Additionally, applicants were given 100 questions to study in preparation for the 2008 test, but were given 128 questions to prepare for the 2020 version. The new test had 20 questions, and people had to get at least 12 right to pass. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 91% of applicants passed the test in 2020. The 2008 test had 10 questions, and people had to get at least 6 correct to pass. Who did the United States fight in World War II? And, what is one power of the federal government? Among them: Why does the flag have 13 stripes? Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States. The civics portion of the naturalization test requires applicants to study a wide range of questions and answers about American government, history, geography and symbols. “From my perspective, some of my former advanced students could handle this, but in reality, many of the people who take my classes, which are now on Zoom, their English level is lower and (the changes) could be a huge obstacle for them becoming citizens.” “When I saw the changes, I was very concerned, because it was a bear, the way they worded some of the questions,” Kohrell said. He said he was dismayed when he first learned of the new test in December. He teaches English as a second language and classes that prepare immigrants to take the tests they must pass to become Americans. Like many other Nebraskans, Kohrell has stepped up to help the immigrants feel welcome and to help them prepare to become U.S. Between 3,000 and 4,000 Yazidis from Iraq and Syria live in Lincoln, and the foreign-born population of Nebraska nearly doubled between 20, from 4.3 to 7.8%, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kohrell lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, which has a large and growing population of immigrants, including one of the largest concentrations of Yazidis in North America. Justin Wan, for the Deseret News ‘It was a bear’ Matthew Kohrell teaches a citizenship class using a remote internet connection, Monday, March 15, 2021, in Lincoln, Neb. Utah already requires that.Īnd native-born Americans, as it turns out, aren’t especially knowledgable about the inner workings of their country. The Oklahoma Legislature is considering a bill that would require high school seniors to pass the naturalization civics test before they can graduate. Regardless of what happens, all Americans might want to pay more attention to what’s on the citizenship test, especially if there are teens in their family. citizen easier, including reducing the application fee. 2, President Joe Biden called for the agency to consider other actions to make becoming a U.S. In an executive order on immigration issued Feb. 22 that it would stop administering the new test on April 19, after an interim period where people have a choice of which test to take. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced Feb. The federal agency in charge of naturalization, U.S.
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“Cultural knowledge and civics knowledge is incredibly key to success in America - in any country, but especially in a place that is a free democracy,” said Mike Gonzalez, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and author of the 2020 book “The Plot to Change America.” 22, between 94% and 95% passed, according to federal immigration officials, compared to the 91% pass rate for the other test, which dates to 2008.Īnd some scholars argue that the naturalization process is more meaningful when it is challenging and that immigrants are more likely to succeed in the U.S. Of 110 people who took the new test between Dec. Preliminary data, however, suggests that the failure rate on the new test could be equal or even lower than that of the previous version. citizens.Ĭritics of the change say it was an underhanded attempt by the Trump administration to reduce immigration and claim some of the new questions had conservative bias. He feared that a new test, implemented in December 2020, would make it harder for his students to become U.S. “I thought, ding, dong, the test is gone,” said Kohrell, who teaches citizenship classes in Lincoln, Nebraska. citizens, a song from the film “The Wizard of Oz” came to his mind. When Matthew Kohrell heard that the Biden administration would rescind recent changes to the civics test immigrants must pass to become U.S.