Make Elementary School Great Again

It’s not too much for states to expect students to pass the U.S. Citizenship Test. But high school is too late.

Answer these questions without Googling them:

· What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?

· What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

· Who was the first President of the United States?

· What ocean is on the west coast of the U.S.?

· Name one branch of government.

Not hard, are they? These are a representative few of the 100 questions on the U.S. Citizenship Test. Immigrants must answer six out of ten correctly to become citizens. It’s not an esoteric academic exercise—it is a straightforward test of basic knowledge about the country’s government, history, geography, and democratic principles.

By now it has become a bromide (and in some quarters a sore point) to note that a substantial number of Americans graduate high school without being able to demonstrate this kind of rock-bottom grasp of civics and history that answering these questions require, and which would-be citizens handle with ease. At the end of January, Iowa governor Kim Reynolds introduced a bill that would require high school students to pass the citizenship test to graduate; if it passes Iowa would become the 14th state to adopt such a measure. Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for governor in Ohio, became the latest in a long line of public figures to draw attention to this glaring civic knowledge gap. “Every high school senior should pass the same civics test that we require of every naturalized citizen,” he posted to X. “This shouldn’t be controversial.”

He’s right; it shouldn’t. But it also shouldn’t be necessary. If 17-year-olds are cramming to memorize basic facts at the last-minute requirement to meet a graduation requirement, they’ve already missed the boat. My earnest recommendation for Iowa and other states who want to raise the civics IQ of their students should be to start much earlier. The U.S. Citizenship Test should be well within the grasp of children attending an elementary school committed to a knowledge-rich curriculum–and with handsome dividends for literacy in addition to civics and citizenship.

To demonstrate just how basic is the knowledge needed to pass, I uploaded the 100 questions on the U.S. Citizenship exam and the Core Knowledge Sequence to ChatGPT for a side-by-side comparison. (See the table below.) First developed by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., and the Core Knowledge Foundation in 1988 and most recently revised in 2023, the Core Knowledge Sequence is intended to describe the elements of a coherent, sequenced, knowledge-rich PK-8th grade curriculum across academic disciplines, which, when thoughtfully implemented, builds a strong foundation in history, civics, science, literature, and the arts. Rooted in the idea that knowledge is essential for literacy—and literacy for engaged citizenship—the Sequence seeks to ensure that schools are prepared to arm students with the background information necessary to comprehend complex texts and participate meaningfully in democratic life.

Comparing the two documents shows that many of the topics needed to pass the Citizenship Test are recommended in the Sequence’s for first graders, with 75% included by the fifth grade:

I. Principles of American Democracy (Questions 1–12 on the U.S. Citizenship Test)
Core Knowledge introduces concepts such as the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and democratic principles by Grade 2. By Grade 5, students have a firm grasp of self-government, checks and balances, and individual rights—aligning closely with questions on the Citizenship Test.

II. System of Government (Questions 13–47)
By Grade 3, students learn about the three branches of government, the legislative process, and the role of the President. More advanced topics like federal vs. state power, Supreme Court justices, and election processes appear in Grades 4-6.

III. Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens (Questions 48–57)
Core Knowledge covers the First Amendment, voting rights, and responsibilities of citizenship in Grade 3, reinforcing them throughout middle school. This aligns directly with questions regarding freedoms, voting, and civic duties on the Citizenship Test.

IV. American History: Colonial Period and Independence (Questions 58–70)
Students study early American history starting in Grade 1, with more depth added in Grades 4-5. The events of the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, and the founding of the U.S. government are covered extensively, preparing students to answer Citizenship Test questions on these topics.

V. The 1800s and the Civil War (Questions 71–80)
Core Knowledge introduces the Civil War and Reconstruction in Grade 5, covering key events like the abolition of slavery, the role of Abraham Lincoln, and the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation.

VI. Recent American History and Other Important Historical Information (Questions 81–100) Twentieth-century history, including both World Wars, the Cold War, and Civil Rights, is introduced in Grades 6-8, aligning well with the later questions on the Citizenship Test.

