How Tough is the U.S. Citizenship Test?

Are you smarter than a high school student?  In a recent study, the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs discovered that only 2.8% of Oklahoma high school students could pass the basic citizenship test administered by USCIS.  Shockingly, 77% could not identify America’s first president.   That means the average naturalized citizen probably understands more about U.S. civics than the vast majority of high school students who were born and raised in America.  The group who commissioned it were taken back by the results of the study, but I’m not surprised at all.  In my experience, folks who apply for naturalization are a motivated bunch, and will work very hard to achieve their goals.  I mention this study not to make fun of Oklahoma because I suspect that the results would be the same if the study was done in any other state (or even if the study was conducted with college students).  Rather, I’m lamenting the decay of basic knowledge in the U.S. and to give kudos to the men and women who study to become citizens.

To read more about the study, visit this link:

http://www.ocpathink.org/publications/perspective-archives/september-2009-volume-16-number-9/?module=perspective&id=2321

To test your knowledge of U.S. civics, visit this link (you must answer 6 out of ten of the questions correctly to pass):

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/blinstst_new.htm

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