Third of US Wouldn't Pass Citizenship Test

But 77% say we should be able to
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 1, 2012 2:52 PM CDT
Third of US Wouldn't Pass Citizenship Test
A third of Americans couldn't handle the US citizenship test.   (Shutterstock)

Nearly all applicants for US citizenship pass the civics section of the naturalization test. But native citizens should be thanking their lucky stars they were born here. If they were to take the exam, more than a third would fail, a study finds—this despite the fact that 77% of Americans think we should all be able to pass it, and 60% think it should be required to receive a high school diploma. In the survey of 1,000 native-born Americans, subjects did particularly poorly on questions regarding government's function.

Some examples, from US News & World Report:

  • 75% didn't know what the judicial branch did
  • 63% couldn't name one of the senators from their own state
  • 62% didn't know who the House speaker is
  • 61% couldn't name their governor
  • 57% couldn't say what an amendment is
(More US citizenship stories.)

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