U.S. adopts a new citizenship exam - - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
Sphere: Related Content
The federal government yesterday introduced a new U.S. citizenship civics exam designed to force would-be citizens to go beyond memorizing historical facts and instead grasp the fundamental meaning of being an American
The goal, he said, was a better test, not a harder test — and the results of a pilot program bore that out. More than 92 percent of the pilot group passed the test on the first attempt, far higher than the 84 percent rate of passage for first-timers on the current exam.
Many of the 42 questions dropped between the pilot testing and the final set of 100 questions were eliminated because they were too difficult linguistically, Mr. Aguilar said. But he said they did not drop any questions on key fundamental concepts of citizenship.
Also gone is a question about the United Nations, as are questions about the 50th state added to the union; the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to Massachusetts; and some questions about famous Americans, such as the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the man who uttered "Give me liberty or give me death."
Instead, the test focuses heavily on the Constitution's road map for a republican form of government and on the division of powers and roles among the various branches and agencies of the government.
Some of the new questions:Powered by ScribeFire.
What did Susan B. Anthony do?
A: Fought for women"s rights.
B: Fought for civil rights.
What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
A: U.S. diplomat
B: Oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
C: First postmaster general of the United States
D: Writer of “Poor Richard"s Almanac”
E: Started the first free libraries.
What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?
A: Vote
B: Serve on a jury.
What is freedom of religion?
A: You can practice any religion you want, or not practice a religion.
Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
A: To print money.
B: To declare war.
C: To create an army.
D: To make treaties.
Some of the altered questions:
Old question:
Name the amendments that guarantee or address voting rights.
New question:
There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
A: Citizens 18 and older can vote.
B: You don't have to pay a poll tax to vote.
C: Any citizen can vote (women and men can vote).
D: A male citizen of any race can vote.
Old question:
Who was president during the Civil War?
New question:
What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
A: Saved (or preserved) the Union.
B: Freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation).
C: Led the U.S. during the Civil War.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment