez, FWIW: "The average score for all 2,508 Americans taking the following test was 49%; college educators scored 55%. Can you do better? " In fact, yes, I can - nailed it, even if some of the answers are a bit debatable. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/2 "2011-06-02T00:05:33Z")
That was easy. Of course, I teach this stuff. I’d better get them all right! ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/3 "2011-06-02T00:15:35Z")
100% here. I guessed a lot towards the end, especially about the economic stuff, making me thing this is at least partially rigged, but the early questions were really easy. Also, what do Socrates’, Plato’s, Aquinas’, and Aristotle’s ideas about absolute morality have to do with American civics? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/4 "2011-06-02T00:21:59Z")
Duh! It means that all them homos and Cathlicks and commies are wrong, always have _been_ wrong, and every right-thinking Merkin knows that. Rights don’t matter none when theys “that way.” \ ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/5 "2011-06-02T00:26:09Z")
I got a 93% I missed the abortion question and the one about government taxes. Pretty easy test overall. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/6 "2011-06-02T00:35:07Z")
28 right, though the one about spending=revenue has 2 valid answers, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/7 "2011-06-02T00:43:00Z")
I’m going to say not very well. I’ll go take the test and see if I meet my expectations. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/8 "2011-06-02T00:43:35Z")
29 right. I missed economic questions. I don’t know economics. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/9 "2011-06-02T00:47:08Z")
31/33. I missed: “What impact did the Anti-Federalists have on the United States Constitution?” and “What was the source of the following phrase: “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”?” I have the excuse that I’m Canadian. That was a little easy, to the point that I wonder if the average test taker really does get 49% or if this isn’t a way to encourage/flatter people. I agreed with the theory behind the economics questions but was puzzled as to why that was part of a civics test. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/10 "2011-06-02T00:51:33Z")
66% - but I’m not from around here. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/11 "2011-06-02T00:55:17Z")
I got 66.67%. Not bad, not bad at all, especially since I was guessing so much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/12 "2011-06-02T01:08:12Z")
84%. I’m not American and have never studied American history, but obviously you pick a lot of stuff up elsewhere - I bet I’ll be one of the lower scores. ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/13 "2011-06-02T01:11:23Z")
You answered 24 out of 33 correctly — 72.73 % I suck at economics! ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/14 "2011-06-02T01:19:29Z")
27/33. I guessed quite a few, especially the historical questions. It seems a very broad interpretation of “Civics” to me. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/15 "2011-06-02T01:23:57Z")
93.94% I’m ok with that - the two I missed were on the last page and I was getting bored, so didn’t read the questions well. Might have missed them even if I had read them well. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/16 "2011-06-02T01:30:23Z")
100%. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/17 "2011-06-02T01:31:42Z")
32 out of 33. I missed the one about the Lincoln/Douglas debates. One question asks “Under Our Constitution, some powers belong exclusively to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?” Then two of the answers: “Make treaties” and “Maintain prisons” are powers of the federal government. Only one is an exclusive power, but the question didn’t directly ask that. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/18 "2011-06-02T01:34:48Z")
28/33. Not bad for a Canuck that has been out of high school for over 40 years! ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/19 "2011-06-02T01:37:04Z")
29/33. Did well on history, less so on economics. Not surprised. SS ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023/20 "2011-06-02T01:41:48Z")
100% right here. But some of the questions were worded oddly enough I was sure I had parsed a few of them wrong. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-civics-test-how-well-can-you-do/584023.md?page=2)