A 1951 test by the California State Board of Education of eleven thousand Los Angeles high school juniors revealed startling facts about the nation's schools. Three percent of the students tested could not tell time; 18 percent did not know the number of months in a year; 9 percent did not know how many 3 cent stamps could be bought for 75 cents; and 16 percent did not know how many U.S. senators came from each state.

A New York Times survey, reported on 11 June 1951, revealed that college and university students showed a "shocking" lack of knowledge about U.S. and world geography. Less than 50 percent could estimate the U.S. population within 50 percent. Critics of the new "life-adjustment" curricula used the result to renew their calls for a return to basics.