US to unveil new citizenship test

[medeak]

BOSTON – To gain American citizenship, immigrants must be able to answer such questions as: What was the 49th state added to our Union? What color are the stars on our flag? And who wrote the Star Spangled Banner?
It will continue to be an oral test, conducted in English, and will have 10 questions. Six correct answers will earn a passing grade. But the content, which is tightly under wraps, is expected to shun simple historical facts about America that can be recounted in a few words for more explanation about the principles of American democracy, such as freedom.

The changes raise the bar - critics say too high - for immigrants to show not only that they care enough to study for a test, but also that they understand and share American values. Behind the shift is rising anxiety among Americans about high levels of immigration and European troubles with large, unassimilated communities, say observers.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1117/p03s02-ussc.html

[acmejack]

1. It raises the question of what is germane to Citizenship.

What does one need to know? Certainly not who Francis Scott Key is!

[Igel]

4. Precisely.

Such trivial questions shouldn't be on the test; neither should be questions whose answers can be easily memorized for prompt regurgitation; moreover, there should be hundreds of questions on the test, many asking the same thing, so that comprehension is required. I've known to many naturalized citizens who couldn't schedule a doctor's appointment or give their addresses in English. One woman who came to first-year English proud that she had just passed her citizenship exam could say answers to questions on the exam, but when asked in her native language what the answers meant had to say she didn't know. There was a citizenship class in which the instructor knew enough of the standard citizenship questions and what acceptable answers were, and her students mindlessly memorized them.

Some exam.

[madmusic]

12. These naturalized citizens you've known...

Were they your friends? Just wondering how you got the inside scoop so well. Maybe you worked as a bi-lingual English teacher or something.

[Igel]

23. I had a class of Russian immigrants for a few years.

2-3 hours a week, 30 weeks a year, for a few years. They spoke Russian, I speak Russian and taught them English.

They were the slow learners, mostly (but not all) elderly.

[Nabia2004]

19. USCIS: Sample of current Naturalization Exam Questions

Here are the questions immigrants "memorize" so they can pass that 10 question citizenship test.

Civics and Citizenship Study Materials

The following are sample U.S. History and Government Questions that may be asked during the Naturalization Exam.

Typical Questions

1. What are the colors of our flag?
2. What do the stars on the flag mean?
3. How many stars are there on our flag?
4. What color are the stars on our flag?
5. How many stripes are there on our flag?
6. What do the stripes on the flag represent?
7. What colors are the stripes on the flag?
8. How many states are there in the Union (the United States)?
9. What do we celebrate on the 4th of July?
10. Independence Day celebrates independence from whom?
11. What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?
12. Who was the first president of the United States?
13. Who is the President of the United States today?
14. Who is the Vice President of the United States today?
15. Who elects the President of the United States?
16. Who becomes President if the President dies?
17. What is the Constitution?
18. What do we call changes to the Constitution?
19. How many changes, or amendments, are there to the Constitution?
20. What are the three branches of our government?
21. What is the legislative branch of our Government?
22. What makes up Congress?
23. Who makes the Federal laws in the United States?
24. Who elects Congress?
25. How many Senators are there in Congress?
26. For how long do we elect each Senator?
27. Name two Senators from your state.
28. How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?
29. For how long do we elect each member of the House of Representatives?
30. Who is the head of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government?
31. For how long is the President elected?
32. What is the highest part of the Judiciary Branch of our Government?
33. What are the duties of the Supreme Court?
34. What is the supreme law of the United States?
35. What is the Bill of Rights?
36. What is the capital of the state you live in?
37. Who is the current Governor of the state you live in?
38. Who becomes President if both the President and Vice President die?
39. Who is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
40. What were the original 13 states?
41. Who said, “Give me liberty or give me death”?
42. Name some countries that were our enemies during World War II.
43. What was the 49th state added to our Union (the United States)?
44. How many full terms can a President serve?
45. Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.?
46. What are some of the requirements to be eligible to become President?
47. Why are there 100 Senators in the United States Senate?
48. Who nominates judges for the Supreme Court?
49. How many Supreme Court Justices are there?
50. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?
51. What is the executive of a state government called?
52. What is the head executive of a city government called?
53. What holiday was celebrated for the first time by American colonists?
54. Who was the main writer of the Declaration of Independence?
55. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
56. What are some of the basic beliefs of the Declaration of Independence?
57. What is the national anthem of the United States?
58. Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?
59. What is the minimum voting age in the United States?
60. Who signs bills into law?
61. What is the highest court in the United States?
62. Who was President during the Civil War?
63. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
64. What special group advises the President?
65. Which President is called the “Father of our Country”?
66. Which President was the first Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army and Navy?
67. What was the 50th state to be added to our Union (the United States)?
68. Who helped the Pilgrims in America?
69. What is the name of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America?
70. What were the 13 original states of the United States called before they were states?
71. What group has the power to declare war?
72. Name the amendments that guarantee or address voting rights.
73. In what year was the Constitution written?
74. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?
75. Whose rights are guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights?
76. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?
77. Who meets in the U.S. Capitol building?
78. What is the name of the President’s official home?
79. Where is the White House located?
80. Name one right or freedom guaranteed by the first amendment.
81. Who is Commander-in-Chief of the United States military?
82. In what month do we vote for the President?
83. In what month is the new President inaugurated?
84. How many times may a Senator or Congressman be re-elected?
85. What are the two major political parties in the United States today?
86. What is the executive branch of our government?
87. Where does freedom of speech come from?
88. What U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form is used to apply for naturalized citizenship?
89. What kind of government does the United States have?
90. Name one of the purposes of the United Nations.
91. Name one benefit of being a citizen of the United States.
92. Can the Constitution be changed?
93. What is the most important right granted to United States citizens?
94. What is the White House?
95. What is the United States Capitol?
96. How many branches are there in the United States government?

