Top-flight colleges fail civics, study says

Tanya Schevitz:

Seniors at UC Berkeley, the nation's premier public university, got an F in their basic knowledge of American history, government and politics in a new national survey, and students at Stanford University didn't do much better, getting a D.

Out of 50 schools surveyed, Cal ranked 49th and Stanford 31st in how well they are increasing student knowledge about American history and civics between the freshman and senior years. And they're not alone among major universities in being fitted for a civics dunce cap.

Other poor performers in the study were Yale, Duke, Brown and Cornell universities. Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore was the tail-ender behind Cal, ranking 50th. The No. 1 ranking went to unpretentious Rhodes College in Memphis.

Full report can be found at www.americancivicliteracy.org

My high school government teacher, a Vietnam vet, drilled (drilled!) our government's structure, mechanics and history into my brain.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 27, 2006 9:58 PM
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