In 2014, the National Science Foundation released findings1 that show approximately 25% of Americans did not correctly answer a survey question asking whether Earth goes around the Sun or the Sun goes around Earth. This result was presented in the media as a sign of Americans' lack of science literacy and some people found the results worthy of mockery. I began to wonder whether this question and similar questions are appropriate for assessing the public's understanding of science.

2.
Jay M.
Pasachoff
, “
What should students learn?
Phys. Teach.
39
,
381
(Sept.
2001
).
3.
Daniel
Caton
, “
What should students remember?
Phys. Teach.
39
,
382
(Sept.
2001
).
4.
Philip M.
Sadler
, “
Choosing between teaching helioseismology and phases of the Moon
,”
Phys. Teach.
39
,
554
(Dec.
2001
).
5.
Mike
Seeds
, “
More on teaching intro astronomy—Science as a way of knowing
,”
Phys. Teach.
39
,
517
(Dec.
2001
).
6.
Paul J.
Camp
, “
What's wrong with this course?
Phys. Teach.
39
,
516
(Dec.
2001
).
7.
Christopher M.
Graney
, “
Teaching Galileo? Get to know Riccioli! What a forgotten Italian astronomer can teach students about how science works
,”
Phys. Teach.
50
,
18
(Jan.
2012
).
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