By Robert Kittle
A bill passed unanimously by a House K-12 education subcommittee Tuesday would require all South Carolina students to take the U.S. citizenship test. They would not be required to pass it or get a certain score, though.
The House subcommittee amended the bill to make it the same as a Senate version that’s now on the full Senate floor.
Rep. James Smith, D-Columbia, is the main sponsor of the House bill. “I think each and every citizen of our country, if they’re immigrants they’re taking the test and they’re passing it at a 92 percent passage rate. If you’re born here, you need to understand the same information about our great country, and you have to understand it and appreciate it in order to fully participate.”
There are 100 possible questions that might be asked on the test, but each person taking it is asked only ten of them. Getting at least six of the ten means passing. The test is oral so it’s not multiple choice.
Some of the questions are relatively easy, like, “Who is the current vice president of the United States?” (Joe Biden) Others are much tougher, like how many amendments are there to the U.S. Constitution? (27)
Rep. Smith says that, since the test is available for free online, the requirement wouldn’t cost school districts anything. He expects the test would be given to high school juniors while they’re studying civics already.
You can see all 100 current questions and answers here.
