The latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek features an editorial urging citizenship tests for people who are already citizens.
Americans love democracy and freedom — so long as there’s no quiz involved. The numbers are depressing: One in four Americans do not know that the U.S. declared its independence from England. One in three cannot name a single branch of government. Three in four don’t know why the Civil War was fought.
Late-night comedians and plenty of others have had fun shining a light on the dark corners of the American brain, and when faced with such obliviousness, it’s surely better to laugh than cry. Better yet would be to do something about it.
More than 90 percent of students take a civics class in high school, but on a national test given in 2010, only 27 percent of high school seniors demonstrated proficiency in the subject. A core purpose of public education is to prepare young people not only for college and careers, but also for the responsibilities that come with citizenship, including voting. Schools require students to meet basic standards in math and English. The same should be true of civics.
Recently, a movement has sprung up around a simple but compelling idea: requiring high school students to pass the same citizenship test given to immigrants. In January, Arizona and North Dakota became the first states to adopt such a requirement, and 19 other states are considering it.
Regular readers in this forum will not be surprised to learn about the low quality of civics education today and efforts to boost that type of education.
