100% on the MSNBC test. The question about what form it takes to apply for naturalization seems strange, but I bet the people going through the process have been exposed to it.

85% missed the form question as well, along with the 13 original states and the number of amendments. I didn't realize there were so many, and the original colonies are confusing. All these New England states breaking off from each other at different times, who knows.

95%, I missed the question about the form as well. Though I wonder how people my age (I graduated HS in '98) would compare.

85%. I think the question about who selects Supreme Court justices is confusing, or rather, the answer choices are -- saying "the president appoints them" suggests that the Senate has nothing to do with it. If the answer choice had just been "the president," that's what I would have selected. Also got the naturalization form wrong as well as the amendment that doesn't have anything to do with voting rights.

My husband was naturalized in March. We studied at the dinner table with our 5-year-old kindergartner. I'm pleased to say that she got the age appropriate ones correct - hurray Mrs. Stein. Seriously, with all of the standardized testing in VA and elsewhere, the kids get the facts, and rarely the context. And as our recent voting trends show, Americans are getting lazy about their civic responsibility and staying informed. Hence, you get the government that is elected by the minority while the majority stays home because "they're too busy." BTW I got 90% missed the questions about appointing the justices and the 7th amendment

i got a 95 percent, only because i couldn't resist the one of the answers to the first 10 amendments to the constituion (I had to do it - it was Scooter I. Libby! - those guys at MSNBC - what a bunch of cut ups!

I had 95 as well, and also missed the question about the INS forms. Interestingly, we had a story in our local paper about three naturalized citizens and their experiences. I'd seen the original test and it is tough! You really have to want citizenship to go through what immigrants are put through to become citizens.

90%, for not knowing the naturalization form and not knowing which amendment had nothing to do with voting rights. The 13 original states question was easy if you looked closely at the answers - New Zealand, clearly not a state; Washington D.C., as un-state-like as New Zealand; and Kentucky, sounds too far west. But I'd be screwed if I had to actually list them off the top of my head. (Uh...Maryland? and Virginia? And a lot of New England?)

95% -- I forgot the 14 year residency rule for President. There's a quibble to the question about why the Pilgrims came to America -- in William Bradford's own words, they came to find "a better, and easier place of living" as well as opportunities "for the propagating and advancing the gospell of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world." As for religious freedom, look how they treated Thomas Morton.

Just wanted to let Class of 98 know that I got the same score - 95 percent, missing the form question. But we came through before these standardized tests were all the rage, so it's possible that we were actually taught civics!

95% - that darn naturalization-form question!

The question about declaring war is incorrect, or at the very least is misleading or poorly worded.

The War Powers Act of 1973 gives the President the power to delcare war for up to (I belive) its 90 days without Congressional intervention. To answer "congress" or "the president" should both be correct answers since the question does not specify who can declare war based on whats written in the Constitution.

Nitpicking, yes. But I got 95% having answered The President for that question, so I'm giving myself 100%.

95% as well--missed the immigration form question. I graduated HS in '04 and there was rarely any mention of current events. My younger sister (15) doesn't even know who the VP is!

Regarding the naturalization test...

It is my understanding that no much happened on the 4 July 1776 in regards to the Declaration of Independence. I believe It was submitted on the 2 July 1776 and was not fully signed until a month later.

Take a look at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/02/weekinreview/02goodheart.html

If you want to know the original 13 states, just rent the movie "1776." It used to be on TV every year on July 4th. Always was my favorite part of the holiday...

95% here too, another victim of the form question. How many permutations of the Red, White, and Blue question can possibly exist? I think, like answering 'c' on the SAT, as long as your default on the naturalization test is Red and White, you'll not only be granted citizenship, you'll be made mayor of our town (Harrisonburg, Virginia).

95%, though I missed the voting rights amendment question. I just went with process of elimination on the INS form question. I learned lot of those things after I got out of high school, though!

100 percent and under 30

85%, and I am Dutch and not planning to emigrate to the US ;-) In the Netherlands we have since a few months a similar test (also available on a website) that I failed horribly... That one includes a lot of questions on local habits and customs though and is less history oriented. (And to be honest I read History, so my score on the US test probably is not representative for the Dutch population)

I got a 95 (missed the immigration form question). Thought it was interesting though that based on this article that I had just read:

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/living/stories/0703mythmain.html

two of the questions on the test are actually myths.

100 percent! I cheated though...studied polisci in college. After looking at the real questions on the other test, I feel that on inauguration day, whether for the president or our representatives, this quiz should be their first item of business, and if they score below 80%...then back home with ya!

100%--even the form question. Since I'm over 50, it's nice to know I haven't forgotten everything.

