The new citizenship exam is supposed to focus less on trivia and more on understanding democratic values. Instead of just naming the three branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial), would-be citizens may have to explain why there are three branches (balance of power).
For example:
1. Name one important idea found in the Declaration of Independence.
Acceptable answers include: People are born with natural rights; the power of government comes from the people; the people can change their government if it hurts their natural rights and all people are created equal.
Applicants must answer correctly six questions out of 10 chosen from a master list of
100.
It’s not hard to memorize answers to the current list of questions without understanding much about this country’s values. The new test is more challenging. But some of the proposed questions are awfully picky too. Why should new citizens have to know the minimum wage ($5.15 an hour), the highest mountain (McKinley) or which World War II general went on to become president (Eisenhower)? A few questions are confusing:
What is one thing only a state government can do?
Acceptable answers are: provide schooling and education; provide protection (police), provide safety (fire departments); give a driver’s license and approve zoning and land use.
Except for issuing a driver’s license, are these exclusively state functions? Most people see education, police, fire and zoning as local decisions.
When the San Jose Mercury News asked current citizens — including a law professor who was on O.J. Simpson’s legal team, a close-the-border activist, a newly naturalized immigration lawyer and San Jose’s police chief and mayor-elect — to take the test, they struggled with questions such as “how many times has the Constitution been amended?”
The test takers said the Mississippi River is the longest river in the U.S., which is listed as the correct answer. In fact, the longest river is the Missouri River.
Well, the 144 questions on the list will be tested on volunteers and winnowed down to 100. Presumably, the least relevant questions will go, leaving questions that ask would-be citizens to learn a bit more about their new country’s history and form of government. I don’t think it’s too much to ask.