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1-in-3 Pass `US Citizenship Test,' Just 19% for Americans 45 and Younger

posted by martyb on Thursday October 04 2018, @09:27PM   
from the 19-percent dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation reports:

Just a third of Americans can pass a multiple choice "U.S. Citizenship Test", fumbling over such simple questions as the cause of the cold war or naming just one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for.

And of Americans 45 and younger, the passing rate is a tiny 19 percent, according to a survey done for the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

Worse: The actual test only requires that 60 percent of the answers be correct. In the survey, just 36 percent passed.

Among the embarrassing errors uncovered in the survey of questions taken from the U.S. Citizenship Test and conducted by Lincoln Park Stragtegies:

• 72 percent of respondents either incorrectly identified or were unsure of which states were part of the 13 original states.
• 24 percent could correctly identify one thing Benjamin Franklin was famous for, with 37 percent believing he invented the lightbulb.
• 12 percent incorrectly thought WWII General Dwight Eisenhower led troops in the Civil War.
• 2 percent said the Cold War was caused by climate change.

Also at Sputnik and The Tri-City Herald

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Original Submission

• re Wise Words re Wise Words (Score: 5, Interesting) by jelizondo on Thursday October 04 2018, @11:52PM (2 children)

  by jelizondo (653) on Thursday October 04 2018, @11:52PM (#744388) Journal

  True story. I have a friend who recently acquired the Mexican nationality and he proudly says he’s Mexican. Some dude told him: “You ain’t, you were born in Spain.” (He does have a heavy Spanish accent.) To which my friend replied: “I’m more Mexican than you, because I chose to become a Mexican and you simply were born one.”

  I found that answer very wise indeed.

  Starting Score:	1		point
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• Re:re Wise Words Re:re Wise Words (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday October 05 2018, @01:36PM (1 child)

  by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday October 05 2018, @01:36PM (#744601) Journal

  That's interesting. It makes me wonder why immigrants from Central America don't flock to Mexico, too. NAFTA moved so much American manufacturing there, so there are jobs. There's no language barrier for them to surmount. Also, the cultural differences are not so large. Mexico, in turn, could strip mine the human capital of its neighbors to the south and build its national strength.

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  Washington DC delenda est.

  Parent

  • Re:re Wise Words (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @06:05PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05 2018, @06:05PM (#744734)

    It makes me wonder why immigrants from Central America don't flock to Mexico, too.

    Probably for the same reasons that the immigrants from Mexico don't stay in Mexico.

    Parent