Could you pass the latest US citizenship test?

[Autolycus]

Well, can you? (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25461301/) Myself, I got 85%. Not bad, but I'm annoyed I didn't score a perfect.

Some of the questions were a little tricky.

[Ducktail]

I got 90%. Sadly, this was not due to the strong knowledge of the workings of democracy instilled in my in my years of public education, but rather because my bedtime reading for the past two nights has been Jon Stewart's Democracy Inaction.

[Shagnasty]

I got 100% just quickly scrolling and clicking quickly through the entire test. I am not sure if I should contact INS directly Autolycus but expect a knock on your door soon, hopefully exactly two days from now. It seems like you missed out on a fireworks display a time or ten in your life.

[swampbear]

95%, not bad. It would have been 100% if I had paid more attention to the question about the first words in The Constitution. We The People... :smack:

[The Tof]

I got 90%. I had to make educated guesses on 3, and got two wrong. :(

(Fyi- Supreme Court and President during a war questions were the wrong answers. # of amendments was the guess I got right- but I was like 70% sure.)

[Leaffan]

I got 70%. Some of the numbers questions are tricky for furriners.

[garygnu]

95% I missed the number of representatives in the house. ...three hundred-something, four hundred-something, like it makes a difference...

[kellner]

85% with a few lucky guesses.

[psychobunny]

Damn. I read one wrong so I only got 95%.

[ErinPuff]

95%, not bad. It would have been 100% if I had paid more attention to the question about the first words in The Constitution. We The People... :smack:

That's what I got too, with the same one wrong. Damn, so obvious now!

[MadPansy64]

95% for me. I need to pay attention to the Supreme Court once in a while.

John G Who? :smack:

[Airman Doors, USAF]

95% I missed the number of representatives in the house. ...three hundred-something, four hundred-something, like it makes a difference...\

I got 100%. The easy way to remember how many people are in the House, especially in an election year, is by remembering that the number of electoral votes is equal to the number of Representatives plus the number of Senators, plus 3 votes for DC for a total of 538. 538-103=435.

Or, just maybe, I'm a nerd. That's entirely possible too.

[LVgeogeek]

I got 95%, but that's because I am no good at remembering which presidents were in office at what time. :o

[Cunctator]

I got 85%. I guessed a few. There are a lot more amendments than I thought.

What is the actual required pass mark for people seeking citizenship?

[Scarlett67]

100%, woo hoo! (I made an educated guess on the chief justice and number of amendments; the rest I knew.)

[Telemark]

95% - but the one I missed was because I read the question incorrectly.

[JRDelirious]

Got 100%... but then again, even the revised version's not that hard.

BTW, in case someone didn't get this detail, what they do is they have a large set of potential questions by subject and by degree of difficulty, and various potential phrasings of the question, and then they assemble each edition of the test by taking a sample from that pool.

[friedo]

I got 100%, but the "Who was President during World War I" question was a lucky guess. I can never remember the difference between Wilson and Harding. (Even though I should have remembered that Harding died really early into his term. Whatever.)

I was also amused by the third answer to question 3:

3. What are the first words of the Constitution?
A. When, in the course of human events
B. In order to form a more perfect Union
C. To whom it may concern
D. We the People

"To whom it may concern, please be advised that we are forming a more perfect union. You have been pre-approved to apply for membership!"

[Gorsnak]

95%, though I got lucky on a couple - Maine, New Hampshire? Flip a coin. Oddly enough, on the one question I got wrong my first instinct was actually the right answer (date of the writing of the Constitution, changed my answer to '76).

I hope this doesn't mean I have to become a US citizen....

[PastAllReason]

I got 90%. I got wrong how many amendments there are to your Constitution (quite a few!), and I got wrong which state was not one of the orginal states.

[silenus]

100%, but then again, I teach this stuff.

Some of the questions are very simplistic, though.

Proctor: All right, here's your last question. What was the cause of
the Civil War?
Apu: Actually, there were numerous causes. Aside from the obvious
schism between the abolitionists and the anti-abolitionists,
there were economic factors, both domestic and inter--
Proctor: Wait, wait... just say slavery.
Apu: Slavery it is, sir.

