Students know little about basic knowledge
Undergraduates at 50 U.S. campuses, including Harvard, Yale and Cornell, flunked an exam on American government, international relations and free-market economics, according to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. First-year students averaged 50 percent on the 60-question exam, the institute said yesterday in Washington. Seniors scored 54 percent. Some 54 percent of the college seniors tested didn't know that the phrase "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" comes from the Declaration of Independence.
Half of the schools with students among those tested were randomly selected, while the other half were picked because they have highly selective admissions.
The first report, a year ago, showed the average test score for college seniors was 53 percent. Freshmen scored 52 percent.
The institute was founded in 1953 to foster "a better understanding of the economic, political and spiritual values that sustain a free and virtuous society," according to its Web site.
SOURCE: Bloomberg News
SCHOOL FACT
During the 2006-07 school year, more than 2.2 million ACT tests were administered. Only 177 came back with a 36. And of the nearly 1.5 million SAT exams taken, only 269 came back with a 2400.
SOURCE: ACT and the College Board, which administers the SAT/The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
ADVICE TO THE WISE
10 PERCENT OF COLLEGE STUDENTS CARRY BIG CREDIT CARD DEBT
A study of student credit card debt conducted by Nellie Mae, a leading national provider of higher education loans, reported, nearly one out of 10 undergraduates has credit card debt greater than $7,000.
CareOne Credit Counseling Services offers the following advice for those college freshmen who want to make it through school without a load of debt:
