In a scathing revelation about the U.S. education system, a recent study conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni revealed that an alarming 10 percent of college graduates believe that Judge Judith Sheindlin is actually a Supreme Court justice.
Sheindlin, popularly known as Judge Judy on her TV show sharing the same name since 1996, handles small disputes in a court room. Her bio indicates that she has been a judge in New York City for 30 years now, but nowhere does it say that she serve on the Supreme Court of the United States - because she doesn't.
The poll, conducted in August 2015 but released in January 2016, had 1,000 recent college graduates as participants, reported CNN. Using High school civics curricula to form the questions, the council concluded upon tallying the results that many college graduates "are alarmingly ignorant of America's history and heritage."
Other alarming findings include:
• Only 28 percent of college graduates could identify James Madison as the father of the Constitution, while 59 percent thought it was Thomas Jefferson;
• Nearly 60 percent couldn't correctly identify a requirement for ratifying a constitutional amendment;
• About 40 percent were unaware that Congress has the power to declare war;
• Nearly 50 percent didn't know senators are elected to six-year terms, while representatives only have two;
• Less than 50 percent knew that presidential impeachments are tried before the U.S. Senate
The group also found that more than 80 percent of liberal arts college don't have an American history or government course as a required class for graduation, according to FOX 5.
In light of these findings, the ACTA is pushing for mandatory civics classes at U.S. colleges.
