In a recent civics survey taken in Oklahoma public schools, 77 percent of students didn’t know who the nation’s first president was.

Our current president, who recently gave an address to the nation’s schoolchildren encouraging them to take responsibility for their success, was probably hoping for better results.

Ninety percent couldn’t say how many justices were on the U.S. Supreme Court. Eighty-six percent failed to name who wrote the Declaration of Independence. And 89 percent were unsure how long we elect our senators to office.

If these numbers are terrifying you, they should be. If they aren’t, you’re part of the problem.

It’s no secret that the U.S. is falling behind other industrialized countries in schooling. In fact, we’re near the bottom when it comes to high school graduation rates.

As author and educator Steve Perry put it during an interview with CNN, “Countries like Iceland are smoking us.”

The prospect of a 10 percent unemployment rate is considered a catastrophe, but when only 10 percent of our students know there are nine Supreme Court justices, we hardly bat an eye.

We worry about our place in the world now and think we can salvage the sinking economy by picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. Even if we “weather the storm,” as our own ASU President Michael Crow aptly put it, how can we possibly hope future generations are going to succeed — and find work in an increasingly international job market — when they can’t pass a fundamental civics test?

The problem resonates loudly in Arizona where, depending on who you ask, public schools rank close to or at the bottom of all states in academic performance.

But what’s the problem?

Perry offers a controversial view that the problem rests in the less-than-capable arms of teachers and school administrators.

“The only people benefiting at this point from many of America’s public schools are the public school employees,” Perry said.

I’d like to think that both President Barack Obama and Perry are correct. We’re certainly failing to teach our children the things they need to know, as the No Child Left Behind Act (considered by many pundits to be a colossal failure) narrowly stresses math and reading comprehension and fails to provide a benchmark for students’ broad education. Kids need to get off Facebook and care once again about becoming informed and educated citizens of the world.

And that doesn’t mean passing a test.

Education is a holistic process. Ensuring students pass a standardized algebra test whilst neglecting history only enforces the notion that the majority of what is taught in school is worthless.

We need to reemphasize why learning is important, instead of promoting an appreciation of narrow education.

And, as simple as it sounds, we need better teachers.

Much better teachers. We can start by paying them a decent wage, making the market more competitive.

Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy just set the new world record for Guitar Hero, strumming over 1 million points on a song.

At least we’re succeeding at something, right?

Reach Dustin at dustin.volz@asu.edu.