Most In U.S. Could Not Pass The Citizenship Test

The map above is from Axios.com.

The map shows the percentage of citizens in each state that would pass the citizenship test required of immigrants to get their citizenship. Between November 14th of 2018 and January 3rd of 2019, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation questioned 41,000 adults nationwide, and the margin of error of their survey was 1 point.

They used 20 history-specific questions from practice tests given to immigrants to prepare for their citizenship test. The shocking results are in the chart above. Note that only one state (Vermont) had a majority of their residents receiving a passing grade (at least a D). The other 49 states had less than a majority receiving a passing grade.

That's very disappointing.

Here's some of what they found:

It suggests most Americans can't live up to the standards we set for people applying to be U.S. citizens — and we set those standards because we expect Americans to be informed and engaged. Only four out of 10 Americans would have passed the test, and just 27% of those under age 45.

By the numbers: A few highlights from the survey, conducted for the foundation by Lincoln Park Strategies:

• People did relatively well on the most basic questions. Seven out of 10 knew that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and that Franklin Roosevelt was president during World War II.
• But only 43% knew that Woodrow Wilson was president during World War I (nearly one out of four thought it was Roosevelt), and only 56% knew which countries we fought in World War II.
• Fewer than a third could correctly name three of the original states.
• More than six out of 10 incorrectly thought the Constitution was written in 1776. (It wasn't written until 1787.)
• Nearly four out of 10 thought Benjamin Franklin invented the light bulb.