citizenship test news stories on Newser

29% of Us Can't Name the VP

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:54:05 CDT

Newsweek recently gave the US citizenship test to 1,000 US citizens, and 38% failed. A full 73% didn't know why we fought the Cold War; 44% couldn't define the Bill of Rights; 29% couldn't even name the vice president. "Civic ignorance is nothing new," writes Andrew Romano, but the...

You Need a License to Drive, Why Not to Vote?

Kevin Spak — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:58:05 CST

We require drivers to take classes and test them on the rules of the road. Why? Because we believe that when the stakes are high, competence is essential. “Yet when it comes to voting, we let everyone participate once they turn 18,” complains Alexander Heffner of the Christian Science Monitor...

3 of 4 Oklahoma Students Can't Name First President

Kevin Spak — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:35:01 CDT

Are you smarter about American history than a recent immigrant? Most of the students in Oklahoma’s public high schools aren’t. A conservative think tank asked thousands of high school kids to answer 10 questions drawn from the citizenship test given to recent immigrants. Would-be citizens have to answer six correctly,...

Citizenship Test Moves Beyond Trivia

Gabriel Winant — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:49:35 CDT

The new test to become a US citizen debuts today, and it's making plenty of immigrants and their advocacy groups anxious. Proponents say it asks more meaningful questions—instead of "What were the original 13 states?" it asks things like "What does the Constitution do?"—but some worry that it's...

Citizenship Test Gets Overhaul

Colleen Barry — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 13:00:00 CDT

The government yesterday unveiled its new citizenship test, which puts less emphasis on memorization of facts and more on analysis. To become naturalized, it's no longer enough for applicants to know how many stars or stripes are on the flag, but they may need to ID a constitutional amendment that...