E 3 AT O N

Pop Quiz: What Do
Students Know?
L ast year a book called "What Do Our
17-Year-Olds Know?" presented the
results of 262 questions asked of a
group of 17-year-old high-school stu-
dents nationwide. NEWSWEEK ON CAM-
Pus tried a sampling of 15 of these ques-
tions on the same college students we
polled on politics last November (page
24). College students consistently out-
performed the 17-year-olds, but not by
all that much.
1. When was the Civil War?

6. The purpose of the authors of
The Federalist Papers was to:

A. Before 1750
B. 1750-1800
C. 1800-1850
D. 1850-1900
E. 1900-1950
F. After 1950

17-YAR- COLLEG
OLDS STUDENTS
4% 4%
23% 18%
38% 29%
32% 46%
2% 2%
1% 
'LESS THAN I PERCENT.

2. What is the Magna Charta?
A. The Great Seal of
the monarchs of
England 16%
B. The foundation of
the British parlia-
mentary system 30%
C. The French
Declaration of the
Rights of Man 17%
D. The charter signed
by the Pilgrims on
the Mayflower 37%

7%
47% |'
17%
29%

7. The controversy surrounding
Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy
focused on:
A. Investigations of
individuals suspected
of communist
activities 43% 70
B. Agitation to secure
civil rights for Irish
immigrants 15% 7
C. Leadership of the
movement protesting
the war in Vietnam 29% 13
D. Leadership of the
movement to
improve veterans'
benefits 13% 8

Cleopatra 19% 12%
12. In which novel did a 16-year-old
boy who was expelled from school go
to New York City for a weekend to
find himself?
A. The Catcher in
the Rye 22% 43%
B. A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn 47% 29%
C. The Sun Also Rises 13% 9%
D. A Separate Peace 18% 16%
13. Two authors who are known for
their well-crafted stories set in the

6
.6
I


3. The idea that each branch of the
federal government should keep the
other branches from becoming too
strong is called:
A. Strict
constructionism 4% 2%
B. The system of
checks and balances 60% 81%
C. Federalism 19% 8%
D. Implied powers 17% 7%


American South are:
A. Eudora Welty and
Flannery O'Connor
B. Louisa May Alcott
and Katherine
Anne Porter
C. William Saroyan
and Truman Capote
D. Sherwood
Anderson and
Sinclair Lewis

25%

14%

41% 31%

16%

4. Sputnik was the name
given to the first:
A Man-made satellite 63
B. Animal to travel in
space 13
C. Hydrogen bomb 14
D. Telecommuni-
cations system 10

%
%
%

83%
6%
5%

8. The Return of the Native, Tess of
the D'Urbervilles and The Mayor of
Casterbridge were written by:
A. Sir Walter Scott 34% 22%
B. Thomas Hardy 25% 43%
C. Oscar Wilde 21% 18%
D. Robert Louis
Stevenson 20% 13%
9. Billy Budd, Benito Cereno and
Bartleby the Scrivener
were written by:
A. Washington Irving 23% 16%
B. Herman Melville 36% 43%
C. Jack London 23% 18%
D. James Fenimore
Cooper 18% 19%
10. Who is the Spanish knight who
attacked windmills, thinking
they were giants?
A. Sancho Panza 21% 14%
B. Don Quixote 48% 70%
C. El Cid 16% 9%
D. Zorro 15% 5%

15%

29% 25%

14. Which American poet wrote the
volume of poetry Leaves of Grass,
which includes the line "I celebrate
myself, and sing myself"?
A. Robert Lowell 25% 20%
B. Edna St. Vincent
Millay - 19% 13%
C. Archibald
MacLeish 16% 7%
D. Walt Whitman 40% 55%
15. Who wrote Native Son, a novel of
black life in Chicago, and Black Boy,
which is highly autobiographical?
A. Richard Wright 33% 33%
B. Eldridge Cleaver 25% 29%
C. LeRoi Jones 22% 8%
D. Malcolm X 20% 27%
ANSWERS: 1.D; 2.B; 3.B; 4.A; 5.D; 6.C; 7.A; 8.B; 9.B; 10.B;
11.C;12.A;13.A;14.D; 15A

%o 4%

5. Which of the following was not
addressed by New Deal legislation:
A. Agricultural price
supports 20% 17%
B. Labor unions 18% 17%
C. Social security 24% 13%
D. Restrictions on
immigration 38% 51%

18 NEWSWEEKONCAMPUS MARCH 1988

18 NEWSWEEK ON CAMPUS

MARCH 1988