Can You Pass The US Citizenship Test?

The U.S. Naturalization pilot test is used at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization offices in San Antonio, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007. The new citizenship test designed to make applicants think about questions rathe... The U.S. Naturalization pilot test is used at the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization offices in San Antonio, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007. The new citizenship test designed to make applicants think about questions rather than just memorize answers is beginning a trial run. Volunteers will try out the new questions in San Antonio and El Paso beginning Thursday. Officials in eight other cities nationwide also are beginning to administer the pilot naturalization test this month, in an effort to revamp the exam for 2008. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) MORE LESS
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In a growing number of states, high school graduates are being required to know at least as much about U.S. founding documents as immigrants passing the citizenship test. Can you ace it?

An applicant must correctly answer six of 10 questions, selected from 100 possible questions, to pass the civics portion. A sample test, with the answers at the bottom:

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QUESTIONS

1. What does the Constitution do?

2. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?

3. What is an amendment?

4. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?

5. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

6. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?

7. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?

8. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the Constitution. Name one of the writers.

9. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.

10. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?

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ANSWERS

1. Sets up the government, defines the government and protects basic rights of Americans

2. We the People

3. A change or an addition to the Constitution

4. The Bill of Rights

5. 27

6. Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness

7. To print money, to declare war, to create an army or to make treaties

8. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay (under the collective pseudonym Publius)

9. Citizens 18 and older can vote; you don’t have to pay to vote; any citizen can vote, a male citizen of any race can vote

10. Speech, religion, assembly, press, petition the government

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SOURCE: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Notable Replies

  1. This test should be mandatory for Presidential candidates. I doubt Trump could pass it without extensive coaching.

  2. I had one too many amendments, an my answers differed from their acceptable answers. I said the feds regulated interstate trade, and described the 19th amendment for voting rights which may be under “any citizen can vote” but that’s not clear.

  3. Avatar for sanni sanni says:

    Which means he couldn’t pass it, as he is clearly unable to sit through/attend extensive coaching on any topic.

  4. I had one too few and did the same thing with the 19th Amendment. I suspect it goes under the any citizen can vote, but sex is actually mentioned, so I’m not sure either.

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