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Education

Should college students be able to name the vice president and which side won the Civil War?

By Maureen Downey
Nov 11, 2014

In a new viral video, college students in Texas can't name the vice president or which side won the Civil War.

I saw the video after attending the Autumnal North Georgia Scholastic Tournament this weekend at the University of North Georgia. I was dazzled at what Georgia high school quiz teams knew, including the names of Eric Shinseki, former head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the U.S Secretary of State in 1921, Charles Evans Hughes.

Then, I saw this video. I hoped it was a spoof, but apparently not.

The Texas Tech students who created the video took to YouTube and the student newspaper to defend charges they edited out right answers, telling the Daily Toreador 30 students were interviewed during the hour of filming and only two answered the questions correctly.

Clearly, many students at Texas Tech could have nailed these questions, but I would argue every college student should have been able to do so.

About the Author

Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.

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