Comments on: Are You Smarter Than An Elected Official?

By: Kevin Bears

Kevin Bears — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:55:56 +0000

You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 %

Well, it is 12:48 am and I was having to hold one eye closed to focus. I nodded out several times but was determined to finish the quiz before I went to bed.
Hey I’m unemployed now; maybe I should run for Congress, it’s not looking too good out there for one at my age with a bad back.

By: John Light

John Light — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:05:48 +0000

You answered 27 out of 33 correctly — 81.82 %

Average score for this quiz during January: 75.1%
Average score: 75.1%

Seems that I need to brush up on my reading - lol

By: Harry C from Manassas

Harry C from Manassas — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:35:44 +0000

96.97% - Missed #33 I chose answer A as well as a few others.

By: Rob Smalls

Rob Smalls — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:46:05 +0000

84.85%

By: Turn PW Blue

Turn PW Blue — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:13:12 +0000

100% (See, not all liberals are civics idiots).

ed- On #33, just because there is a balanced budget this year doesn’t mean there isn’t existing government debt. There is no DEFICIT. Debt and deficit are not the same thing (deficit spending leads to debt, but it is possible to have an outstanding debt while not currently holding a deficit)–as you point out at the end of your comment.

The answer D is correct from a simple statistical point of view. The amount of tax revenue per person (i.e., all revenue divided by the population) is equal to spending per person (i.e., all spending divided by the population). Revenue source is irrelevant.

Anonymous (2:14pm): I would hope that any high school government student (not just the AP students) would be able to pass and ace this. We do have required US government courses and many of these topics are covered multiple times between Kindergarten and 12th Grade.

By: PHenry

PHenry — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:48:24 +0000

Question #33 -D. tax per person equals government spending per person

that implies to me that each person gets back exactly what he put in. We all know that some get far more, and some far less.

By: Cerberus

Cerberus — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:18:41 +0000

96.97 over here!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:14:42 +0000

I scored 100 percent and the scary thing is this test is not that difficult. some questions are a little tricky but in general any high school AP government student should ace this. I would certainly expect college graduates, regardless of major, to do the same. Don’t we have any common required courses in government anymore?

By: ed

ed — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:52:27 +0000

I disagree with the scoresheet on ..

Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person

A is the better answer. Government has tax revenue from many different sources (not just personal taxes) so deficit (not debt) is zero when taxes and expenses are equal.

By: Bridget

Bridget — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 11:00:09 +0000

Hey guys - providing answers is not cool. I scored 100% but, in truth, it was after reading the postings! Perhaps Greg could add a spoiler warning regarding the comments.

By: Greg L

Greg L — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:41:56 +0000

The quiz was given to over two thousand people, about 150 of which held or had held elected office. After you take the quiz, there’s a link to the results.

By: Ted

Ted — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 02:00:23 +0000

Now let’s have the folks over at “Not Larry Sabato” and other such sites take the quiz and compare scores.

To which politician does the 44% refer to?

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:39:59 +0000

84.85%

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:15:49 +0000

P.S. Anchor Baby, don’t feel bad about the Gettysburg Address. You probably forgot the rest of the quote. “…shall not perish from the Earth.” They left out the part that is the tip-off.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:13:16 +0000

“You answered 30 out of 33 correctly — 90.91 %”

By: Emma

Emma — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:01:44 +0000

90.91%. Number 30 confused me, and I didn’t agree with their answer (C).

By: Not4Nothing

Not4Nothing — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:49:46 +0000

93.94 %

By: Anchor Baby

Anchor Baby — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:36:04 +0000

81.82%

Here are the ones I got wrong.

Question #7 - D. Gettysburg Address
Question #13 - E. certain permanent moral and political truths are accessible to human reason
Question #14 - B. stressed the sinfulness of all humanity
Question #15 - E. Thomas Jefferson’s letters
Question #31 - A. an increase in a nation’s productivity
Question #33 - D. tax per person equals government spending per person

By: Chicko

Chicko — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:58:43 +0000

88 percent but I shot from the hip on few and really didnt read the given answers. Oh well, better than the average at least

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:47:42 +0000

I missed #8 - I didn’t know what Roosevelt had said, and I guessed wrong. 96.97% as I recall.