Monday, July 02, 2012
Citizen Kane?
How difficult is it to becone a citizen of this country. Well, if this sample test is anything to go by, it is very hard indeed. I have just taken it and got 15 out of 24, which is a fail.
To be fair the questions I fell down on were quantitive and obscure historical ones such as when women got the right to divorce their husband, and the number of children and young people in the UK under the age of 19.
And who knew that information in the census is kept secret for 100 years? Is that actually right? It does not sound correct. Perhaps if I had studied for the test.
No wonder the Home Secretary is reviewing the questions.
Update: my confusion around the census seems to revolve around the type of information that is available. Individual data is clearly not published for 100 years, however general statistical trends are available within a few years of the census, including population, birth rates, religious preferences etc. This information is fed into government funding formulas and policies.
To be fair the questions I fell down on were quantitive and obscure historical ones such as when women got the right to divorce their husband, and the number of children and young people in the UK under the age of 19.
And who knew that information in the census is kept secret for 100 years? Is that actually right? It does not sound correct. Perhaps if I had studied for the test.
No wonder the Home Secretary is reviewing the questions.
Update: my confusion around the census seems to revolve around the type of information that is available. Individual data is clearly not published for 100 years, however general statistical trends are available within a few years of the census, including population, birth rates, religious preferences etc. This information is fed into government funding formulas and policies.
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Passed (18/24) but as a fairly well-educated UK-born UK citizen - if someone like myself can't get all these right then some of these questions seem downright inappropriate and deliberately designed to induce failure
# posted by 
: 9:58 AM
: 9:58 AM
14/24 (failed). The question on prescriptions though is wrong (everyone in Wales gets free prescriptions) and demonstrates the Anglocentricity of the test.
# posted by : 12:50 PM
: 12:50 PM
Actually there are two other questions that are factually wrong including the number of MPs in the House of Commons, which is 650.
In which TWO of the following places does the European Parliament meet?
A. London
B. Strasbourg
C. Paris
In which year did married women get the right to divorce their husband?
In Wales the answer tothis is 'in the 10th century' until it was taken away by our more enlightened conquerors.
A. London
B. Strasbourg
C. Paris
In which year did married women get the right to divorce their husband?
In Wales the answer tothis is 'in the 10th century' until it was taken away by our more enlightened conquerors.
# posted by : 4:36 PM
: 4:36 PM
Have any of you actually sat a citizenship test? Any of you realize that the questions are essentially memory questions which are recited over and over again in classes that prepare sitters to pass the test first time. Duh.
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# posted by : 5:43 PM
: 5:43 PM<< Home