"All these New England states breaking off from each other at different times, who knows" Actually, 5 of the 6 New England states were originals - only Maine, which was originally part of Massachusetts, became a state later (1820).
Geography isn't being taught much any more either, I guess.

95% here too. Darn form.

This lack of civics education is an issue, so much so Sandra Day O'Conner wrote an editorial to the Post last April. I teach Social Studies and have seen the time taken away from the subject in order to teach Math and Reading. Evidently we don't read in Social Studies, who knew? Thus the danger of No Child Left Behind and standardized testing. Beware our democracy!!!

Oh, and I got 90% - the ones I guessed at (voting rights amendment and Form N400) were the ones I got wrong. I'm in my mid-forties, and I don't remember learning any of that in school.

I got a 90% - missed the one about who elects the Chief Justice (which I had Senate) and the one about the voting amendment.

The one about about the form I guessed on. Who the hell needs to know that any way?

I too got a 95%. I missed the Supreme Court question. I knew that the President made the initial selection but because the Senate has to advise & consent I chose the Senate as the answer. I figured they have the final yea or nay so in my mind they actually select the justice who will be confirmed. If they reject the President's first pick (2nd, 3rd, etc.) then the President has to pick another and does not get his intial pick. So while the President does appoint the justice (as the correct answer indicates) my answer leaned more to having a Senate that does it's job and does not just rubber stamp the President. Anyway that was my logic.

100% for me, but the form question was a lucky guess. It seems that everyone who has commented so far has done well. This can't be representative. I am sure that all those who bombed it aren't going to admit it in a comment!

100% The form one was a guess but it was by far the most logical choice, social security come on. I'm HS '03 and my school was the perfect example of the current lack of civics. I learnt most of this kind of stuff from reading the New York Times

100%! But I totally guessed on the immigration form.

The test is much harder in real life. My mother passed, but my grandmother did not because she had tried to learn English at such a late age, and when learning a new language the oral tends to be more difficult than the written.

I had really great history teachers in school. Some years were focused soley on one subject too: 4th grade was Maryland history, 8th was government and politics, 10th was comprehensive U.S. history, etc. I think classes are still structured like this in Maryland, so I wonder what has changed?

100%-form question was easy if you know standardized testing "What INS form is used to apply" so clearly you are looking for an answer with "application" in it....

As a quibbling note, the war powers act allows the President to deploy troops overseas, not to declare war

100%--but I have to laugh at the question about the number of members of Congress, which technically should be 535 since Congress is comprised of both the House and Senate.

35%

and nowhere was there a question about our right to cheap gasoline!

wow...at least i did better than the person who got 35 percent. i scored 75 percent. but honestly, who the heck cares if you know the answers to these questions? it means nothing.

95% - tripped up by the forms. I can now officially say I am as smart as Marc Fisher.

Yay, me!

100%. There were three questions I was a bit iffy on (no idea on the form, but I took an educated guess). Now if I hadn't had multiple choice, my grade would have been worse.

I took the citizenship test a few weeks ago. I had studied the list of questions beforehand. The examiner gave me a sheet of paper with 10 questions on it, and I wrote the answers next to them.

I got them all right. If I had not studied up the night before, I would probably have got two of them wrong. Who new that the body which advises the president was the cabinet ?

As an added amusement, one question was
"who are the senators for your state", and my answer was "none, I live in washington DC"

100%. There were several (maybe 4) on which I deduced answers by checking to see which of the multiple choices had to be wrong, and similar multiple-choice-test trickery.

100% for me. But I'm still not going to join the mob-on-the-mall to see the fireworks!

If anyone goes and looks at the "real" test, questions 5-6, you'll notice that they're asking about "strips," not "stripes." So much for proofreading...

100%, and had no trouble with the Patrick Henry question. Growing up in Massachusetts, we were exposed to a great deal of early American history both in school and in the world around us.

95%, same question as everyone else -- the immigration form. For what it's worth, I graduated from high school in 1990.

90%--I got the form question and the voting rights question wrong. And there were a couple that I guessed on, correctly. I graduated HS in '00, and was taught all of this in school--had good history teachers, I guess. Even in 4th grade I knew Patrick Henry--we got extra credit for memorizing and reciting his "give me liberty or give me death" speech.

