6.33
2024 (latest)
VOCABULARY TEST SCORE
mean correct answers on the GSS 10-word vocabulary test · 1974–2024 · higher is better · NORC General Social Survey (cumulative file 1972–2024)
5.94
1974
6.33
high · 2024
5.73
low · 1989
+0.39 of 10
since 1974
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. WORDSUM: a ten-item multiple-choice vocabulary test administered in the GSS since 1974 with unchanged words — the longest-running repeated knowledge measure of US adults. Value is the weighted mean number correct (0–10). NORC General Social Survey cumulative file, computed here from the public microdata: weighted (WTSSPS, NORC's post-stratification weight available for every year 1972–2024) share of valid responses. 2021 moved to a push-to-web design during the pandemic and 2022/2024 are mixed-mode; NORC advises caution comparing 2021+ with the in-person years, so treat 2021 as a seam. The 2022/2024 upticks sit on that mode seam. Years with fewer than 200 weighted responses are dropped.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://gss.norc.org/get-the-data/stata.html
- https://gss.norc.org/content/dam/gss/get-the-data/documents/stata/GSS_stata.zip
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Societal-Health
Data
| Year | Vocabulary Test Score | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6.33 | +0.11 of 10 |
| 2022 | 6.22 | +0.40 of 10 |
| 2018 | 5.82 | −0.20 of 10 |
| 2016 | 6.02 | +0.08 of 10 |
| 2014 | 5.94 | +0.02 of 10 |
| 2012 | 5.92 | −0.01 of 10 |
| 2010 | 5.93 | +0.04 of 10 |
| 2008 | 5.89 | −0.23 of 10 |
| 2006 | 6.12 | +0.13 of 10 |
| 2004 | 5.99 | +0.13 of 10 |
| 2000 | 5.86 | −0.15 of 10 |
| 1998 | 6.01 | +0.09 of 10 |
| 1996 | 5.92 | −0.08 of 10 |
| 1994 | 6.00 | +0.16 of 10 |
| 1993 | 5.84 | −0.08 of 10 |
| 1991 | 5.92 | −0.07 of 10 |
| 1990 | 5.99 | +0.26 of 10 |
| 1989 | 5.73 | −0.07 of 10 |
| 1988 | 5.80 | −0.09 of 10 |
| 1987 | 5.89 | −0.14 of 10 |
| 1984 | 6.03 | +0.07 of 10 |
| 1982 | 5.96 | +0.01 of 10 |
| 1978 | 5.95 | −0.04 of 10 |
| 1976 | 5.99 | +0.05 of 10 |
| 1974 | 5.94 | — |
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