Possible Citizenship Test For MO High Schools

A proposal to require high school students to pass a test used for immigrants applying for citizenship is receiving support from some former Missouri officials. Former Governor Bob Holden and other political leaders believe the test is necessary to educate students on democracy. A study conducted by a conservative organization in Oklahoma found less than 3 percent of high school students could pass the citizenship test in that state. Backers of the civics education initiative say data on how Missouri students would do is not available. Under the proposal, Missouri high school students would have to correctly answer at least 60 percent of the citizenship questions in order to graduate.