Could you pass the latest (USA) citizenship test?

[buffalo]

My brother passed this quiz along to me. Thought it is an interesting test. How do my fellow MacRumors members score? If you take the test and are not from the United States, please post your location so we know you have an excuse!

Be honest!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25461301/


I scored a 100%. Question 3 almost threw me off. Also, I wasn't sure if there are 23 of 27 amendments.

[miloblithe]

90%
U.S. citizen from Washington, D.C.

[yg17]

The only one I got wrong was the Susan B Anthony one, I said she designed the flag. I guess I got her mixed up with Betsy Ross

[zioxide]

100%

I guess taking AP US History in high school and 2 US history classes last year in college helps. :) Although I probably would have gotten like 85% even before those.

[arkitect]

80% — And I am not a US citizen (or living in the USA).
:D

The UK version is far more intense.

[tkidBOSTON]

I am ashamed to say I scored an 80%. :(
I was born, raised, and still live in the US.

My wrong answers are below in white to not ruin it for anyone thats reading this thread before taking the test themselves:

7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
23 is not correct.

13. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
365 is not correct.

17. Who was president during World War I?
Franklin Roosevelt is not correct.

19. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
Samuel Alito is not correct.

[skunk]

85% here. Is that a pass?

[mkrishnan]

90%; born and raised. In white, below...

I got the number of Justices wrong and also the president during WWI.

[djellison]

The UK version is far more intense.

Oo - I'm British - bring it on.

Doug

[buffalo]

100%

I guess taking AP US History in high school and 2 US history classes last year in college helps. :) Although I probably would have gotten like 85% even before those.

I also attributed my success to the AP US history course I took last year (really two school years ago in the 06-07 school year, now that the 07-08 year is done). My original post also contains two comments in white text.

[quagmire]

20/20. :) AP US History probably helped a bit.

[stevento]

80% and i didnt cheat

[dukebound85]

80%

its been 7 years since ive had AP history

[LethalWolfe]

90%, US citizen, probably 15yrs removed from my last US history/civics class.


Lethal

[takao]

70%
born in austria and american history never really was part of my school schedule ... we simply didn't have much time for it besides the usual discussions about french revolution/napoleon/congress of vienna and then we went straight to the revolution of 1848

[Eraserhead]

55% :o.

[donga]

ugh, 80%. been a while since i've thought about apush

[themadchemist]

95%. Stupid mistake on the year the Constitution was written.

US citizen from North Carolina/Chicago.

[notsofatjames]

30%, good job i'm not american, and don't plan to become an american citizen!

EDIT just had 10/14 (71%) on the UK test (im british).
Not trying to highjack, but if anyone wants to try the UK one... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4099770.stm

[jessica.]

You answered 95% of questions correctly. Here's your rating:
I got this question wrong:
10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Maine is not correct.
Louisiana
I suck. hah

As for the UK test...which I kind of want to believe is a joke. I am bad! Here's something I realize, it seems to me that people outside America somehow know more about American politics than Americans know about the politics of other nations. I know there are exceptions, a great deal of them, but it seems to be the case. Maybe American politics are so overwhelming there's no time to learn about oh say, Canada!

UK Test Results:

You got 6 right!
0-5: Seat in Heathrow arrivals.... 6-10: Seat on the district council......11-13: Seat in Parliament.....14: Seat on the throne

[miloblithe]

Dang, only 7 for the UK one. I hope they don't revoke my British citizenship.

[Eraserhead]

10/14 on the UK one. I got the location of father christmas, where the legend came from, divorce and the prudent question to ask a solicitor wrong.

[nick9191]

30% on the US test.
11/14 on the UK test.

:D

[rdowns]

100%- I thought that was quite easy. US citizen- born an\d raised.

[Lord Blackadder]

85% On the US test. Stupid, STUPID mistake on the presidential succession question. Also missed the senatorial term question - hard to remember when so many of them have been in office since I was born.

7/14 on the UK test. No hope on the saint's day question. Loved the fact that two of the questions related to pub behavior and a drunken brawl. :eek::D

I'm 100% US born and raised, and have never been outside the US (except for a few visits to Canada).

[.Andy]

I find citizenship tests largely ridiculous. How will this knowledge help any immigrant? I don't care if my doctor/solicitor/bricklayer/small business owner knows the answer to history questions. It seems to me that these tests are more an exercise for endemics to pay lip-service to 'patriotic' knowledge.

p.s. 50% US and 78% (11/14 on british).
p.p.s. The Australian one is pathetic. It asks at least one question about sport :rolleyes:.

[Lord Blackadder]

I find citizenship tests largely ridiculous. How will this knowledge help any immigrant?

