New Citizenship Test To Begin Next Fall: Revisions Focus on Democratic Values

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: Washington Post

By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 28, 2007; Page A02

The U.S. government made public yesterday the 100 questions that will be on the new citizenship test, an exam that officials said is meant to more deeply assess aspiring Americans' grasp of democratic values. The questions were selected after a pilot program this spring in 10 cities. Of more than 6,000 applicants who volunteered to take the pilot test, 92.4 percent passed, officials said. The pass rate on the old test is 84 percent.

On the new test, immigrants who apply for citizenship after October 2008 will no longer be asked "What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?" Instead, they might face the question "Why did the colonists fight the British?" Instead of "What special group advises the President?," the question will be "What does the President's Cabinet do?"

"I think what we've achieved through the process is a better test, concept-oriented . . . but is not harder," Alfonso Aguilar, chief of the Office of Citizenship, a division of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said at a news conference. That does not mean it is easier, officials said. They attributed the higher pass rate to the test-takers' studying, which they said is a must for the new exam -- unlike for the current test, which some critics say encourages rote memorization but little understanding.

Half of the 100 new questions were revised items from the current test, and half are new. The pilot test had 142 questions. Several that were widely answered incorrectly were reworded, officials said. Other difficult questions were dropped, Aguilar said....

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092702055.html?nav=most_emailed

[Fearless]

1. "but it's not harder"... right it's easier... would be pissed if I cared.

[MethuenProgressive]

2. Instead of naming all the 13 colonies, can you name 3?

What is this? A dumbed down test for Republicans? :dunce:

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Trivia question ... which New England states were NOT among the 13?

Start from the South and work up ...

GA
SC
NC
VA
MD
DE
NJ
PA
NY
CT
RI
MA

That's twelve ... so ... NH, VT, ME ... which?

[MethuenProgressive]

5. Maine, we weren't a state until 1820.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. And the other one? nt

[MethuenProgressive]

7. I'm from Maine - none of the other states count :D

But it was Vermont.

[eppur_se_muova]

9. Indeed. Vermont was a Republic 1777 - 1791.

Another DUer pointed this out to me recently. Funny, I don't remember really reading about it before, and it was the kind of thing that I read a lot about as a kid -- I was fascinated by shifting territorial/state borders on old US maps.

[AndyTiedye]

3. Could ** Pass This Test Without Cheating?

** doesn't seem to have much of a grasp of democratic values at all.
I think he might have some difficulty passing this test unless he cheated.

[CatholicEdHead]

8. Could most "native born" citizens pass this?

I see that installing jingoism is now part of becoming a US Citizen. :(

[treestar]

10. LOL, if native born, American eduated Americans can pass tihs test

I'll eat my hat.