Citizenship Test Gets Overhaul

The government yesterday unveiled its new citizenship test, which puts less emphasis on memorization of facts and more on analysis. To become naturalized, it's no longer enough for applicants to know how many stars or stripes are on the flag, but they may need to ID a constitutional amendment that addresses voting rights, the LA Times reports.

The test "genuinely captures the applicant's knowledge of what it is he's about ready to be, a United States citizen," said the head of Citizenship and Immigration Services. It consists of 10 questions from the newly released list of 100; applicants must correctly answer six to pass. The revamped exam goes into effect next October. (More Citizenship and Immigration Services stories.)