Could you pass the Citizenship Test?

It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last, as tensions have occasionally run high between the state education board and the Legislature. And once again, there is a bit of a kerfuffle between the Kansas State Board of Education and Rep. Steve Huebert (R-Valley Center) after Huebert introduced a bill that would require high school students to pass a high-stakes civics test, modeled after the 100-question U.S. citizenship exam, in order to graduate. “If you don’t know the basics (of citizenship and civics), you can’t be civically engaged in a way that deals with our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, the freedoms we have, the checks and balances — you need a basic understanding,” Huebert says.

The bill, while backed by some Republicans including Attorney General Derek Schmidt, has been sharply criticized by public education advocates as an overstep by the Legislature into the role played by the Kansas State Board of Education, which claims a sole responsibility under the Kansas Constitution to determine graduation requirements over accredited schools.

Perhaps it’s just the way Huebert is going about it, because it doesn’t seem like a request that’s too far out in left field. After all, those from other countries seeking to become citizens in the United States must, among other requirements, pass a 100-question exam regarding citizenship in our country. Is it too much to ask that we, at least from high school age on up, should be able to pass this test as well?

I guess time will tell how this all fluffs out in our state. It seems like right now, the biggest balk is that it’s the Legislature (well, at least one representative) against the state board of education. And it’s not really that they are at polar odds with each other; it’s more an issue of turf and over-stepping boundaries. Huebert is willing to work with the KSDE to make it happen, but as he said last week, he and the state board don’t yet see eye-to-eye on his civics bill, and there may be some “turf issues.”

Here’s a sampling of some of the questions on the Citizenship Test. See how well you know our country and the federal government. Hopefully, and seriously... you should know all the answers to these 10 questions.

1) Why does the U.S. flag have 13 stripes?

2) Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?

3) The House of Representatives has how many voting members?

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

5) Name two rights in the Declaration of Independence.

6) Name at least one American Indian tribe in the United States.

7) Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

8) Name one problem that led to the Civil War.

9) What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

10) During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States?