Strengths and Gaps

By the end of elementary school, students in a school that’s adopted a Core Knowledge curriculum and implements it with fidelity will have encountered nearly all the historical and governmental concepts necessary to succeed on the test. However, there are some missing pieces. Current government figures, like the Speaker of the House or state officials, are not explicitly covered. Additionally, questions about Selective Service registration and certain geographic details, such as U.S. territories and bordering states, receive less emphasis.

Despite these minor gaps, the alignment between the Core Knowledge Sequence and the Citizenship Test is remarkably strong. Students in elementary school using it would likely be able to answer about 75-85% of the test’s 100 questions correctly (see below for detailed comparison). Given the actual Citizenship Test’s format, where test-takers need to answer only six out of ten randomly selected questions correctly, a Core Knowledge student would almost certainly meet the passing threshold with ease.

Academics and scholars who study and advocate for civic education tend to sniff at making the Citizenship Test a graduation requirement, viewing it as a meaningless exercise in rote memorization or a distraction from meatier curricular fare. It’s less commonly observed that if a student reaches the end of their K-12 education without command of these basic facts, something has gone awry. The knowledge accumulated over years of systematic instruction should serve as an effective preparation, making the test less an obstacle and more an affirmation of what has already been learned.

This is not the case at present. Studies have consistently shown that naturalized citizens outperform native-born Americans on the civics test. A 2018 survey by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars found that only 36% of native-born Americans could pass the Citizenship Test, compared to 91% of immigrants seeking naturalization. Six years earlier, Xavier University’s Center for the Study of the American Dream found similar results in a survey of over 1,000 native-born American adults. The disparity underscores a deep failure in civics education in American schools, where fundamental knowledge about democracy, governance, and history is clearly neglected.

A few years ago, recognizing the gap in civics education, Arizona’s Joe Foss Institute successfully pushed more than a dozen states to make passing the U.S. Citizenship Test a requirement for high school graduation (it’s unclear, however, whether any student has ever been denied a diploma for failing the exam or whether those states are rigorously implementing it). In some states, students are supposed to pass with a minimum score; in others, simply taking the test is enough. Either way, making high school students scramble to learn what they should have been taught in elementary school is a remediation effort, not an indicator of educational success.

If states see value in students taking and passing the U.S. Citizenship Test, it should be administered in 5th grade—8th grade at the very latest—when there's still time for it to send a powerful instructional signal about what we expect: that every student-citizen should know, share, and value the basic principles of our system of government and that every school show at least a minimal commitment to civic education. Again, it’s not a high bar. Moving the test to elementary school would also demonstrate a renewed commitment to what should have been there all along—a coherent, content-rich elementary school curriculum.

Let’s make elementary school great again. Give kids the knowledge they need when they need it—early, often, and unapologetically. The dividends will be measured not just in civics scores, but in literacy, citizenship, and the long-term health of the republic.

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Appendix:

I. Principles of American Democracy (Questions 1–12)

These questions cover the Constitution, Bill of Rights, rule of law, and democracy.

Expected Performance: Strong. Core Knowledge students should be able to answer these well by Grade 5.

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II. System of Government (Questions 13–47)

This section focuses on the branches of government, checks and balances, elections, and representation.

Expected Performance: Strong on government structure and powers (Grade 3), but weaker on current political figures unless reviewed.

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III. American History (Questions 48–100)

This section covers colonial history, independence, the Civil War, and modern events.

• Colonial & Revolutionary War: Grades 1, 4, 5

• Constitutional Convention: Grade 4

• The Civil War & Lincoln: Grade 5

• 20th Century & WWII: Grades 6-8

• Civil Rights & Modern History: Grades 7-8

Expected Performance: Strong for early U.S. history, but contemporary topics require upper-grade coverage.

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Conclusion: How Well Would a Core Knowledge Student Do?

1. Grades 1–3 → Basic Civics & Founding Documents → ~50% of test topics covered.

2. Grades 4–5 → More detailed history & government functions → ~75% of topics covered.

3. Grades 6–8 → Full coverage, including modern history & global events → Nearly 100% coverage.

A well-taught Core Knowledge student in Grade 5+ could likely pass the Citizenship Test with ease. Minor gaps in current events and recent history could be addressed with a focused civics review.

Credit: coreknowledge.org