Study finds students
lack basic knowledge
College seniors fail history test
By Tamara Henry
Assoc iated Press
WASHINGTON (AIM A Columbus I)a\ poll suggests one
fourth of Amerii an college seniors either never heard or do not re
member the < hildhood ditty "In 140J Golumbus sailed the (K ean
blue."
In addition to finding tb.it one in four do not know Christopher
Golumbus made bis famous landing in the Western Hemisphere
prior to the year 1500, the Gallup Poll suggests considerable igno
ranee of other basil fa< ts about history and literature
Nearly t>0 percent did not know the Korean War started when
Harry S. Truman was president. 58 percent did not know that Wil
liam Shakespeare wrote 77ie Ii'niprsl and nearly a quarter believed
a famous saving from Karl Marx is part of the G S Constitution
"If the students' answers were to be graded, more than half of
those tested would have failed." concluded the survey, which was
condui ted for the National endow ment for the Humanities
Armed with the survey results. NKI1 Chairman I.ynue Cheney
called Sunday for colleges and universities to revise their curric ula
so undergraduates study "essential areas of know ledge
In ,i booklet titled "50 Hours." she outlined a suggested core
curric ulum for ( ollege students
Responding to tier admonition several college presidents esscn
tiallv told the N'RII i liiet in more or less polite terms either to
mind her own business or that she was behind the limes
The follow ing are some ot the Callup Roll highlights
• J-) pen ent of the college seniors surveyed thought Columbus
landed in the U ester n Hemisphere some time alt ei CUM I
• I J pen ent ( oil Id not plat e t he ( i \ 11 \\ a I III the i inie< t h.ilt t i'll
lur\
• mi percent did not know that Shakespeare was the authui 1 d The
Tempi's!, hut ‘15 peri ent knew that Mark I'wam wioli Hu \d\rn
tilin', nl llin klnbnrn l inn
• 58 percent did not know Truman was president when the Korean
War began I I percent thought it started when |ohn I Kennedy
was president
• , , pro ent ( ouhl not identify the Magna < I art a
• 2 i pert ent believed that Mai x s phrase l .. h aa
his ability to eat h .h i ording to Ins need is part ot the I S ( on
stitution
A< ( ending In the surves I'l pun ''ill of thr e ollege seniors failed
thi- 4>i question history sec linn On tin1 piirlinn nl the surves desot
i-il tn literature svhie h i (insisted of lit «| n<*st i • >i . * »H |>rn ml of I In *
students I.tiled
Chene\ s.tid main colleges and universities allow students to
earn bachelor's degrees without taking courses in histors Idem
tore science or mathematics and she urges trustees and admmis
tralors to support lac nils members w ho are working to strengthen
general educ ation requirements
Cheney's core curriculum suggest studs in five basic areas of
knowledge 1H hours in cultures and civilizations including the
origins of i ivili/.ation and other c is ilizatiuns such .is in Aim a. Fsast
Asia and Islam: lit hours in a foreign language preferabls more
advanced courses in a language studied in high sc hool. six hours
in the c one epls nl mathematic s: eight hours in foundations of the
natural sc lenc es and six hours in the soc ial sc ieuc es and the mod
ern ss orld
Tin* ( oiirsrs should [»' taugm m small < lassrs ami m an mn^rai
nl t.ishion mi th.il for example students reading Descartes' phi
losophv m .1 western i ivili/ation ( nurse .in- reminded ul his i ontri
hut unis to m.it hi-m.it k s Cheney said She also suggested tll.it the
( lasses he taught b> til.Holie s must distinguished l.u ult\
janies I ’nderwoud dean of fat ulty at I nioii < ollege in Si hem-c
lath. \ Y i rit it l/ed the Mill for rei ommeml I ng a "superficial
rigid. and illiprat tit al ' college c urriculum He added that I 'nion
( o I lege this fall began a general edui atimi i urrii ilium w it h an em
phasis on history and literature
A reform th.it relies so heavily on the traditional western i ivili
/ulion course runs the risk of a dangerous superlit talilv. said I 11
derwood " The western civili/alion i nurse tries to do everything
and demands for its sun ess the mvtliical Kenaissani e man as
tear her I listen should he taught by hroadK educated historians
and literature by professors of literature
Similar sentiments were echoed In Michigan State I’resident
John DiBicggio. who said the sr hool alreads lias gotten an revised
i mi n ulum approved by the communitv and hoard of trustees
The Gallup survey included i t questions taken from a l'ltit.
Mill tended survey of 17 year-olds and five questions from ex.inu
nations that the I’ S Immigration and Naturalization Service ad
ministers to prosper live American citizens
Grading the 87-question survey on the standard A to i- sc ale,
where si oring less than till percent correct constitutes a failing
grade. 55 percent of the students would have earned an I An ad
clitional JO percent would have received a I) Only 11 percent of
the respondents would have earned ail A or If
The Gallup survey of ti*»t> seniors was c undue led between April 4
and April 27. using a self administered test booklet It had a 4 per
cent margin of error The partic ipating students attend 07 four-year
American colleges and universities, both public and private
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