In early December, a random sample of adults were asked to answer a series of 10 multiple choice questions about events and people in the news. Respondents answered an average of six correctly. Only 7% answered all 10 questions correctly; about seven-in-ten (71%) got at least half the answers right and about one-third (34%) answered at least eight correctly. Men correctly answered an average of 6.5 questions, while women averaged 5.7 correct answers. College graduates (7.3) outperformed those with some college experience but no degree (6.0) and those with no college experience (4.7). Older respondents were more knowledgeable than younger ones. Read More
Russell Heimlich is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.
