Not a Bad Idea

From John Stossel:

Immigrants seeking to become U.S. citizens have to pass a test. It’s not that hard a test. 92.4% of new immigrants pass on first try. The test includes simple questions like “Who was the first President?” and “How many justices are on the Supreme Court?”

But a new Goldwater Institute study finds that only 3.5% of surveyed public high school students could answer enough questions correctly to pass the citizenship test.

USA Today profiled the Goldwater study and suggested:

Why not make the 100-question citizenship test part of the high school curriculum, and passage a graduation requirement?(links in original)

It really is not a bad idea.

See, we have been told over and over by the education establishment that the purpose of a high school diploma is to prepare our young people to be effective, contributing members of society. I accept that as a good reason among others, for a high school diploma. But one of the "rights" that comes along with attaining the age of 18 in this country is the same right that immigrants looking to become naturalized citizens seek--the right to vote.

It seems that in order to graduate from high school, our young people should demonstrate a basic understanding of our history and political system. After all with rights come responsibilities, including the responsibility to know a little bit about the country of which you are a citizen.