Jackee Coe

The Republic | azcentral.com

Legislators announced a plan to require high school students to pass a 100-question civics test to graduate

Backers of the proposal say studies have found that less than a quarter of Arizona high school students pass the federal civics test

The plan would allow students to take the test as many times as necessary to pass

All high-school students in Arizona would be required to pass the same 100-question civics test required for U.S. citizenship to graduate under a proposal from a state lawmaker.

State Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park, announced the plan Wednesday that he said would ensure that all Arizona high-school graduates have a basic understanding of civics.

Montenegro is working with other state legislators and officials from the Civics Education Initiative, part of the Civics Proficiency Institute, to craft legislation for the requirement.

"Every single student in Arizona and across the United States of America should have basic knowledge and understanding of American government. Civics is just common sense. So, this Civics Education Initiative ... is a common-sense approach at achieving that goal," Montenegrosaid at a press conference with supporters of the proposal,including Rep. John Allen, R-Scottsdale, and Jay Lawrence, representative-elect for District 23.

Any legislation can't be formally introduced until the Legislature reconvenes in January.

Lucian Spataro, president and CEO of the Joe Foss Institute, another civics organization affiliated with the initiative, cited a study from the Pew Research Center that found that only about a third of Americans can name the three branches of government.

Other studies, he said, found that less than a quarter of high-school students in Arizona and Oklahoma passed the U.S. Citizenship Civics Test.

The initiative is intended to bring a renewed focus on civics in education, said Sam Stone, national campaign manager for the Civics Education Initiative.

"This a first step to increasing civics education in schools, renewing the importance and focus on civics," he said.

Backers said there shouldn't be additional costs associated with the requirement because it would use the existing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services test, which already is available for free online.

The legislation also would allow schools to determine how to administer the test. Students could take the test at any time in high school and as many times as necessary to pass.

Teachers already teach the history and government content covered in the test, Spataro said, so the legislation would not add to teachers' burden or take time away from teaching other subjects.

Spataro said education has shifted away from civics with the growing emphasis on math and science, a change he called a "very troubling problem."

"Civics, social studies and history are being boxed out of the classroom to some extent, and what we have is a very narrow curriculum right now focused on science, technology, engineering and math —which is really important stuff but not so important that you don't need to learn how to run the country or learn how the country operates," he said.

Montenegro said he immigrated to the U.S. when he was 5, and though he was too young at 12 years old to take the test when his family was going through the naturalization process, he helped his parents study.

The test is "not rocket science," he said, and covers basic questions of government — things that he said are crucial for people to know.

"If we as a people don't know where our fundamental rights come from, where that authority comes from, it's easier to be led astray, led away, misled," he said. "What we want is to help people engage in society."

Legislators announced a plan to require high-school students to pass a 100-question civics test to graduate

Backers of the proposal say studies have found that less than a quarter of Arizona high-school students pass the federal civics test

The plan would allow students to take the test as many times as necessary to pass

Can you pass the U.S. citizenship test?