[CaerieD]

I scored 100%, but it's sheer dumb luck that I happened to be reading about WWI this morning, so had Woodrow Wilson fresh in my mind.

[An Gadaí]

80% but I'm not a 'merkun.

[Johnny L.A.]

I guessed on #9. Got it wrong.

95%

[OtakuLoki]

90%, but the two I got wrong were stupid, and I should have gotten right - I was thinking that there were thirteen stripes in the flag, one for each original colony. But I put down one for each state. The other I misread the question about who was president for WWI as who was president for WWII.

Stupid multi-tasking...

[Apollyon]

Only 75% :(

(Poor benighted foreigner)

[mnemosyne]

A pathetic 65%, but in at least one case, I selected something else and then hit the down button, thereby submitting the wrong answer. Had I spent a few more seconds thinking about a few of them, I probably would have done better. I think. I don't know. Can I blame my poor performance on the fact that I'm from Québec and therefore have been raised to not care about anyone else? :)

[chicken wire?]

70%. That's more than I expected.

[Governor Quinn]

100%, and the only ones I had to think of were #3 and #7.

[JR Brown]

Sigh... 65%, and I'm a US citizen, native-born and all that. Missed #1, and then pretty much everything from 13 on except Susan B. Anthony (go women's lib!). If it hadn't been multiple-choice I would have flopped utterly. History and Civics were never my strong points...

JRB

[GorillaMan]

55%. I'll stay where I am :)

Although four of my errors where 'how many' or 'which date' questions. These aren't anything to do with understanding citizenship.

[Driver8]

I got 80%. I'd be very interested in the passmark, since I plan to take this test in about three years. Better crack open the books!

They did say that these were the harder questions though, so maybe it will be fine.

[OtakuLoki]

Although four of my errors where 'how many' or 'which date' questions. These aren't anything to do with understanding citizenship.




I don't think I agree, GorillaMan. A knowledge of basic history informs one's understanding of citizenship, I believe. Forex, would you not find it odd for one of your countrymen (or women) to be ignorant of the significance of the date 1066? It doesn't have a direct influence on anything about how your government works, now - but it marks one of the pivotal changes that lead to the growth of your government, all the same.

Now, I'm not sure I'd put knowing the symbolism of the stripes on the US flag as being significant. But I'm also not sure I'd put knowing the symbolism of the two crosses in the Union Jack as being insignificant, either.

[Billdo]

Some of the questions are very simplistic, though.

Yeah, like the question about who becomes President if the President and Vice President are unable to serve. The answer is the Speaker of the House, if she is Constitutionally otherwise eligible and resigns as Speaker and from Congress to do so.

[Frank]

100%

I could be naturalized any day now, if I hadn't been born here.

Though I did scream, "Acting President, damn it!" somewhere along the way.

[Frank]

I got 80%. I'd be very interested in the passmark, since I plan to take this test in about three years. Better crack open the books!

They did say that these were the harder questions though, so maybe it will be fine.
Passing is (implied in the scoring) 80%. But another thing they mentioned in the article is that it's not multiple choice - they ask the questions cold. That'd be a lot harder, if true.

[Shagnasty]

Yeah, like the question about who becomes President if the President and Vice President are unable to serve. The answer is the Speaker of the House, if she is Constitutionally otherwise eligible and resigns as Speaker and from Congress to do so.

Yes but that is what the write-in and e-mail optional portions of the test are for. I got 100% on the multiple-choice section but I am not sure how many bonus points will be added once my optional sections are graded and reviewed for accuracy.

I am sad that I am already a U.S. citizen because it denies me the chance to attempt to become one some day. In any case, the biggest holiday of the year is less than two days away. Assuming that I can escape detection coming and leaving Massachusetts, the great state of New Hampshire reportedly has large mega-stores full of incendiary devices that go BOOM...BOOM..POP..POW set up all along the border. For as little as $875, I figure that I can put on my own (tiny) little red white and blue festival in the woods behind my house. My daughters will love it and my 2 year old will probably cry at the noise and the display. God bless America once and for all. Amen.

[amarinth]

I've been helping someone get ready for the old citizenship test and during that looked at the new. These aren't the more difficult questions. These are the ones that easily fit into a multiple choice format.