100% for me, but I read the "real" test and I can't help but be astounded... some of the answers are (in a nitpicking sense) WRONG, though they conform to popular opinion (for example, technically a man by the name of Henry (he invented the telegraph, too, but not Morse Code; Morse even got the idea from Henry), not Edison, invented the lightbulb; however, Edison invented the first PRACTICAL one by taking Henry's 20 year old design and finding a filament and athmospheric combination that lasted longer than a few hours before burning out). Some of the others are just misleading. I knew all the answers they >WANTEDNOTHING< because it only effected areas that had not secceeded (some Slave States, such as Maryland, had not) and were not then under Union Control... which means that it was unenforceable. Once those areas were under Union Control, standard Constititional safeguards meant that while Union forces could have "freed" the slaves, they would have eventually had to recompense the owners (probably would have had to go to the Supreme Court, however).

BTW, for the person argueing the War Powers act gives the President the power to declare war... not only is that wrong, you should have had EXTRA points removed... the War Powers act (which is of doubly questionable constitionality) gives the President the "ability" to begin military action for up to 90 days before being required to seek a Congressional Declaration of War acting on his authority as Commander In Chief (which is an unconstitional burden on his powers) but does not give him the right to declare war (which it could not, as that is explicit in the Constitution)... Constitutionally, (and therefore, legally) ONLY Congress can declare war, and ONLY the President can act in the role of Commander in Chief. While no president has ever pushed the issue, there is no doubt the War Powers Act would be ruled unconstitional if it was ever invoked. BTW, we have only declared war a handful of times under the Constitution: 1812, 1846, 1898, 1917, and 1941. Note that 1861 is missing... the US couldn't declare war without legitmizing (under International Law) the South's secession, which they did not want to do for fear of allowing the South to do what the colonies did against England: recruit a foreign ally to help fight the war.

The question re Congress asks the number of Representatives in Congress, not the total number of members - 435 is correct. Don't laugh too loud.

BTW, 90% - original 13 and the INS form.

I agree with you; my son is also 10, we just returned from our vacation where we toured Washington DC and Williamsburg, Va and discussed some of what was missed in school (yes, we also did a day at Busch Gardens - you need balance).

Somehow it cut off part of the message... I had a statement that said I know what the answer they want is, but sometimes the answer was wrong, such as the one about the Emancipation Proclamation... what did it do? The answer is NOTHING.

It cut out that area between wanted and Nothing.

Oh, and for the guy from Mass who know's History... ok, when, and where, was the first Thanksgiving? Coming from anywhere other that Virginia, everyone says 1621, Plymouth Mass... when it's 1619, Berkely Plantation. Also, the Pilgrims were "supposed" to be sailing to Jamestown... they changed course only on the tail end of the voyage in the Mayflower. But that's not what "everyone knows"....

I got 90%.
Knowing who said "Give me liberty or give me death" or the significance of the number of stripes on the flag has nothing to do with how the United States operates, nor can I see much value in being able to remember which states were the first 13. The "correct" response to the question about the Puritans' reasons for coming to North America is grossly oversimplified, as is most teaching about the Puritans. (By the way, I got all of those answers right.)
Here's the punchline: I'm a Ph.D. in American Studies with a strong interest in history. There are plenty of these factoids I don't know (although I've got a pretty good idea of where to look them up if I need them). I've forgotten most of them since they were force fed to me in elementary school and high school (a process that almost destroyed my interest in history and politics.) It's a shame that naturalization doesn't necessarily teach new citizens that the United States is all about complicated answers and the struggle to find them instead of suggestion that the answers are as simple and singular as these.

100% for me.

I got 100% first try (without any outside help). Maybe it would help to ask where the person is from and then follow up with who there Senator or (if they ask city) Representative is. Shamefully many United States citizens don't know who there own representative.

It is a shame how many of many of my peers don't bother to vote (did I mention I'm an undergraduate studying Political Science).

I got 80% - missed the form question, did not know which is a non-voting amendment, and said there are 13 justices (I guess, the too many questions about original states and stripes got stuck in my head). I take this type of test every so often to be ready to take the real one (hopefully in not too distant future). My comment is though on the questions listed in Naturalization Guide: what does Qs 90 has to do with becoming US citizen. It asks about United Nations?! Also, Q91 asks to name benefit of being a US citizen. For me that would be right to vote and exercise freedom of religion, which was a right only on paper in my home country (in reality you had to vote for the One and Only right candidate, and you better practice the same religion as everyone else does). The government's answer to Q91 is "get gov't job, travel with US passport and petition for close relatives to come to the US" - I would have never thought of these in the first place.

Am I the only one who thinks Bill needs to relax a little bit?

95%, but still wish I could join your family civics class. Sounds like fun.

And, yes, Glover Park. Bill should relax.

