Immigrants wishing to become US citizens are required to take an exam to test their knowledge of American history, politics and civics. The US Citizen and Immigration Services has a designed a new set of questions to make the test a bit more in-depth than the older one.
The 100 questions were whittled from an initial list of 142 tested during a four-month pilot program. Nearly 6,800 people took the revised test during the pilot program, with 92.4 percent of them passing.
As with the old test, passing the revamped one involves answering at least six of 10 civics questions correctly. Applicants who fail can take the test a second time. And if they fail again, they must reapply for citizenship.
The desire was not to make the test harder, but to nudge would-be citizens into studying more about the "landmark moments" of history and the nation's defining principles, said Alfonso Aguilar, head of CIS' Office of Citizenship, which designed the test that takes effect in October 2008.
The "new" test is not necessarily and "improved" one, according to some.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, which was involved with the pilot program, expressed concern Thursday that the new test will require far more study by applicants and will overload citizenship teachers already struggling to impart necessary knowledge.
"Unfortunately, that list has not been improved, and questions such as 'What is the rule of law?' and 'Who was president during World War I?' are still there," the group said in a statement. "We question how fair it is to require new citizens to answer these questions, which many native-born Americans would find difficult."
But would they really? The Houston Chronicle decided to find out by asking natural born American citizens to answer some questions from the list. The results may surprise you (watch the video on the page).
Think you know American history? Well, what did dollar-coin lady Susan B. Anthony do?
If you answered that she sewed the American flag, like one college student did on Thursday in Houston, you'd fail at least one question in the new citizenship test just announced by the government.
For some, the questions elicited long pauses as the brain jogged the memory of long-lost civics knowledge. One particularly challenging question was how many voting members are in the House of Representatives. The answer is 435, though the responses ranged from 32 to around 200.
And "some of the historical figures, like I should know who they are and I recognize their names but it's hard to remember what they did," said Valerie McIntosh, 27, a speech pathology student. For others, it isn't the names of people who grace our currency that are hard to remember, but the country's current brass.
What is the name of the Vice President of the United States now?
"That would be, uh ... uh ... oh my God. I don't know. George Bush and — God, what's that's guy's name?" asked Trey Bell, a 19-year-old electrical engineering student.
It's Dick Cheney.
Or what about who is one of your state's U.S. Senators?
"Bentsen. Lloyd Bentsen," said E.J. Rendon, 31, who's studying marketing.
"Rick Perry," answered 18-year-old Iryna Marchemko, a permanent U.S. resident who hopes to apply for citizenship.
Government quizzes aren't her strong suit, she said, but the questions on the new exam are "basics you need to know, I need to know." "I mean, you should have a basic knowledge of the country where you live in but it doesn't necessarily mean people who were born here — they know answers to those questions," said Marchemko, a native of Ukraine.
The full article here. Test your citizenship aptitude by answering some sample questions here. (I got 18 out of 20 right - score 90%) See the full list here.
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