En savez-vous plus que de jeunes Américains ?

L'examen d'entrée au College comporte une épreuve de 60 questions à choix multiple qui couvrent de larges aspects de la culture générale. En voici quelques unes. La liste complète est disponible dans le rapport Are the Nation's Colleges Failing America?

(les bonnes réponses sont : 1, b; 2, d; 3, d; 4, d; 5, b)

1. The federal government's largest payout over the past 20 years has been for:
a) Military.
b) Social Security.
c) Interest on the national debt.
d) Education.
e) Foreign aid.


Percentage of correct answers
Freshmen: 24.04
Seniors: 20.82

La question la plus facile :

2. In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
a) Argued for the abolition of slavery.
b) Advocated black separatism.
c) Morally defended affirmative action.
d) Expressed his hopes for racial justice and brotherhood.
e) Proposed that several of America’s founding ideas were discriminatory.

Percentage of correct answers
Freshmen: 79.93
Seniors: 85.74

La question la plus difficile :

3. According to just-war theory, a just war requires which of the following?
a) Approval by the International Court of Justice.
b) Endorsement by democratic vote.
c) A threatening shift in the balance of powers.
d) The authority of a legitimate sovereign.
e) That no civilian casualties occur.

Percentage of correct answers
Freshmen: 15.83
Seniors: 19.34

La question où les seniors ont brillé :

4. The stated U.S. objective of the 1991 Persian Gulf War was to:
a) Block Soviet expansion in the Middle East.
b) Defend Israel.
c) Overthrow the Iraqi government.
d) Expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.
e) Recover control of the Suez Canal.

Percentage of correct answers
Freshmen: 53.92
Seniors: 68.40

La question qui a coûté aux seniors :

5. The power of judicial review was established in:
a) The Constitution.
b) Marbury v. Madison.
c) McCulloch v. Maryland.
d) The Bill of Rights.
e) A presidential executive order.

Percentage of correct answers
Freshmen: 52.14
Seniors: 41.67