The harder ones are things like "Explain 'rule of law'" where whether you're right depends, to some extent, on who is asking the question.

[Frank]

Assuming that I can escape detection coming and leaving Massachusetts, the great state of New Hampshire reportedly has large mega-stores full of incendiary devices that go BOOM...BOOM..POP..POW set up all along the border. For as little as $875, I figure that I can put on my own (tiny) little red white and blue festival in the woods behind my house.
Celebrate the birth of your country by blowing up a piece of it! And by breaking the law.

[j666]

90%, and I admit I just had no idea on the answers I got wrong.





OK, I will explain that I must have confused the Fourth Estate with the Fourth Amendment ..

[silenus]

Celebrate the birth of your country by blowing up a piece of it! And by breaking the law.

This is, truly, A Great Country. :D

[feppytweed]

The Constitution was written in 17-- who cares!

95% for me.

[Lakai]

95%. I was off by about 100 members of the House of Representatives.

It makes sense since I've read about four American History text books during the coarse of my education.

One in 4th and 5th grade. One in 8th grade. One in 11th grade. Had to reread the 11th grade one again for AP history. Chickened out of taking the AP history test. Then I had to take American History yet again in College.

It''s my fault really for taking AP history and not taking the AP test.

[Stealth Potato]

95%. They were all very easy questions, but I missed the one about the Chief Justice, because at the time I had been thinking about Antonin Scalia's role in drafting the majority opinion in D.C. v. Heller, and I checked Scalia without even thinking about it and carried on. :smack:

[CairoCarol]

80% - I missed how many amendments, who is chief justice, year the Constitution was written, and length of a Senate term.

I haven't lived in the US much since 1986 (and I can't vote for Congressional reps even though we own property in the US) so I don't feel TOO terrible. But a little embarrassed, yeah.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

I got 95%. I missed the succession question.

[Sublight]

100%. Now if I knew as much about Japanese government, I might stand a chance of becoming a citizen here.

My father's going to applying in the near future. He should do ok on this test.

[thirdwarning]

95% I always have trouble with the order of succession. Should have gone with my first thought, as usual.

[22 Kilometers East]

100% :p

Oh! Yes!

22KE

[Illuminatiprimus]

50%, but then I couldn't care less about American history, and little for American politics.

As to the point above about significant dates, I agree with GorillaMan that they're not that relevant. I don't know when the Magna Carta was signed but I know what it was about, surely that's more important?

[ScareyFaerie]

I only scored 50% but I don't think that's too bad for someone who's not from the US and has no plans to apply for citizenship! Out of curiosity, I went to look for a British citizenship test and found one that had a very strange mix of questions - things like the year women got the vote and the year they were granted the right to divorce, who is the head of state, who is in charge of the economy, whether fox hunting is illegal and what kind of employment kids can get. I didn't do too badly with those either, but it's an eclectic mix of facts that I wouldn't expect a native person to know, never mind anyone from outside the UK!

[Švejk]

I got 90 per cent! Where do I get my passport?

[Crotalus]

95%. Missed the number of amendments.

[Siege]

I got 100%. It looks like you Americans are stuck with me for a while.

Here's one thing to consider. When you apply for US citizenship, you are given a list of the questions they might ask you and you are encouraged to study for them. I swear I studied harder for my citizenship test than I did for any test I took in high school or college! Then again, I had a lot more at stake.

[kelly5078]

I got 100%. But I might have missed the one on succession if Alexander Haig had been a choice. :)

[Giles]

100% -- not a US citizen, and not intending to become one (even though I'm eligible to do so, because I don't want to have to file a US tax return every year for the rest of my life).

[Yorikke]

Slightly surprised that I got 100%. I was never a big colonial history buff - History was my least favorite school subject. And the question about which was not one of the original 13 colonies was a 50-50 guess.

Joe

[Yorikke]

\

I got 100%. The easy way to remember how many people are in the House, especially in an election year, is by remembering that the number of electoral votes is equal to the number of Representatives plus the number of Senators, plus 3 votes for DC for a total of 538. 538-103=435.