At least some history is very important because the roots to all current events that affect our lives lie in major historical events, some of which are in the distant past.

Which isn't to say that history knowledge alone will prepare you for citizenship, of course.

I can easily see the ozzy test referencing sport. Anything referring to Shane? ;)

[mkrishnan]

As for the UK test...which I kind of want to believe is a joke. I am bad!

Dude, okay, I got one less than you did! :eek: It's not just bad, it's ridiculous. What does Life in the UK tell you you should do if you spill someone's beer? :rolleyes: (Okay, I got that one right). But very few questions on the list have anything to do with the governance structure of Britain. I mean, on the plus side, there are some practical things (I would want everyone in the United States to understand their rights in connection with police interaction, and I would want everyone to know whom to dial in emergency).

But as far as the joke part -- it did say explicitly that they made up the questions themselves based on what is presented in the Life in the UK book.... So I think it is partially facetious. The book sounds very reminiscent of what a US citizenship booklet probably looked like in the 1950s....

[JG271]

9/14 On the Uk Test and 45% (:o) on the US one.
I think the actual UK test can be taken many times though.

[iJohnHenry]

60%, and as pleased as punch. http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g158/MouseMeat/Smilies/MMafter03.gif

[cycocelica]

95%. I couldn't for the life of me remember the Chief Justice.

[themadchemist]

30%, good job i'm not american, and don't plan to become an american citizen!

EDIT just had 10/14 (71%) on the UK test (im british).
Not trying to highjack, but if anyone wants to try the UK one... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4099770.stm

8 of 14. :cool: Not bad for having spent only three days in Britain in all my life.

[Daveman Deluxe]

80% on the US version. I thought the President Pro Tempore of the Senate was third in line of succession and the Speaker of the House fourth, so I got that one wrong. I thought that "In order to create a more perfect union" was the first phrase of the Constitution, when it is actually the second. I thought that Harding was president during WWI, but I should have known that it was Wilson. And I got the Susan B. Anthony question wrong.

[blackfox]

As someone who grew up in england, but now is a citizen in the US:

I got 2 wrong in the US quiz.

I scored a 10/14 in the UK quiz - although the pet license question has changed since I lived there - so I get a qualified 11/14.

[djellison]

30%, good job i'm not american, and don't plan to become an american citizen!

EDIT just had 10/14 (71%) on the UK test (im british).
Not trying to highjack, but if anyone wants to try the UK one... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4099770.stm

Oh boy. question one, all three answers are correct.
Where does Santa come from. Are they serious?
Question 11 - both b AND c, unless you're an idiot.

10/14. And not one of those questions is about being 'British'. Typical governmental nonsense imho. Being British is about binge drinking, casual violence and sexually transmitted diseases.
:rolleyes:

[mkrishnan]

Being British is about binge drinking, casual violence and sexually transmitted diseases.
:rolleyes:

See, now this is precisely the sort of advertising that would give you chaps an influx of eager new immigrants. ;)

[djellison]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pmEpvOLTesE&feature=related - from 5:00 in.

:)

[ZiggyPastorius]

I got 80% on the US one and 9/14 on the UK one. I basically guessed on the entire UK one, as I've never been to the UK and know nothing about it :p

[Teh Don Ditty]

I'm pretty impressed that I got a 9/14 on the UK one and I've never been there.

Questions 2,4,5,7,14 were the ones I got wrong.

[yg17]

I got 8/14 on the UK one. Not bad for never having set foot there I guess.

[CalBoy]

This wasn't a particularly hard citizenship test, but I wonder how much it differs from the true citizenship test that is now offered.

Then again, I am a political science major who is going to go to law school, so perhaps my knowledge in this area was unfairly boosted. :p

[sushi]

100% US citizen. Although I haven't lived in the US for over 20 years and the last government class that I took was over 30 years ago.

I had to guess on two of the questions -- and guessed right in this case. The president during WW1 and who the Chief Justice was.

The Susan B. Anthony one almost got me as well. Was thinking about Betsy Ross at first.

Anybody know how this compares to the real US Citizen test?

[themadchemist]

Anybody know how this compares to the real US Citizen test?

I'm not sure, but my mom took it a few years ago. She studied for it, plus she's a total news/politics junkie and very smart...She said the test was a complete joke.

[sushi]

She said the test was a complete joke.
The actual test, or the one that this thread references?

I assume the later but wanted to double check.

[themadchemist]

The actual test, or the one that this thread references?

I assume the later but wanted to double check.

No, no, the actual test.

[CalBoy]

No, no, the actual test.

