Smart idea
OK, let’s see how smart you are.
1. We elect a president for how many years?
A. 4
B. 12
C. 8
D. 5
2. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
A. Franklin Roosevelt
B. Harry Truman
C. Calvin Coolidge
D. Richard Nixon
3. If the president can no longer serve, who becomes president?
A. Chief of staff
B. Vice president
C. Secretary of state
D. Lead general
Well, you’re very smart if you have answered A to the first two questions and B to the last one. Anyone who failed the test might want to brush up on their knowledge of U.S. history and government, particularly if you’re in high school.
A bill has been introduced in the Pennsylvania Legislature which would require all high school seniors to pass a test on the basics of American government before they can graduate. It would be the same 100-question examination given to newly minted citizens by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Advocates are worried that the lack of knowledge about the history of the country is translating into low rates of voter participation and involvement in civic life, putting our democracy in jeopardy.
“It’s pretty pathetic — a lot of people coming out of high school don’t even know who the president of the United States is,” said Rep. Bill Kortz, a Democrat from Dravosburg near Pittsburgh, who is a cosponsor of the bill.
“We have pushed the “STEM” curriculum — science, technology, engineering, math -so hard when the No Child Left Behind came in 2002 under President Bush that civics kind of took a back seat,” he added.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the test is being backed nationally by the Civics Education Initiative. So far, 14 states have approved legislation requiring that students pass the test and 25 more are considering it. The CEI hopes to have all 50 states giving the test by the 230th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 2017.
CEI cites U.S. Department of Education statistics that only about one-third of Americans can name all three branches of government, and about 80 percent cannot list two of the “unalienable rights” in the Declaration of Independence, which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The group also noted that in 2014, fewer than one-quarter of high school students scored “proficient” on civics on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the only nationwide standardized test on the subject,
While some improvement is obviously needed, the bill’s passage is far from certain in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The measure is already facing formidable opposition from school boards and educators across the commonwealth. They are questioning the wisdom of yet another standardized test — especially when there is still a heated, unresolved battle over whether to implement the Keystone Exams, which graduating seniors would have to pass in algebra, biology and language arts. In February, Gov. Wolf ordered a two-year hold on the exams as a graduation requirement.
However, the bill’s sponsors say the test won’t be a burden on students or districts, financially or otherwise.
According to Kortz, students could take the test in parts and as many times as they like — even on their home computer, printing out their score and bringing it to school.
In the end, we hope that the legislator can find a way to accommodate the concerns of education officials and pass this crucial legislation. With so much misinformation out there, especially on the Internet, it’s probably more crucial now than ever before that students have an understanding of basic facts about American history and our government. Those supporting the tests deserve an A plus for trying to upgrade people’s knowledge of this important subject.