Or, just maybe, I'm a nerd. That's entirely possible too.

Yeah. The easy way is to just remember 435.

Joe

[jali]

90.

I should have done better.

[jtgain]

100%

Seems to me that Congress and the President need to read #11:

11. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. Which of the following is NOT a federal power?

To declare war

To print money

To declare treaties

To provide education ---

[8675309]

95% - flat out didn't know one.

[BwanaBob]

100% but dodged a bullet on the "how many amendments" question.

[twickster]

95%, "but" (does seem like "but is the second word in everyone's post, doesn't it?)...

missed the current Chief Justice, and I am quite embarrassed by that.

[Weirddave]

I'd have been shocked if I hadn't gotten 100%.

[Infovore]

I got 95% with a couple of semi-lucky, semi-educated guesses (sometimes if I just sit back and trust the trivia well that lives in my head, it will dredge up the right answer for me even if I don't consciously think I know it).

[DSYoungEsq]

Well, not surprisingly, I was 100%. But, having said that, would I score as accurately on a test of similar nature regarding either Canada or Mexico, to say nothing of Japan, China or, say, France?

VERY doubtful. Provincial, I am, at times. <sigh>

[Ponch8]

100% for me!

[Zsofia]

100%. Any American ought to get at least 90, and should be exceedingly ashamed otherwise. Especially since a lot of foreigners are doing pretty good on it.

[cherry]

I got 55%. It is something I am concerned with because I do have to take this test later this year for the final immigration step here. I've asked my lawyer if I need to study and she said no just minor quizzing. But the only thing I recall is what I picked up from watching the HBO miniseries about the founding of the country. I have had no exposure to American history but it seems like I better so some studying.

[Antonius Block]

100%, and none of them were guesses.

However, if it hadn't been multiple-choice, there are a few that I might not have come up with one my own. For example, I knew that there are at least 25 amendments to the Constitution (the 25th comes up frequently on the SDMB), which left me with only one choice; left to my own devices, I might have guessed 26 or 28 rather than 27.

I'm a Brit (non-US citizen) in the SF Bay Area.

[parsnip]

95% for me. I need to pay attention to the Supreme Court once in a while.

John G Who? :smack:
Ditto

[Magiver]

95% - I thought Scalia was Chief Justice.

[Magiver]

I'm surprised by how well the non-US citizens did. I can understand the international aspects such as President Wilson but I had to think about some of the answers and answer them through the process of elimination. knowing the number of elected officials and amendments is not what I would consider common knowledge outside the US.

Conversly, I know nothing about Canada's history other than it has something to do with hockey and 2 weeks of bad skiing.

[Autolycus]

Conversly, I know nothing about Canada's history other than it has something to do with hockey and 2 weeks of bad skiing.

I agree with you totally. I didn't expect foreigners to do so well either. Now I feel kinda ashamed of my general knowledge of other country's histories. In turn, my knowledge of Canada, chronologically speaking, is something like: beavers, maple syrup, hockey, War of 1812, lacrosse, liberal, Kids in the Hall, universal health care, possible discrimination against Newfies.

[Dangerosa]

I agree with you totally. I didn't expect foreigners to do so well either. Now I feel kinda ashamed of my general knowledge of other country's histories. In turn, my knowledge of Canada, chronologically speaking, is something like: beavers, maple syrup, hockey, War of 1812, lacrosse, liberal, Kids in the Hall, universal health care, possible discrimination against Newfies.

You forgot the some people speak French thing.....or maybe I'm just one up on my deep and extensive knowledge of Canadian culture.

[Clothahump]

BOOYAH! Aced it.

Could you pass the latest citizenship test?
You answered 100% of questions correctly. Here's your rating:

0-20%: Maybe you're still thinking too much about the Old Country.

25-40%: Mmmm. Do you really want to be a citizen? This kind of performance isn't going to impress those nice immigration folks.

45-60%: Not too bad, but you really need to break out the civics books again -- word is, the INS is looking for an 80 percent score.

65-80%: Hey, you may make a good citizen yet! Look at your wrong answers and a little revision should do the trick.

85-100%: Welcome to the United States! (And, truth be told, you know more about this great land than most Americans.)

