The U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services has announced a pilot test of a new nationalization exam. The USCIS will administer the pilot exam in early 2007 to about 5,000 citizenship applicants in ten cities. There are new questions, an emphasis on democratic concepts and principles, rather just rote memorization of facts. This change seems quite good to me, but I will study the matter (after tomorrow’s Annual Dinner). This is the Fact Sheet on the exam. This includes all the questions and answers for the pilot exam.
Ar first glance, it might be a good screening tool for students at many high schools.
Some years ago, teaching continuing ed students in NYC at night, I discovered that the only people with anything resembling a working knowledge of American history or American government were recently naturalized citizens.
I sent the ISI Civics Quiz
to my sons and was relieved that only one missed anything - he somehow didn’t know about NATO. They were amused, so I sent them the questions and answers linked above, suggesting they go through and pretend the answers were not there to see how they might do.
This would be a good screening tool for high school teachers, for employment, not just students.