SB 1404 would require that 8th graders in Arizona pass a United States civics exam in order to move on to the next grade. My first reaction was that it would never pass the Parliament.
Sorry, that was a bad joke. Still this is interesting. The test will be the same one required by immigrants to become American citizens (the questions are listed at the bottom of the article).
I realize that there is a seemingly ongoing debate about testing in schools, whether it’s regarding the effectiveness of tests results vs. being educated or the potential pitfalls of the construct of the tests themselves. Still, if you read these questions I do not believe this is an overly burdensome test of 8th graders.
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I read the article and some of the selected questions that would be included on the test. I have to say that I think standardized testing is burdensome and it's getting a little out of hand but these questions should be common knowledge for all US Citizens. I think it is completely reasonable to ask 8th graders to take a test on these topics. Something else I read in the article that I don't agree with is the "experimental year" so that they can analyze the failure rate? So if they have a lot of students failing the test they will either get rid of it or manipulate it so that the students will pass? I think that's absolutely ridiculous! Just like I thought the "experimental stages" of the AIMS test was ridiculous. Regardless of what happens I think all US citizens need to have a better understanding of how our country works and how we got to be where we are today.
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