[Shagnasty]

You forgot the some people speak French thing.....or maybe I'm just one up on my deep and extensive knowledge of Canadian culture.

Well, I am from Louisiana and some people speak French there too. It gets noted and then we move on to other business. Canada can't seem to move past these types of trivia. The reason that regular people don't know anything about Canada is because it is set up to be confusing on purpose. You know who is the Supreme Commander of Canada? The Queen of England. Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw. The only reason I know that is because I laughed at how dumb it is when somebody told me that last year. They are forced to elect a bunch of other people to help her because she obviously lives somewhere else and doesn't show up to work that often. They pick a certain number of helpers with French names and a certain number with English sounding names and that is how it is done in Canada. The whole point is practically moot anyway. Global warming is turning most of its land back into ocean at an alarming rate.

[gravitycrash]

Only 85% for me. This makes me feel senile because all of these answers were taught in middle school.

[NinjaChick]

100%. I'm not sure I would have been able to recall the Chief Justice had it not been multiple choice.

[nikonikosuru]

Eegh, I should be kicked out of this country.

[Mighty_Girl]

85%, and some of those because it was multiple choice.

Where do I collect my welfare cheque? :)

[Hypnagogic Jerk]

90%. Not bad for a non-American. I didn't know the first words of the Constitution, and I guessed wrong on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. (To be honest, I couldn't tell you who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada either. :eek: )

[Chessic Sense]

100%. I wouldn't feel bad for them if a citizen got 80%. Some, like the year of the Constitution and # of amendments, are pretty hard.

Feel ashamed if you don't remember the 13 stripes, the # of Justices, 3 branches, Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson's authorship, and who Susan B Anthony is. I had to ask 4 women about her before I found one that knew who she was. That's embarrassing.

Disclaimer: I'm a Poli Sci major. Some of this stuff I didn't know til last year.

[RickJay]

Canadian here. 100%. I didn't find any of the questions terribly hard, but I do have a way of remembering numbers, and the numbers ones were the toughest parts of the quiz, it would seem from the consensus of this thread.

I agree with you totally. I didn't expect foreigners to do so well either. Now I feel kinda ashamed of my general knowledge of other country's histories. In turn, my knowledge of Canada, chronologically speaking, is something like: beavers, maple syrup, hockey, War of 1812, lacrosse, liberal, Kids in the Hall, universal health care, possible discrimination against Newfies.
You've got it sort of right, but a little out of order.

Here it Everything You Need To Know About Canadian History in 20 Bullet Points:

- Beavers
- Maple Syrup
- Conquest (just ask a Quebecois)
- War of 1812
- Rebellions
- Confederation
- More rebellions
- Hockey
- World War 1
- Depression
- World War 2
- Newfies
- Health Care
- Bilingualism
- HENDERSON SCORES FOR CANADA!
- Separatists
- Wayne Gretzky
- Free Trade
- PC Party dies
- Current events

Note: "Indians Get Screwed" applies universally to most of these items.

[RickJay]

You know who is the Supreme Commander of Canada? The Queen of England.
I think "head of state" would be a more accurate description of that position. It would be like describing George W. Bush as the "Supreme commander of the United States."

[Colophon]

I only got 45%, which is embarrasingly poor. It would have been 50% but I thought the question said "World War II" not I...

[Northern Piper]

Ha! This Canuck got 100%!

All your bases are belong to us!

[Northern Piper]

You know who is the Supreme Commander of Canada?The Queen of England.I think "head of state" would be a more accurate description of that position. It would be like describing George W. Bush as the "Supreme commander of the United States."Shagnasty has the terminology wrong, but he's got the concept right. The Queen of the United Kingdom and Canada is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.

See the Constitution Act, 1867 (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/c1867_e.html#executive): Command of Armed Forces to continue to be vested in the Queen
15. The Command-in-Chief of the Land and Naval Militia, and of all Naval and Military Forces, of and in Canada, is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen.

[Kid_A]

100% with "educated guesses" on 2, 4, 7, and 9.

[Sunspace]

75%. Not bad for a grubby unwashed foreigner. :)

[Scuba_Ben]

100% :p

Oh! Yes!

