Arizona has become the first state on the road to a great goal–mandating passage of a civics examination as part of high school graduation requirements.
When one realizes that the majority of Americans do not know the names of the three branches of government; who the Vice President of the United States is; the dates of the American Revolution and Civil War; how a bill becomes law; the significance of the Supreme Court; the major laws passed in American history; knowledge of the most important Presidents of the United States; the main points and ideas of the Constitution of the United States; what our basic civil liberties are in the Bill of Rights; and the American involvement in wars throughout our history, it is clear that we must mandate civics education as part of a basic knowledge base is essential,
There is a movement on to have all states adopt the standards set by Arizona, and accomplish this by 2017, the 230th anniversary of the Constitutional Convention. And it is not as if the standard is too difficult, as, at least in Arizona, only 60 percent of 100 questions are needed to pass and graduate.
The test is based on the citizenship exam given annually to immigrants, and it is not too much to expect those born in this nation to be required to prove they have the knowledge level of those immigrants who have worked so hard to become citizens!