Well I guess it can't be too hard, since we want new citizens to know about the country, not write a history book about it.

[themadchemist]

Well I guess it can't be too hard, since we want new citizens to know about the country, not write a history book about it.

Yeah, though wouldn't it be kind of funny if we had a citizenship test only David McCullough could pass?

(as an aside: If we left the writing of the test to our leading American History departments, I imagine each question would end up a treatise on subaltern communities.)

[furcalchick]

90% for me.

[astrostu]

95%. And I knew ahead of time which one I'd miss - the first words of the Constitution. I always get the first words of that and the Dec. of Independence mixed up.

[Motley]

100% on the US and 9/14 on the U.K.
Native US citizen.

[scotthayes]

90% on the US test and 78% on the UK test.

Guess I should leave the UK and head for America.

[iCantwait]

45%

Aussie Aussie Aussie

[Jaffa Cake]

65% on the American citizenship test, and I'm from Englandshire.

[nbs2]

It seems that the questions are different for each user (or I loaded a different MSN page - I didn't follow the link).

Anyway, I scored a 95%, as I wasn't sure if Form 200 or 400 is used to apply for citizenship (I was right before I was wrong). Anyway, I'm not bothered by that.

[maestro55]

75% -- damn, I need to refresh my history.

10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Maine is not correct.
Louisiana

14. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
2 is not correct.
6

16. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Secretary of State is not correct.
The Speaker of the House

17. Who was president during World War I?
Theodore Roosevelt is not correct.
Woodrow Wilson

20. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
Designed and made the original U.S. flag is not correct.
Fought for women’s rights

[Watabou]

Got a 95%. I got the Senator one wrong. I confused it with House of Reps.

[Prof.]

I got 67%:(:o *packs for mexico*

HOWEVER, i got a 75% on my constitution test in 8th grade!:cool::p

[Cleverboy]

75% -- "Hey, you may make a good citizen yet! Look at your wrong answers and a little revision should do the trick."

I'm actually pleased it didn't come out worse. I haven't played a game of trivia in a while, and my factoid regurgitation engine has been on the fritz lately.

7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
23 is not correct. (Meh.)
9. Which of these was NOT among the original states?
Delaware is not correct. (No excuse)
13. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
100 is not correct. (I knew this was wrong, but chose it anyway)
16. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Secretary of Defense is not correct. (I knew it was the speaker, but I didn't trust my original answer)
17. Who was president during World War I?
Franklin Roosevelt is not correct. (No excuse)

~ CB

[hulugu]

...Also missed the senatorial term question - hard to remember when so many of them have been in office since I was born....

Hah. That's the one I got wrong, I suddenly decided senator's terms were four years. :confused: Otherwise, I did well, 95%.

As for the UK one, wow. I got 6, but some of these questions seemed more reliant on having read the guide. For instance, in white, so as not to spoil it, on the last question: What does Life in the UK tell you it is "very important" to do when engaging a solicitor?

Now, for some reason, I thought "...ensure they are qualified in the area of law of concern" was a reasonable answer, but apparently I should ask, "...how much do they charge?" Reasonable, but maybe the second question I think.

At least I can survive a pub, I know what to do when I spill someone's beer and I know who to call if I lose a fight. I do not, however, know how to license a dog.
These are really citizenship questions? I'd expect more like the Magna Carta questions.

[ucfgrad93]

I got a 90%. Missed one because I misread the question. U.S. citizen from Colorado.

[solvs]

100% on the US one, though I might have missed the Constitution one if it had the date I thought it was (a year before the correct answer). Surprised so many of you don't know who Susan B. Anthony is. She has that dollar coin, you'd think that'd be an easy one.

Only got 11 on the UK one. Mostly guessing. Some of the questions seemed kinda silly though.

[Brianstorm91]

Us: 35%
Uk: 95%

*For some reason, MR won't let me capitalise both letters.

[d_and_n5000]

I got a 95%.

Somehow, I thought that we had 23 amendments to the Constitution, and not 27.

I got lucky on the WWI President and the number of voting members in the House of Reps.

edit: I also got a 36% on the UK one. Guess I'm not moving across the Atlantic anytime soon...

[rhett7660]

90%... missed the senate term and how the constitution starts off... ugh...

[Sky Blue]

55% and I'll probably be taking it in December, better study :D

[Dmac77]

90%, kind of sad considering that I spent all of last year in history class studying the United States, from the 1600's-1900.

Don

[noodle654]

Wow that was easy. 100%...

[Shotglass]

55% on the US test. I don't live there and I couldn't care less about politics. For me, that's a good score. :)

[Mr_Ed]

85%. I guess I'm in :D