Candidates to become Elected Officials should have to pass a certification exam just like every other high risk profession.
Doctors have the MCAT exam + Board certification + Continued education
Nurses have PAX exam + a certification for their chosen specialization + Continued Education
Lawyers have the LSAT exam + Bar certification
Engineers have the EIT exam + PE certification + Continued education
These are all people who are responsible for the lives of others so they have to know what they are doing or they will kill people. Government officials make policy that directly affects the lives of the people and should therefore need to know enough about what they are making policy about to make effective decisions.
The certifying exam should contain questions AT A HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL so that people are not excluded based on their ability to afford a college education. Also if a candidate cannot pass an exam at a high school level they are clearly unfit to govern anyone.
The exam would cover....
- Human health (nutrition, mental health, reproductive health)
- Life sciences (biology, environmental science, anatomy)
- Math (emphasis on statistics)
- Reading comprehension (emphasis on data heavy documents and scientific studies)
- Ethics ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
- Economics (including relevant state and regional information)
- etc.
The candidates would need to take the exam and the results would need to be publicly posted six months before the election that they would be attempting to run for. This gives people time to look at the scores and assess candidates before campaigns begin.
An overall score of 75% or above with a score of at least 50% in each individual section would be required to pass the exam and run in the election.
The candidate would need to re-take the exam every 5 years and have continued education credits to keep their certification.
Specialized positions would require additional specialized degrees or certifications i.e department of education requires someone with a degree in education. The head of the EPA would need a degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, or other relevant degree. This would prevent many people from getting positions THAT THEY ARE CLEARLY UNFIT FOR as political favors.
I am so tired of people who refuse to learn about the world trying to run it.
