EPIC FAIL:  Only 18 percent of 8th graders are proficient in U.S. history according to the new Nation’s Report Card. Asians score highest at 33%; whites at 26%; Hispanics at 8%; blacks at 6%.  The gap between public and private schoolers is large:  17% proficiency for public school students, versus 31% for private.

If you don’t know U.S. history, you simply cannot appreciate the exceptional nature of our country, which explains a lot.