22KE
Welcome to the board, 22KE! What are you 22 km east of?

[Spoons]

90%. Not bad for a non-American.Same here: 90%. Pretty darn good, I'd say.

[Sunspace]

Shagnasty has the terminology wrong, but he's got the concept right. The Queen of the United Kingdom and Canada is the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces.Well, technically, the Queen of the UK isn't the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces; only the Queen of Canada is. The Crowns are separate, even though they are vested in the same person. (More trivia I picked up on the SDMB.)

[squeegee]

100%, no sweat. The only question I guessed on was the number of amendments to the constitution, and I was pretty sure it was more than 23.

[Cowboy8467]

90% correct :smack: . I got the first two wrong in quick succession and then I didn't have to guess on any of the rest of them. I'm not sure what that says about me.

I must admit I am kind of surprised that so many people don't know who the chief justice of the Supreme Court is... I guess I just pay more attention to the court by virtue of where I live.

[drm]

I managed 85%.

I got 2, 9, and 11 incorrect.

[Cisco]

100%. IN YOUR FACE, other subjects I'm not as good at (I'm looking at you, math . . . )

[Malthus]

This Canadian got 85%. Missed on the number of amendments, Maine not being among the original colonies, and the name of the chief justice.

[ASAKMOTSD]

Whoo hoo - I got them right. I are a citizen!

[fachverwirrt]

85%. I spaced on the number of amendments, couldn't remember the exact dates of presidents (I guessed Harding instead of Wilson), and got confused between recent Supreme Court appointees. Oh well.

[Northern Piper]

Well, technically, the Queen of the UK isn't the Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces; only the Queen of Canada is. The Crowns are separate, even though they are vested in the same person. (More trivia I picked up on the SDMB.)The Crowns are separate, but Her Majesty's title in Canada is established by the Royal Styles and Titles Act (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/R-12//20080704/en?command=home&caller=SI&search_type=all&shorttitle=royal%20style&day=4&month=7&year=2008&search_domain=cs&showall=L&statuteyear=all&lengthannual=50&length=50) :
2. The assent of the Parliament of Canada is hereby given to the issue by Her Majesty of Her Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of Canada establishing for Canada the following Royal Style and Titles, namely:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.So referring to her as the Queen of the United Kingdom and Canada is a proper description.

[Spoons]

Missed on ... Maine not being among the original colonies....That one is tricky. I got it, but I wouldn't have if I hadn't done some research into American legal history a year or so ago. Heck, my wife (US born and educated, including all necessary classes in US history) didn't know that one.

[Sunspace]

The Crowns are separate, but Her Majesty's title in Canada is established by the Royal Styles and Titles Act (http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/R-12//20080704/en?command=home&caller=SI&search_type=all&shorttitle=royal%20style&day=4&month=7&year=2008&search_domain=cs&showall=L&statuteyear=all&lengthannual=50&length=50) :
So referring to her as the Queen of the United Kingdom and Canada is a proper description.Well, yes, that that's just listing several of the different realms under her personal union. It doesn't change the fact that when she does something official in Canada as Queen of Canada, she's doing it as Queen of Canada, not Queen of a different realm. ISTR that when she and the President of the USA opened the St. Lawrence Seaway, she acted as Queen of Canada, not Queen of the UK.

[Sternvogel]

I got 100%. I'm glad to see I'm not alone in this distinction.

Incidentally, present-day Maine was included in the lands of the Thirteen Original Colonies -- the state was broken off of Massachusetts in 1820 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine#History) as a result of the Missouri Compromise.

[Cardinal]

100%. But I'm a born American, and a nerd.

[astorian]

I got 100%, and didn't have to give any question much thought.

The only "tricky" questions were the ones with negative logic ("Which of these is NOT...?"), but even those weren't difficult.

[pravnik]

95%, missed the succession question.

[Larry Borgia]

95%, missed the number of amendments. (I put 23. :smack: )

[mazinger_z]

100%. Too easy.

[Jammer]

100% on the questions I actually bothered to answer. I somehow managed to completely skip over question 17. Interestingly enough, it's the only one I may have ultimately guessed at. So, let's go with 95%, which is what I technically earned.