[madmusic]

20. That's not a bad test.

Those who pass it might even have a better understanding than some citizens who fell asleep during civics class.

[Igel]

24. Yep.

They did. They had citizenship class that they took for 2-3 hours a week most of the year. Some of them took it for a few years before they passed it.

Look at the questions: Would *you* need that long to study if you knew the language?

[Mythsaje]

2. They should hardly be held to standards

most AMERICANS couldn't pass.

[alarimer]

3. But whose values?

If I could be sure this was about TRUE American values: freedom of speech for everyone, even those you disagree with, freedom of religion (but not the freedom to shove it down everyone else's throat), etc, I would be more comfortable with this.

So who gets to define what the right answer to those "values" questions might be? If it's the party currently in power, I shudder to think that the only people allowed to be citizens will be those who are not likely to dissent.

[Demeter]

5. Why Not The Bill of Rights?

or the best parts of the Constitution and the Declaration? Why not something that they NEED to know? Something that will be useful beyond a stint on Jeopardy?

[madmusic]

8. Quiet!

That stuff is secret.

[Eric J in MN]

14. The article says the questions will be changed to be about the Bill of Rights

"Look at the Bill of Rights and some of the values and rights that are enshrined in . Those could possibly be test question topics the meaning of democracy, the meaning of freedom," says Shawn Saucier, spokesman for the USCIS, adding that some immigrants "come from a culture, a government, a society that is completely removed from our concept of government."

[madmusic]

6. This reminds me of the test for feeblemindedness...

In the Progressive Era. It was really a cultural "in crowd" test. With questions like...

Pinochle is play with... rackets *cards* pins dice.

Marguerite Clark is known as a... suffragist singer *movie actress* writer.

These Knight engine is used in the... Packard Lozier *Stearns* Pierce Arrow.

Issac Pitman was most famous in... physics *shorthand* railroading electricity.

These are real questions from the test, and "The lowest scores were registered by blacks and members of the newer immigrant groups... These results were publicized in scores of books and articles lamenting the sorry state of Americans' mentality and warning of its further decline."

Source: Controlling Human Heredity, by Diane B. Paul.

[badgerpup]

7. I once saw the exam that immigrants have to take for citizenship...

...and some stats on how many citizens-by-nativity FLUNKED it.
Close to 50%, IIRC...:blush::banghead:

[hsher]

9. Oh brother, looks like another one for the Leibowitz

Thanks for the link and the heads'up.

[joemurphy]

10. This sounds a lot like the tests that they used to give to blacks

to keep them from voting.

The test as it is now requires an alien to know the names of the President, VP, governor, Senators, Congressmen, the number of states in the union, a little bit about the flag, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Most Americans would flunk it.

It seems kind of silly to let aliens have green cards (and you ordinarily have to have a green card for several years before taking the citizenship test) and then stiffen the citizenship test. I suspect the motives to do so parallel those that were employed to prevent blacks from voting in the Fifties.

[SoCalDem]

11. Why not just make the process a TV Game Show.."Trivial Pursuit of Happiness"

Get Regis to host it..or maybe Howie...

or the Weakest Link lady..?

The pretty ladies could stand on steps with metal briefcases with questions...

The "contestants" who make it through the gauntlet become citizens..

the ones who goof, are escorted outside like on The Apprentice, to a waiting bus that, once loaded, heads for the border, and unceremoniously dumps them in Tijuana..

[Katzenjammer]

13. "No matter how cynical I get, it's never enough" Lily Tomlin :-)

[shireen]

15. if they're testing potential citizens with those new questions,

they need to test all current citizens as well. They need to make it part of school testing, part of the drivers' license test, part of <insert your favorite test here>. All politicians and cabinet secretaries should get surprise tests, yeah, no warning so they don't cram the night before. The president and vice-president should be tested on live tv, jeopardy style. If any of these citizens fail, their citizenship should be revoked and they should be deported to a country of their choice. It's only fair. :evilgrin:

What a dumb idea! This test is totally discriminatory.

I'm a naturalized citizen. For my citizenship test, I read all the recommended references and more. The test questions (administered orally) were very simple; I could have breezed through them without all that reading I did to prepare for the test. But for some people, who haven't had the same advantages in education and literacy, it's not that easy. This new test is unnecessarily harder, and it will hurt them. They are just as deserving as I am to become citizens and their rights must be protected.


Could i pass this new test? Lemme try ...

> What was the 49th state added to our Union?
that "Men in Trees" place.

> What color are the stars on our flag?
A class, possibly D class.

> And who wrote the Star Spangled Banner?
Guy with same name as a bridge in Baltimore. $2 toll fee.

i think i just failed ... :P

[uppityperson]

16. Maybe they should have a test you take before being registered to vote

know what the constitution is, bill of rights, that sort of stuff.

[Deja Q]

17. Well, at least it'll show they want to live here and be Americans...

and not merely tools to be imported, trained for whatever task, then shipped back.

[951-Riverside]

18. BRAVO!!!!

Isn't it great that we continue to punish those who are trying to immigrate legally while people who come here illegally get a free pass.

God bless America!

[Hubert Flottz]

21. I'll bet there's all kinds of smut questions about democrats.

So they can exclude any non Freepers!

[mmonk]

22. Do rightwingers have to pass it too?