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Revised Citizenship Test Unveiled

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By JULIA PRESTON, The New York Times

Published: September 28, 2007

Patrick Henry and Francis Scott Key are out, but Susan B. Anthony and Nancy Pelosi are in. The White House was cut, but New York and Sept. 11 made the list.
Federal immigration authorities on Thursday unveiled 100 new questions immigrants will have to study in order to pass a civics test to become naturalized American citizens.

The redesign of the test, the first since it was created in 1986 as a standardized examination, follows years of criticism in which conservative groups said the test was too easy and immigrant advocates said it was too hard.

The new questions did little to quell that debate among many immigrant groups, which complained the citizenship test would become even more daunting. Conservatives seemed to be more satisfied.

Several historians said the new questions successfully incorporated more ideas about the workings of American democracy and better touched upon the diversity of the groups - including women, American Indians and African Americans - who have influenced the country's history.

Would-be citizens no longer have to know who said, 'Give me liberty or give me death,' or who wrote 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'

But they do have to know, 'What did Susan B. Anthony do?' and who the current speaker of the House of Representatives is.

Alfonso Aguilar, a senior official at Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that designs and administers the test, said it was not intended to be punitive.

'We don't seek to fail anyone,' Aguilar said.
Immigration officials said they sought to move away from civics trivia to emphasize basic concepts about the structure of government and American history and geography.

In contrast to the old test, which some immigrants could pass without any study, officials said the new one is intended to force even highly educated applicants to do some reviewing.

'This test genuinely talks about what makes an American citizen,' said Emilio Gonzalez, the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The $6.5 million redesign was crafted during six years of discussions with historians, immigrant organizations and liberal and conservative research groups.

The questions were submitted to four months of pilot testing this year with more than 6,000 immigrants who were applying for naturalization.

In the pilot runs, the pass rates improved over the current tests, with 92 percent of participants passing on the first try, as opposed to 84 percent now. The agency will begin to use the revised test on Oct. 1, 2008.

Legal immigrants who are eligible to become citizens must pass the civics exam as well as a test of English proficiency in reading and writing. In a one-to-one oral examination, an immigration officer asks the applicant 10 questions, of varying degrees of difficulty, selected from the list of 100. To pass, the applicant must answer six of those 10 questions correctly.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, one of the groups consulted in shaping the new test, denounced it as 'the final brick in the second wall.'

John Fonte, a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute, called the new test 'a definite improvement.'

Aguilar said the test includes 'landmark moments of American history that apply to every single citizen.'

STUDY UP

To see the test, go to www.uscis.gov/files/native documents/100q.pdf.

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