By Meagan Ginnaty-Moore, staff writer
Under a new bill introduced by Rep. James Edming, (R-Glen Flora), and passed into law by the Legislature, students will now have to take and pass a civics test to graduate high school.
The test takes after the Naturalization Test used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and will be 100 questions long. Sixty out of 100 re-sponses need to be correct to pass and the test can be taken multiple times. The district can choose how and when the test is administered. This new requirement will start with the graduating class of 2017.
Marla Day, a government teacher at Indian Trail, offers advice for students taking the test. She said that students will have to recall basic government knowledge.
“If they know key presidents, events, and the basics of the constitution, they will be fine,” Day said. Day also says that students can look online for practice tests or focus their study on Articles I, II, and III, and amendments that are prominent in our society today.
Che Kearby, a coordinator of educator effectiveness and social studies for the Kenosha Unified School District, and others are working on a 100-question multiple choice test that is to be taken in government classes across the district. Kearby hopes to start the tests in November.
“This isn’t a requirement until next year, but we have many current juniors taking government and politics classes, and the reality is that this may be the last time they are taking a government class. So we really need to address them now.” said Kearby in an interview with the Kenosha News.
Students feel that taking the test during junior year would be overwhelming.
Daisy Ruiz, Indian Trail junior, said that taking a final, the ACT, advanced placement tests, and now a civics test would be too many important tests in one year, and she doesn’t see the relevance.
“[I don’t see the importance] because we are already taking a government class,” said Ruiz. Jayden Foster, IT junior, suggests replacing the government final with the civics test.
Other students say that the test could help young people become informed citizens. Kristin Holden, another IT junior, said that the test could be a big motivation for young people to learn more about government and politics.