02-05-2012, 09:22 PM
Black wrote:
I see no indication that the "funny" responses were not actual best-effort responses on the part of the respondents.
And I see no indication that they were.
I'd guess there is some of both. I have a tough time believing that older teens living in Olympia, WA don't know that they live in the state's capital. You can't go many places without seeing the capital building in that very small town.
If you want to know how American students are doing with their knowledge of US history or geography, we have standardized testing for that. And no the results are not spectacular.
You tube videos by kids having fun at lunch should not be used to judge American students, other than in their ability to have some fun.