You know the constitution better than your senator?

[William Wallace]

Yes, according to a recent survey.

https://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/14/opinion-who-are-the-constitutional-illiterates/

Elected officials at many levels of government, not just the federal government, swear an oath to "uphold and protect" the U.S. Constitution.

But those elected officials who took the test scored an average 5 percentage points lower than the national average (49 percent vs. 54 percent), with ordinary citizens outscoring these elected officials on each constitutional question. Examples:
Only 49 percent of elected officials could name all three branches of government, compared with 50 percent of the general public.
Only 46 percent knew that Congress, not the president, has the power to declare war -- 54 percent of the general public knows that.
Just 15 percent answered correctly that the phrase "wall of separation" appears in Thomas Jefferson's letters -- not in the U.S. Constitution -- compared with 19 percent of the general public.
And only 57 percent of those who've held elective office know what the Electoral College does, while 66 percent of the public got that answer right. (Of elected officials, 20 percent thought the Electoral College was a school for "training those aspiring for higher political office.")

[ResultsMayVary]

That's sad. 

But not only because the people knew more than the elected officials, but because of the percentages of who got each question right. Those are some seriously important and easy questions about the Constitution.

[orcus116]

"Only 49 percent of elected officials could name all three branches of government, compared with 50 percent of the general public."

Are you kidding me? That's like the first thing you learn in life after the alphabet.

[rumborak]

Just did the test; 9 out of 10.

rumborak

[William Wallace]

Just did the test; 9 out of 10.

rumborak

It's pretty fundamental stuff. I'm sure most folks here know this stuff. Maybe we should run the country?

[7StringedBeast]

I got 9/10.  Missed question 6 regarding wall of separation.  But to be fair, that actually wasn't a part of the constitution lol.

[Adami]

Got 8/10, one of the questions I misread .

[Genowyn]

I got 8/10 and I'm not even American.

[emindead]

I got 8/10 and I'm not even USAmerican.

[Adami]

You're both American.

Sorry to have to break it to you like that.

[jsem]

I got 8/10 and I'm not even American.

Europe representing?

[Chino]

I got 7/9 ... I missed one 

[Sigz]

9/10, misread #8.

[j]

10/10 what a joke.  This article only feeds my cynicism regarding U.S. politics.

-J

[ack44]

Uh, the article says nothing about senators.

For five years now, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute has been conducting a national survey to gauge the quality of civic education in the country. We've surveyed more than 30,000 Americans, most of them college students, but also a random sample of adults from all educational and demographic backgrounds.

Included in the adult sample was a small subset of Americans (165 in all) who, when asked, identified themselves as having been "successfully elected to government office at least once in their life" -- which can include federal, state or local offices.

Who knows who these random people are, but it seems kind of obvious that they're just local randoms. If they're understanding of basic politics is so meh then why should we even trust they know what "successfully elected to government office" means.

[lordxizor]

Keep in mind that this poll contained elected officials at all levels, not just the federal government. Some city council member in Backwater, Mississippi is not likely to get these kind of questions correct.

[Quadrochosis]

10/10 what a joke.  This article only feeds my cynicism regarding U.S. politics.

-J

[William Wallace]

Uh, the article says nothing about senators.

For five years now, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute has been conducting a national survey to gauge the quality of civic education in the country. We've surveyed more than 30,000 Americans, most of them college students, but also a random sample of adults from all educational and demographic backgrounds.

Included in the adult sample was a small subset of Americans (165 in all) who, when asked, identified themselves as having been "successfully elected to government office at least once in their life" -- which can include federal, state or local offices.

Who knows who these random people are, but it seems kind of obvious that they're just local randoms. If they're understanding of basic politics is so meh then why should we even trust they know what "successfully elected to government office" means.

I just thought that my thread title was more catchy than "You know the constitution better than 165 successfully elected federal, state or local officials?" Anyway, you can read the full report and look at the methodology here. Everything looks on the up and up to my untrained eyes, but I'm not a statistician. However, We've all read horror stories about members  of Congress being unable to answer basic constitutional questions, and now there's some data to confirm why.

EDIT:

There's also an expanded quiz: https://www.americancivicliteracy.org/resources/quiz.aspx

My score:

You answered 31 out of 33 correctly — 93.94 %

Average score for this quiz during January: 74.6%

Missed the one about Roe v. Wade and the final one about taxes.

[XJDenton]

I got 7/10 correct, which considering the only study of American politics I've had has been through watching the west wing is pretty decent.

[TempusVox]

10/10. This could be something out of a 4th grade civics class. 

[Ħ]

9/10

I missed number 6...don't know too much about TJ's letters.  But the rest were really easy.  I bet that article is bogus--there's no way anyone, let alone representatives, could've missed so many.

[Adami]

9/10

I missed number 6...don't know too much about TJ's letters.  But the rest were really easy.  I bet that article is bogus--there's no way anyone, let alone representatives, could've missed so many.

Almost everyone on this board is educated. Most people in the world aren't.

[Perpetual Change]

10/10

[Ħ]

9/10

I missed number 6...don't know too much about TJ's letters.  But the rest were really easy.  I bet that article is bogus--there's no way anyone, let alone representatives, could've missed so many.

Almost everyone on this board is educated. Most people in the world aren't.

Most everyone that is elected is educated too...

[Adami]

Yes, but you said "anyone" in that your statement.

[Ħ]

oh, i see

Well in any event, I still say that poll is bogus because there is no way 50% of elected officials couldn't name the three branches of government.

[Adami]

oh, i see

Well in any event, I still say that poll is bogus because there is no way 50% of elected officials couldn't name the three branches of government.

That part I agree with you on.

[hefdaddy42]

oh, i see

Well in any event, I still say that poll is bogus because there is no way 50% of elected officials couldn't name the three branches of government.

I am not surprised in the least.

[The Texas Pirate!]

I answered 25 out of 33 correctly — 75.76 %

Average score for this quiz during January: 75.3%