95% here. Graduated from a Fairfax County high school in 2003, and was taught the answer to all of the questions in school, between Government class senior year and Civics in 8th grade. I think the amount of history/civics that kids learn in school now has a lot to do with where the school is. Living in Virginia I got the benefit of always being around history and teachers that used current events to teach. Friends I have now that grew up farther from politics don't know the specifics of dates and names and places, they were taught the general idea of how the government works, but very few if any of them could tell you what the line of succession of the presidency is. This test should not just be for citizen wannabes, it should be required for all citizens.

95% (all but the form question - "petition" seemed just as likely, it being a formal word used in the constitution, whereas "application" is not).

Have to quibble with one of the questions. Everyone knows it is the Vice President, in conjunction with private rightwing DC thinktanks like the Project for a New American Century, that declares wars. The Congress just rubber stamps it and the President and corporate media sell it to the public. I wonder why they got that one so wrong?

And Ronald, you probably outscored most of the Republicans in our country. For instance, most of them think the red stripes in the flag stand for the GOP, and the white ones are there to remind us what ethnic group this country was made for. That's why they want to "protect" the flag - not because they give a hoot for what it really represents.

"Geography isn't being taught much any more either, I guess."

We haven't invaded Maine recently, which is probably why some of our countrymen don't know about it.

95% - tripped up on the form question.

I agree with kma regarding location being a possible factor in whether young people know their civics; if you grow up in MD or NoVa, your civics class is basically in your backyard. You can't really ignore it.

Some of the "real" questions are stupid as hell, though. Do we really need so many questions about the number of stripes on the flag, or where the President lives?

amstphd:

Nice post, and I agree with you 100%. On the other hand, having potential immigrants memorize and spew out answers to these simplistic, arguably shaky in places, questions will prepare them well for participating in our failing, standardized-test-based school system.

And learning to think in black and white, as opposed to the shades of grey that the real universe is composed of, will prepare them for easy indoctrination by our demogoguing politicians. It's important to be able to reduce a complex world, for instance, into "good" and "evil" so that the population won't bother examining why people hate us, what we might have done to their cultures and countries earlier, and what alternatives there might be to all out open-ended world war.

So all in all, a mindless and eminently useful exam (for the entity administering it).

My downfall was the naturalization question (since I was born a citizen, I've never investigated the form to become a naturalized one and "petition" seemed more apropros than "application") and the SCOTUS question, where I couldn't decide if they were trying to trick me with the question "Who selects the SC justices?" and went with the Senate, even though I knew that they just confirm the picks of the president. Stupid me.

The rest were gimmes, except the 7th Amendment one, where I used process of eliminiation and educated guess.

"This test should not just be for citizen wannabes, it should be required for all citizens."

Weren't citizenship tests (or tests that restrict a citizen's right to vote) found unconstitutional? Didn't they used to use taxes and certain kinds of literacy tests to restrict black votes after the end of slavery? I know the 24th Amendment prohibits poll taxes, but wasn't there a Court ruling that prohibits tests other than, "Can you prove you're a citizen?"

I really don't understand the point of this. I'm an adult ed. teacher in St. Paul who helps prepare immigrants for this test. Did everyone take this test in their native language? English? How about learning this in another langauge and then taking the test? How about being denied schooling in your home country and now having to learn totally foreign names and concepts. Let's give credit to the people who took the time and effort to learn this information in English, even if they are 'given' the answers!

actually, only four of the six New England states are original -- Mass. N.H., Conn. and R.I. Maine was, as said above, part of Massachusetts. Vermont was disputed territory between N.Y., Mass. and Conn., and was admitted as the 14th state.

"Weren't citizenship tests (or tests that restrict a citizen's right to vote) found unconstitutional?"

I believe you are right with respect to voting, but not citizenship. Tests for literacy or knowledge to basic questions before being allowed to vote are unconstitutional. Which is why millions of FoxNews viewers who still thought Saddam had attacked us were allowed to go to the polls in November 2004.

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=508

The Harris Poll #79, October 21, 2004

"Do you believe that the following statements are true or not true?"

(Total percentages saying "true")

Saddam Hussein helped plan and support the hijackers who attacked the U.S. on September 11, 2001

Bush voters: 52%
Kerry voters: 23%

Marc. You are such a little right winger. Why in the world the gratuituous remark about the "left out."

You take the test, you circle or declare or discuss "religious freedom" and get on with your life. You know it's not true if you know any history, but then, history is not the point of "civics." The point is to create little memorizers. I did it in the 50s and 60s. I did miss the form.

B20, I would support those kind of questions as part of a final exam on subjects for a HS diploma nationwide.

The American system of education differs somewhat from English and many other countries' in that students are not required to pass a culmulative exam testing all they've studied in the past few years before proceeding on to the next level.

