Here’s something interesting — and sad, and a little alarming. Some defenders of public schools — I mean, die-hard, grasping-at-straws defenders — say, “The reason we have public schools is that no one else can be counted on to teach basic facts about our country — to teach civics. And we need such education if we’re to hold the country together.” We sure do. How are the public schools doing?

The Goldwater Institute, in Phoenix, has explored this question. They commissioned a survey of Arizona high-school students to find out what they know. I will quote from the executive summary (which you can find here):

. . . we surveyed . . . students with questions drawn from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) item bank, which consists of 100 questions given to candidates for United States citizenship. The longstanding practice has been for candidates to take a test on 10 of these items. A minimum of six correct answers is required to pass. The service recently reported a first-try passing rate of 92.4 percent.
The Goldwater Institute survey, conducted by a private survey firm, gave each student 10 items from the USCIS item bank. We grouped results according to the type of school students attend — public, charter, or private. Questions included (1) Who was the first president of the United States? (2) Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? and (3) What ocean is located on the East Coast of the United States?
All three groups of Arizona high school students scored alarmingly low on the test. Only 3.5 percent of Arizona high school students attending public schools passed the citizenship test. The passing rate for charter school students was about twice as high as for public school students. Private school students passed at a rate almost four times higher than public school students.

This does not mean the sky is falling. But the sky should be watched, for signs of national, civilizational apocalypse. (How’s that for non-hysteria?)

Just think of it: 3.5 percent of high-school students passed! That was in the public schools. And the kids in the charter and private schools — not impressively better. I’m proud to say that I know who wrote the Declaration of Independence. Crispus Attucks, right? And that ocean? Piece of cake: Long Island Sound. I think I’ll be in it this weekend . . .

P.S. The first president? You mean, not Barack Obama? Was there America — any America worth speaking of — before Barack Obama? (Sorry, I have a case of political crabbiness this morning.)