As I mentioned the other day, the 2006 National Geographic-Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy was recently released. Now, take the 20-question test yourself and tell us how you did! (Just click "comments" below).
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I missed 3 of 20 but then again I am not 24…a bit over that…and I am a teacher.
What does a pop tv show have to do with geography literacy?
I missed 1 (note that you have to keep track yourself, as it doesn’t seem to give you your score at the end). I think the CSI question (which I got by sheer luck) was meant as an ironic “control” to show that Americans are well informed about *some* things. On the main page NGS says more respondents answered the CSI question correctly than could find Iraq on a map.
Great test. I missed the export question. I jumped on China. I also missed the CSI question. I have never seen the show and could care less about it. The comments from Fluffy and TCS were right on.
I am an Indian living in India, got the first answer right, and when I saw the second question I gave up. That you thought such a question was valid in such a test is a good pointer to where the roots of geographical illiteracy in the US may lie — in a frog-in-the-well mentality that considers everything American to be very important, and most things un-American to be insignificant.
God forbid, if the need to launch an ICBM does arise, I hope your President and the Pentagon honchos will get their directions right!
I guess you can’t take the full test without the pop-ups unless you have about six hours of spare time and a lot of patience. This is infuriating!
I missed the CSI question. I didn’t know it was a television show. But then, I am a good deal older than 24 and probably culturally out of it when it comes to contemporary tv broadcasts in the United States.
18 out of 20. I have never seen CSI, I missed the immigration percentage for 2004.
I was suprised at how many questions were more geopolitical than strictly geographical.
E. Veller check your pop up filter settings, I didn’t get any pop ups.
I got 17 out of 19–I don’t count the CSI question because it’s not geography but trivia and I’ve never watched any of them. Underestimated immigration and missed exports. I’m also wa-a-a-y over 24!
I missed one question — the one about 2004 immigration, I guessed too low.
Couldn’t supply an answer for the CSI question. Missed the export question and the imigration question. I got the Sri Lanka question right, but isn’t it an island in the Indian ocean? It was when I visited there, but then again it was also called Celyon at that time. I guess maybe plate tetonics have made it join the asian continent since then.
I only missed the CSI question due to the fact that I never have seen the show. The only other one that I guessed was the immigration one, but guessed correctly. I find it completely amazing that 1 in 10 thought the Alps were in North America!
Nineteen out of twenty. An A-! Missed the CSI question because I have never seen the show, just figured it “had” to be LA. The other questions, I should have gotten correct as I am a retired educator.
19/20: missed immigration with too low an answer, like Nancy. (Sure, I watch CSI without apologies.) No pop-ups for me either. The China errors were interesting: underestimating language but overestimating exports. Re geography vs social studies: As long as the geography and social studies establishments continue to vie for turf and the historians remain splintered, NCLB’s endorsement of reading, math, and now science will continue to push ALL social studies courses out of the U.S. schoolhouse.
Interesting that so many people commenting don’t watch what was (is it still?) the number one rated tv show – does it say something about the interests of geographers?
I like the show myself but when I saw that question my first thought was that it was an unfair question – in my house, we don’t actually watch tv (i’ve seen csi at friend’s hosues) and so it isn’t likely that we’d know about that either. I did fairly well. I overestimated China exports, underestimated its population in comparison to US pop and underestimated immigration numbers.
Doubt anybody with more than 3 or 4 wrong would actually admit it here.
Regarding Q.18: Which continent has the Alps; the test answer (Europe) is technically incorrect. A long time ago, when geographic studies were more Eurocentric (example: it’s Greenwich Mean Time not Tokyo or Nairobi mean time because GMT was established during the age of the British Empire). Early (European) geographers classified Europe a separate continent, using the Ural Mts as “divider”. But in the truest definition of continent (which considers plate tectonics as well as actual physical separation) Europe is essentially a grouping of pennisulas on the westernmost area of Asia.
E Vellar – check your pop up settings – I had 0 pop ups.
I find comment #3 the best comment on that test
!!!
I got 19/20, missing the export one because I put China, but im only 15. I agree that the CSI one is supposed to show that Americans only know whats on tv but you have to remember that only 39% got it right, even though, like Kim said, it once was the highest rated show
I missed only 3 out of 20 and I teach choral music but have a love for history and geography. Great Test!!!
Basic question that uses NOT(#6) are fluff- what is it that you’re trying to reach- that things are not US?