opinion

Got civics? Try this test our leaders refused to take

The invitations, all 92 of them, went out on Tuesday.

A sincere offer by two Peoria teachers to give Gov. Doug Ducey, state Superintendent Diane Douglas and members of the Arizona Legislature a glimpse of what Arizona's high school students are learning about civics.

Rob Coombs and Adam West, government teachers at Liberty High School, came down to the Capitol on Thursday to offer what they're calling the Liberty Civics Challenge.

Oh, it's no match to Arizona's newest graduation requirement: the U.S. citizenship test.

Instead, it's a challenging set of questions aimed at ensuring that students are not just memorizing famous names and key dates in history but understanding fundamental concepts about this country – about our rights and our responsibilities.

"(We) would like to talk to as many of you as possible about this law and to 'test' you on some of the questions we give our students in class," the invitation said. "I'm sure you will find the level of difficulty much higher than the citizenship test. Our purpose is not to 'call you out' (especially those of you who voted for this law) or to embarrass you if you don't know the answers. It is to give you a better understanding of what is going on in school districts across the state when it comes to American and Arizona history and government."

We've taken 10 of their questions, turned them into a multiple-choice quiz, and posted it. See how you do:



(Or scroll on below for the rest of the story.)

So there they stood for three hours on Thursday, in the courtyard between the House and the Senate. They looked kind of lonely when I walked up.

Of the 92 elected officials who were invited to come take the challenge and chat with civics teachers about civics education in our schools, can you guess how many stopped by to talk to Coombs and West?

Not one.

A few lobbyists who were walking by tried a few sample questions. "They didn't do that well," West told me.

Former state Superintendent Lisa Graham Keegan, who advises Ducey on education issues, stopped to chat but wouldn't take the test.

Former Secretary of State Ken Bennett took it and aced it.

A few legislators walked by, but Coombs and West might as well have been those guys who stand at intersections, holding signs that say, "homeless and hungry."

Yeah, that invisible.

Because they had time, the teachers gave a sample of Arizona's new high school graduation test to a passing group of fourth graders, there on a field trip.

"They did great," Coombs told me.

Coombs and West weren't looking to embarrass anyone who couldn't pass the Liberty Civics Challenge. It wasn't about calling out our leaders but about calling on them to take a closer look at what Arizona schools are doing and why the state's newest graduation requirement is unnecessary.

Coombs just shook his head.

"What do they have to fear? Knowledge?"