You think economists don't agree? What about journalists?

Old joke, adapted. Q: If you laid all the journalists in the world end to end, how far would they reach? A: We don't know exactly, but we know it wouldn't be far enough to reach a conclusion.

From the Washington Post, August 9, 2007, page D01, headlined "High School Seniors Test Well in Economics":

Sixty percent of high school seniors know that lower tax revenue and higher spending increase the national debt, and about half can tell you that the cost of imported goods would probably decrease without trade restrictions. But only 1 in 10 could analyze how a change in the unemployment rate affects income, spending and production.

Those were some of the results released yesterday from the first National Assessment of Educational Progress survey of economic literacy. The findings paint a portrait of a student body that is high in common sense when it comes to dollars and cents, but lower in classroom knowledge. Overall, education officials said the results are an encouraging sign that the study of economics is gaining currency.

From the Wall Street Journal, August 9, 2007, page D2, headllined "High Schoolers Aren't Good at Economics" (may require subscription):

Although more U.S. high-school students are taking economics courses, most graduating seniors have only a basic understanding of the subject, according to results from a key nationwide test.

On a zero-to-300 point scale, 12th graders had an average score of 150 points in the first-ever economics test administered under the federal government's National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

Comments

[Ted]

Interestingly, the WSJ doesn't even agree with itself. On today's (8/10)editorial page they praised HS seniors' knowledge of economics which underscores my belief that the reporters for the Journal are of different mindset than the editorialists.