Not teaching our nation's roots.(THE LAST WORD)

Want an answer to why America's best-educated sons and daughters aren't demanding an end to deficit spending, undeclared wars, mushrooming federal programs, and attacks on the Bill of Rights? A little-known organization based in Wilmington, Delaware, provides one, and it turns out to be a stinging indictment of the most expensive and most highly rated colleges and universities.

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Founded in 1953, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute works to "nurture in the rising generation an appreciation of our nation's founding principles," described by ISI as "limited government, individual liberty, private property, a tree market economy, personal responsibility, and ethical standards." Claiming volunteer representatives at more than 900 colleges, the nonprofit ISI conducts educational programs, distributes ISI books, and even offers graduate fellowships to aspiring college teachers.

Starting in 2005, the ISI has conducted an annual survey of college students to determine their knowledge of America's history and institutions. The results of that initial survey were a wake-up call. Results from the newer 2006 survey, released in September 2007, show again that "the nation's college freshmen and seniors again scored just over 50 percent, or an E" Over 14,000 randomly selected collegians at 50 colleges and universities took the test. Participants were asked 60 multiple-choice questions dealing with America's history, government, America and the world, and the market economy. Assistance in the project came from the University of Connecticut's nationally and internationally recognized Department of Public Policy.

At the ISI's September press conference held at Washington's National Press Club, the group's leaders issued a 40-page report entitled Failing Our Students, Failing America: Holding Colleges Accountable for Teaching America's History and Institutions. The report's major findings include:

* "College seniors failed a basic test on America's history and institutions."

* "Colleges stall student learning about America."