Tuesday 4 October 2011

Literacy Test

Some questions that serve no use:

  1. WHAT SPECIAL GROUP ADVISES THE PRESIDENT?
  2. WHO WROTE "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER"?
  3. WHAT IS THE HEAD EXECUTIVE OF A CITY GOVERNMENT CALLED?
  4. WHAT IS THE HEAD EXECUTIVE OF A STATE GOVERNMENT CALLED?
  5. WHO SELECTS THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES?
  6. HOW MANY SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ARE THERE?
  7. CAN YOU NAME THE TWO SENATORS FROM YOUR STATE?
  8. NAME ONE PURPOSE OF THE UNITED NATIONS.
  9. WHERE DOES CONGRESS MEET?
  10. WHAT IS THE INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSTITUTION CALLED?
  11. HOW MANY TIMES MAY A SENATOR BE RE-ELECTED?
  12. HOW MANY TIMES MAY A CONGRESSMAN BE RE-ELECTED?


How could these questions be viewed as racist or racially insensitive?
Some of these questions have answers that only American citizens could answer. One in particular is "Who wrote 'The Star-Spangled Banner'?". Why anyone who did not grow up in America or go to elementary school in the United States would be expected to know the answer to that question is beyond me. These questions all serve no purpose and there is no real reason for them to belong on a US Literacy test. Not everyone is fully educated on the makeup of the government of the United States, nor is everyone educated in US History which is why I think some of these questions should be removed. General 21st century knowledge of the United States would belong on a test like this but questions as specific as this are not necessarily fair and can be considered racially insensitive. 



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