June 28, 2022, 7:19 PM GMT+0 As part of the process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, applicants are
required to take a civics test to evaluate their knowledge of U.S. history and government. To pass the verbal test, an applicant must correctly answer at least 6 out of 10 civics questions, drawn from a list of 100. To help prepare for the test, the government provides an online study tool that
includes 20 multiple-choice versions of questions that may be asked in the real exam. According to the government, 91% of applicants pass the civics portion of the naturalization test. But how would Americans fare on this test without advanced preparation? Recently, YouGov asked 1,000 U.S. citizens to answer 20 multiple-choice practice civics
questions from the U.S. naturalization test. On average, Americans who provided a valid response to all 20 questions answered about 15 of them correctly. About four in five (85%) effectively pass the test, meaning they answer at least 12 out of 20 questions correctly — or at least 60%, the proportion of correct answers needed to pass the real test. Older Americans and people with more advanced levels of education scored better on the test than average. American adults under 45
answered an average of 14 out of 20 questions correctly, while adults 45 and older answered an average of 17 correctly. People with more education also scored higher than average: Americans with postgraduate degrees answered an average of 18 correctly, while people with a high-school degree or less answered 14 correctly. There were no significant differences between the scores of Democrats and Republicans, nor were there large differences in the scores of men and women. For each of
19 of the 20 questions asked, more than half of Americans answer correctly. The exception: When asked what Benjamin Franklin is famous for, only 46% correctly identify him as a U.S. diplomat. A significant share (29%) respond that he was the youngest member of the Constitutional Convention (he was the oldest member) and 21% incorrectly state that he was the third U.S. president (he was never president). The question that was answered correctly by the largest number of people (92%) – "What are
two rights in the Declaration of Independence?" – had two answers considered correct (due to an error we made converting the original practice exam into a survey), including "life and liberty" and "life and the pursuit of happiness." The question answered correctly by the second-largest share of people (91%) is what the two major U.S. political parties are (Democratic and Republican). When told that the questions they answered were examples from the civics portion of the U.S.
naturalization test, three in four Americans (75%) say that the questions feel “about right” as a test of prospective citizens’ knowledge of the U.S. government and history, while 14% say they are too difficult and 11% say they are too easy. A majority (83%) say the questions are generally fair to ask prospective citizens, while 17% say they’re unfair. Three in four Americans (75%) say it’s a good idea to require people applying to become citizens to take a civics knowledge test, while only 8%
say it’s a bad idea. — Carl Bialik, Allen Houston, and Linley Sanders contributed to this article. This poll was conducted on June 14 - 17, 2022, among 1,000 U.S. adult citizens. Explore more on the methodology and data for this poll. Image: Getty
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To the editors,
As a public educator, I am really annoyed by HB 2030, proposed by Rep. Terry O’Donnell (R-Catoosa), which would require high school students to pass a citizenship test in order to graduate.
High school students are already required to pass U.S. history (with a state test) and a U.S. government class. Presumably they would know everything on the proposed citizenship test. Let’s not waste money and valuable instructional time giving another meaningless standardized test.
Now, if the bill were amended to require legislators and politicians to pass a citizenship test in order to hold office, I would fully support it. If you added a required course on the U.S. and state constitutions, I would actively campaign to get it passed.
Here is a quick list of civics slip-ups state and national lawmakers have made over the years and some legislation they have proposed that was deemed unconstitutional:
- The Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma State Capitol grounds;
- HB 1970, which banned all medication abortions;
- A 2009 law that bundled together several abortion restrictions, violating a constitutional requirement that laws cover a single subject;
- SB 608, which attempted to impose distribution requirements on liquor manufacturers;
- HB 1603, a tort reform measure that violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule;
- SB 845, which tried to claim a cigarette tax that passed without a constitutionally required three-fourths majority was a “cigarette fee”;
- A cap on recoverable noneconomic damages in personal-injury cases, which was rejected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2019;
- U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene didn’t know that Guam is a U.S. territory;
- U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville misidentified the three branches of government, claimed World War II was a battle against socialism and said former Vice President Al Gore was President-elect for 30 days.
I found all of these examples after a 20-minute online search. I can only imagine what else is out there. Legislators would be better served by educating themselves and leaving high school students alone.
Hilary Cowen
Norman
(Editor’s note: NonDoc runs Letters to the Editors of between approximately 300 to 500 words. NonDoc reserves the right to edit lightly for length, style and grammar. We value a diverse set of voices respectfully discussing issues from different perspectives. To submit a letter for publication, please write to .)
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