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Post by gailkate on Apr 29, 2014 15:08:47 GMT -5
We love quizzes, but this is 96 questions long and it takes time for CSM to load them and score each answer. Still, if you have the patience, it might be fun to compare our reactions to the test itself. I confess to having gotten 100% correct, but some of the questions seemed too tricky and some lamentably simple. I know the test is supposedly improved from previous versions, but how would you improve this one? What should you have to know to become a citizen? www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0104/Could-you-pass-a-US-citizenship-test
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Post by BoatBabe on Apr 29, 2014 21:10:51 GMT -5
That's a little long for me tonight. I'll try again later.
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Post by doctork on Apr 29, 2014 22:44:33 GMT -5
It seems to me that this "Could you pass the citizenship test?" has gotten easier, though I can't say I've been studying civics recently.
Do you think it has gotten dumbed down like so many other things in American life lately? I read of recent revisions in the SAT exam, but the articles mentioned how it still isn't as hard as it was 30 years ago. And in school "B is the new C" and yes, all the children are above average.
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Post by gailkate on Apr 30, 2014 0:09:42 GMT -5
It looks dumbed down to me, K, but I won't say more till people have had a chance to read it themselves. Jerry thought possibly it's hard to write important questions in a multiple choice form, but that can be done pretty well if you know what you're doing. For instance, I had an English History prof who wrote situational objective tests. "You're a 40-yr-old grain farmer whose family has been farming your estate for 300 years." Then would come 5 multiple choice questions about your beliefs ( as the farmer) regarding the Corn Laws, free trade, the Napoleonic Wars and so on - all inter-related and complex. He'd have been ashamed to write a question on the Napoleonic Wars with easily memorized dates and names. You had to prove you understood cause and effect, relationships, and even the effect of climate.
Boy, don't get me started on the SAT!
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Post by BoatBabe on Apr 30, 2014 20:20:08 GMT -5
Yes, that test was definitely dumbed down, when compared to the last Citizenship test we took. That was around the time that Louis, Thom's worker in Arizona, was studying for his real citizen's test. He passed, and was very proud! I can't say that the dumbing down was a bad thing. The content of the information was about the same, but the questions were phrased in a way that people who speak English as a second or third language may be able to understand the content of the question. I thought the multiple choice answers reflected a certain amount of content as well: Do you get the concept of the question? In order to become a citizen of the United States, it is not required that you be an English Major, that you be able to write a comparative analysis among political parties, nor that you have memorized every date of every event in American history. Becoming a citizen is a starting point. I didn't score 100% like Miss Gail, but I scored high enough that I would be (again) Salutatorian. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png) I vote: Good Test.
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Post by gailkate on May 1, 2014 0:23:58 GMT -5
I definitely agree that one shouldn't have to be an English major. But I think more pointed questions could be written about some key concepts. For example, even many native-born people have vague notions of, say, freedom of speech. It only means freedom from government suppression of speech. The infamous Mr. Sterling had the right to say whatever he wanted about black players, but his association had the right to kick him out. You can't go to jail for what you say or believe, but you can experience disapproval and unpleasant consequences. Plus, there are exceptions like the old example of yelling-fire-in-a-crowded-theater and incitement to riot. I think understanding the Constitution is a lot more important than knowing the exact date it was written. Jerry didn't know till I told him. Who cares if it was 1787 or 1789? He didn't know there are 435 members of the House - he said, "I dunno, 400 and some." Why is the exact date or number important? Some of these questions rely only on rote memory, which doesn't seem fair.
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Post by BoatBabe on May 1, 2014 9:22:07 GMT -5
I agree with you, Gail. You should write some test questions, and use us as your test subjects. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by doctork on May 1, 2014 19:47:46 GMT -5
Agree - understanding the Constitution is way more important than memorizing the date it was written. That's one reason I hated history in high school, too much rote memorization. B ut I thought most of these test questions were pretty easy, whereas on the last citizenship test I reviewed they seemed harder. Maybe it was just the phrasing and context
I care a lot about the Bill of Rights, especially the 4th Amendment. IIRC, there was a question about it. I'm glad they asked. The concept is certainly one that should be especially well understood by any brown American who is not a native speaker of English.
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Post by gailkate on May 1, 2014 23:55:22 GMT -5
Agreed, but it doesn't seem as if that right is actually honored, so knowing you have it may not do you much good. Race makes people especially vulnerable but people of all colors are routinely subjected to unreasonable searches, even body cavity searches for a traffic violation. And the scope of electronic and GPS searches is mind-boggling.
Hmm... now I'm nervous about writing this. I'm just speaking hypothetically, you understand.
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Post by doctork on May 2, 2014 9:17:06 GMT -5
At least if you know your rights, you are more likely to have them respected, assuming you stand up for them. There is a case before the Supreme Court right now about the extent of searches involving cellphones. I believe the cases in question originated in 2007 and 2009; it can take a long time and a lot of money to fight for one's rights.
It is your first amendment right to free speech to speak up here. Journalists I know are concerned about freedom of speech though. It's become all too easy to label free speech as anti-American, the "if you're not with us you're against us" mentality. Or just label something "national security" and you can do whatever you want.
Don't be nervous gk. The government is collecting so much information about everything that they have difficulty actually locating anything. Think of the missing MH370...
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Post by gailkate on May 2, 2014 9:48:10 GMT -5
Ok, I'll risk life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ... NSA is the 21st Century's KGB. It's a terrible shame that 9/11 ended up justifying such a loss of freedoms. The impact of those 28 wackos has gone far beyond the loss of lives on that day.
Some old friends from H.S. who've formed a loose email group have been using a code phrase in the subject line whenever we think we're on shaky ground. It amuses us but underscores that you're only as safe as the search terms some elaborate system has been fed.
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