However, at least you can take academic subjects and graduate from HS if you're disabled, or slow or just bad in one subject. In Germany at age 12 you are pretty much tracked either to the gynmasium (rigorous college-bound HS) or vocational school.

I find it somewhat arrogant to predeterminate a child's fate at that age. But maybe it's not how it was told to me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocational_education

90%.

I'm not a proper American. I was born in the USA to an American family, but was raised and educated in Canada until I moved back as an adult. I've never taken an American history class and am uncertain as to what a civics class may be, but it sounds dubious.

Most of the contents of this quiz are common knowledge for adults anywhere, even outside the USA. I passed the test because I read the newspapers and occasionally leaf through a history book. Even the questions that are historically inaccurate (such as the one about religious freedom) are easy for an independent thinker to get right. You simply identify the bias of the test writer and supply the answer that caters most effectively to that bias.

If there are "proper" Americans who can't pass this test, I fear for the future of this nation.

Third Generation, wanting to put questions like these on a high school graduation examination overlooks the same question that much standardized testing overlooks: What is important and why is it important? As I mentioned in an earlier post, many of these questions have nothing at all to do with discharging the responsibilities of citizenship. It also overlooks the question of "Who gets to decide what's important, and why do they get to decide?"

95% like so many. I also thought the word "petition" seemed more formal, but obviously not. Astoundingly, since my birth in Ohio, this form has never come up!

Citizens need to know how their government works. Out of 100 questions on that list only 11 address this concept. The rest is trivia.

The keepers: 23, 33, 56, 60, 61, 64, 71, 72, 75, 80, 81.

I would augment those 11 with more detailed ones about how laws are passed (introduced in the House, must pass the Senate by how much and then go the president, etc.), how to play a civic role (ie, contacting your congressperson, writing to editors, speaking out, running for office, etc.) and how the government spends your money.

All of that is much more useful to the person (and to the country staying on course) than knowing who Patrick Henry was.

I thought it was pretty remedial, I got 100% and really don't consider myself to be a great American historian >.> ... must have been all those private schools lol.

"We haven't invaded Maine recently, which is probably why some of our countrymen don't know about it."

We should correct that. And invade Montana too - they are both waaaaaaaaaaaay too quiet.

Got a 90. Missed the voting rights amendment & immigration form question. I graduated high school in 1975 but my niece, a 2006 graduate of HB Woodlawn (supposedly a good school) didn't know how many representatives there are in the House nor how many senators there are. And she took AP American History!

OK, I got 95% too, didn't know the form. I teach Poli Sci, so if I had missed any more I should probably be stripped of tenure. And I had some quibbles too (438 reps in Congress, counting delegates...but wait, those three are *delegates*....etc).

Here's what I want to know. July 1 was Canada Day (formerly, I think, Confederation Day) and I shudder to think how many of our Canadian friends would do very well on our test, but how very poorly Americans would do on a Canadian version (quick--name all the provinces in Canada, and the territories). Just a thought.

One more nit to pick about the original civics test: doesn't the emancipation proclamation free only those slaves that were in the "rebel" states? I don't think it applies to Union states! This may seem to subtle for a naturalizaiton test, but why? Why not admit that our history has some subtleties?

(http://www.nps.gov/ncro/anti/emancipation.html)

Third Generation -

FWIW, I had to pass a citizenship test (a lot like this one) to graduate in Maryland in 1993. Not sure if it's still required.

As for the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation - it was mainly to keep Great Britain and France from formally recognizing and aiding the South.

As for the MSNBC test, 100%, but I was a government major in college.

Got an 85. I missed the voting amendment, declaration of war, and the INS form questions. I never could keep those amendments straight!

95 per cent. The form got me, but then I never had a need for one.

Heh, heh.

The comments on the Emancipation Proclamation question reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Apu starts a long answer about the cause of the Civil War when the examiner stops him and says "Just say slavery."

I got a 90%. I missed the one on the form (who needs to know that that was born here??) and the one on who can declare war. I was thinking it was the President.

Classes of 96 and 98 - you're on to something with your standardized test theory. I got a 95% as well (stupid form question). We had a decent amount of Civics instruction at my public school in Maine: 4th grade State Gov't, 7th and 8th grade Civics, 11th grade U.S. History, 12th grade U.S. Gov't.

Congrats to everyone who scored well enough to become citizens. I think the point that is being missed here is that the immigrants taking the test must not only learn the history and civics, but also the English. Try explaining the difference between Colonies and States to non-English speakers; or to even be able to pronounce Connecticut or Massachusetts. It's not easy. And to top it all off, the application process costs $400 and can take up to two years to complete.