Students at some of the nation’s top universities have a woefully inadequate knowledge of US history and institutions, according to report released today by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). The report was based on the ISI’s yearly survey of 14000 freshmen and seniors at 50 US colleges and universities. Participants in the survey were administered a 60 question exam testing their knowledge of history, government, international relations, and the market economy.
The reports major finding was that US college students “know astoundingly little about American history, political thought, market economy and international relations.” The overall average score for the 7000 college seniors who took the exam was an 54.2% – equivalent to an “F.” Even students at the nation’s top rated universities fared poorly on the exam. Seniors at Harvard, who scored highest on the exam, had an overall average score of 69.6%, equivalent to a failing grade of “D+.” Students at other top institutions – such as Yale, Princeton, and – scored even lower, and for 18 institutions included in the survey, the average score was less than 50%.
The report stated that “inadequate college curricula” were largely to blame for the poor performance uncovered by the study. The “quality and the number of courses” relating to American history and institutions was cited as a key factor. Students at colleges where the requirement for the number of civic courses was lower performed more poorly than students at colleges with more stringent requirements for civics learning.
Some of the reports major findings:
Student Civics Learning “Stalled” by US Colleges
The report concluded that the rate of student learning about US history and institutions in colleges was significantly lower than the rate of learning in primary and secondary schools. In fact, the report found instances of “negative learning” at a number of institutions, where seniors showed worse performance on the test than freshmen at the same institution.
Top ranked universities performed worst
