I found this linked in a blog somewhere, and gave it a try.

Take the test! And post your score.

The Pew Research Center has done similar projects, they have a good reputation, so I was interested. They take your score and measure it against demographics, education, age, etc.

How'd I do? Not as good as I hoped. I wanted to ace it. I got a 69. Better than average compared to most Americans. But not as good as I was aiming for, for a news junkie, I hoped I'd do better.

I'd be curious to see who here can get a good score. No cheating! Post your results.

[pewresearch.org]

83-
I overestimated the number of KIA in Iraq (I think I included Afghanistan)
I didn't know who the senate majority leader was.

76, bummer. More killed in Iraq than I thought or wanted to admit. Who the hell knows anything about the Dow? And, who cares about Serbia anyway?

83

senate majority leader and dow jones.
[/embarrassment]

Got 12 for 12 correct, they listed that as 97th percentile.

11 out of 12, 91 percentile. Got the Dow index wrong.

76 I'm embarrassed to admit.

Missed Iraq dead, Dow Jones, Senate majority leader.

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[picasaweb.google.com]

Hey ya'll----don't reveal the content of specific questions. It can contaminate those who haven't tested yet! Contain those comments until more folks have had a crack at it!

freeradical--good score! That result will probably emerge as the overall leading score.

Count me amongst the 3% of informed individuals...

Edit: and also a very good driver [forums.macresource.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2008 05:39PM by SDGuy.

Scored 11 out of 12, or 91st percentile

76 for me too.

83 (10 of 12)

The Dow & Kosovo got me, but I don't have much invested in either

: -)

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Member Status
Curmudgeon

91

I screwed up the Oprah Winfrey, in fact I skipped that question (no selection at all). If I had to make a guess though, I could have chose Oprah.

I got 3 wrong which gave me a 76, but one was totally because I was skimming fast through the test -- which probably means I shouldn't have taken it late at night when I was tired. Interestingly, to me anyhow, the other two that I got wrong involved numbers. I got my age wrong, too.

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12 for 12 - 97% I'm depressed and probably a nerd as well. I'm clearly not watching enough TV.

I wish you guys were my schoolmates when I was taking exams! Every student after the first few test takers could have gotten better grades!

Anyone who read anything from the 2nd post was exposed to test questions in advance of taking the quiz.

Are the results tainted? Probably not. I think the high scoring applicants deserve credit for being news geeks, and could have even answered harder questions, if given a longer list.

I trust that most of us want to take the test straight up, so we can get a valid score. If anyone feels their results are being challenged, don't misunderstand. I expect to see the high scorers defend their honor, even though the hard questions were already revealed, not enough was tipped to alter the results that much.

I would have liked to see a test with more questions. 12 is a very short test.

Question: are any of the high scorers under 25?

I read recently that people below a certain age simply do not read the news, at all. If it's not on YouTube, Facebook, or MySpace, it's not on the radar. Glad to see most of us here, young and old, are exceptional news consumers.

> Question: are any of the high scorers under 25?

Reverse the digits and that would be close to my age.

I don't think any of the early posts influenced me since I just sort of skimmed over them before taking the test. Knew the answers to all the questions posed anyways.

12 for 12, 97th percentile. A few years past 25, but not that many. Turning all of 30 in October.

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space-time

I screwed [...] Oprah Winfrey.

Awesome.

Ha.
I took the test again this morning and got a somewhat lower score.
76
same two wrong as yesterday and two political questions.


I guess I shouldn't gamble in the morning.

Quote
guitarist
Question: are any of the high scorers under 25?

I read recently that people below a certain age simply do not read the news, at all. If it's not on YouTube, Facebook, or MySpace, it's not on the radar. Glad to see most of us here, young and old, are exceptional news consumers.

That sounds like the prime Daily Show demographic. Whether you like the show or not, its viewers are better informed than any news network or network news.

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Quote
mstudio
76, bummer. More killed in Iraq than I thought or wanted to admit. Who the hell knows anything about the Dow? And, who cares about Serbia anyway?

Same 3 errors here. You chose serbia and 10,000 too?

We should compile the results and use it as a remedial tool for the 'F' PL forum.

11 out of 12. I knew the last answer was either Bosnia or Kosovo, but I couldn't remember which one it was for sure.

Ah, after rereading the question I realized I had gotten a little lazy and didn't read the question correctly - I thought it was a question about what territory had first declared its independence from Serbia.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2008 10:36AM by Ted King.

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guitarist
...I expect to see the high scorers defend their honor...

Yuppers - I didn't read anything below the first post until after taking the test...

What I find disheartening about this Quiz is the one question that the largest percentage of people (84%) got right - nothing of national importance, but being able to name a television talk show host. A sad and pathetic statement about what's truly important to the people in this country...

Yikes. Nine out of 12 for 76th percentile. Missed the Dow, Kosovo and (sadly, I overestimated) the number killed in Iraq.

91. Missed the MIA in Iraq, guessed correctly on the DOW.

91 here - missed on Kosovo.

Interesting that Americans were most knowledgeable about the two black woman in the poll.


Craig

91, like Craig, I missed on Kosovo -- kind of thought it might be a trick question.

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Freya says, 'Hello from Valhalla!'

91, I missed the current majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

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Grateful11