Test of Students’ Civics Knowledge

Re “Old Enough to Vote but Ignorant of Why,” Nov. 19: The failure of the students to give the “correct answers” might be based more on cynicism than ignorance. They may not be convinced that a benefit of citizen participation in a democratic society is “making sure government reflects the will of the people” and that the Supreme Court “helps protect individuals’ rights.” Putting cynicism aside, Political Science 101 suggests that the “will of the people” has to sometimes be tempered, and any follower of our system of appointing judges, including Supreme Court justices, recognizes that individual and government rights, with government rights being defined by the people who are representing the “will of the people” at that particular time, sometimes clash. There are probably citizens who believe the Supreme Court is the highest political body in the land.

It makes sense to teach students the ABCs of citizenship. However, the political system is complicated and opaque at times. And when it is not opaque it can sometimes be very ugly. The National Assessment of Educational Progress test results in other areas, such as reading, writing, math and science, should be questioned if the “correct answers” in those areas are as arbitrary as the “correct answers” in the citizenship test.

FRANK SWEENEY

Valencia