I took the ISI History Quiz

I took the ISI History Test that so many college seniors at elite universities failed. Results:

You answered 57 out of 60 correctly — 95.00 %

Average score for this quiz during September: 75.3%
Average score since September 18, 2007: 75.3%

What did I get wrong?

Answers to Your Missed Questions:

Question #19 - C. philosopher kings.
Question #54 - D. can be reversed by government spending more than it taxes.
Question #58 - B. An increase in the volume of commercial bank loans.

Here are the questions and all possible answers (including my wrong ones) for the ones I missed:

19) In The Republic, Plato points to the desirability of:

A. tyranny.

B. democracy.

C. philosopher kings.

D. commercial republics.

E. world government.

That was a classic brain f**t on my part.

54) Keynesian economists conclude that the recession phase of a business cycle:

A. involves a lower unemployment rate.

B. occurs when investment spending crowds out consumer spending.

C. can be eliminated by government taxing more than it spends.

D. can be reversed by government spending more than it taxes.

E. can be reversed with higher interest rates.

Eh. Economics ain't my strong suit...I suspect most historians can relate.

58) What is a major effect of a purchase of bonds by the Federal Reserve?

A. A reduction in the supply of common stock.

B. An increase in the volume of commercial bank loans.

C. A decrease in the supply of money.

D. An increase in interest rates.

E. A decrease in investment spending by businesses.

....And again....

All in all, I was surprised I did so well, frankly. While some are arguing the test is unfair because it doesn't adequately deal with big concepts, a knowledge of basic historical facts is necessary to support the "big picture" takeaway that colleges aim to teach. Besides, many of the questions do deal with concepts. For instance:

31) Which author’s view of society is presented correctly?

A. Edmund Burke argued that society consists of a union of past, present, and future generations.

B. Adam Smith argued that the division of labor decreases the wealth of nations.

C. Alexis de Tocqueville argued that voluntary associations are usually dangerous to society.

D. Max Weber argued that the Jewish work ethic is central to American capitalism.

E. John Locke defended the divine right of kings.

39) The question of why democracy leads to well-ordered government in America when disorder prevails in Europe is central to:

A. Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia.

B. Walt Whitman’s Democratic Vistas.

C. John Adams’s “Thoughts on Government.”

D. Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.

E. Charles Beard’s An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.

There is a lot of reading that goes into answering these questions, no?

Or how about:

35) The Monroe Doctrine:

A. discouraged new colonies in the Western hemisphere.

B. proclaimed America’s “Manifest Destiny.”

C. was the earliest recorded agreement between the United States and France.

D. was America’s response to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago.

E. resolved border disputes among the thirteen colonies.

13) The struggle between President Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans was mainly over:

A. United States alliances with European nations.

B. the nature and control of Reconstruction.

C. the purchase of Alaska.

D. whether or not to have a tariff.

E. whether slavery should be allowed in the Federal Territories.

44) The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) was significant because it:

A. ended the war in Korea.

B. gave President Johnson the authority to expand the scope of the Vietnam War.

C. was an attempt to take foreign policy power away from the President.

D. allowed China to become a member of the United Nations.

E. allowed for oil exploration in Southeast Asia.

Doesn't understanding the "Monroe Doctrine" or why Johnson and the Radical Republicans were fighting display more than just knowing facts and figures. Aren't these the sort of historical concepts that many say should be tested?

And then there's question about the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Heck, they even give the date to help you make an educated guess!

I can only surmise that the historians who take a negative view multiple choice tests--thinking "only" facts and dates can be tested--have probably not read the actual test. Maybe they should.