Our Constitution: How many of us know it?

Among our imminent and future voters — students in our schools — how many know about the separation of powers? In the National Assessment of Educational Progress — NAEP ("The nation's report card"): "Only one in 10 demonstrated acceptable knowledge of the checks and balances among the legislative, executive and judicial branches, according to test results released on Wednesday." (New York Times, May 4) And what of their parents? Of 1,000 citizens who were asked in a Newsweek poll: "'What is the supreme law of the land?' 70 percent of the 1,000 citizens polled by Newsweek couldn't answer correctly." (ABC News, May 13) Answer: The Constitution! Among the high-school seniors surveyed by the NAEP, three-quarters could not name "a power granted to Congress by the Constitution." What most startled me was "the nation's report card" revealing that "a smaller proportion of fourth- and eighth-graders demonstrated proficiency in civics (who we are as Americans) than in any other subject the federal government has tested since 2005, except history, American students' worst subject."