Tennessee Teenagers Could be Required to Know as Much About America as Immigrants Seeking Citizenship

If high school seniors in Tennessee want a high school diploma, they could be required to understand the Constitution and U.S. history at least as well as legal immigrants seeking citizenship, under a proposal to be considered by the state legislature this year.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, left, poses for photo with Hannah Wilson as other students wait their turn after he spoke Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014 at Red Bank High School in Red Bank, Tenn. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Angela Lewis Foster)

Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, a Republican, introduced legislation to require the state's students to answer 60 out of 100 questions correctly on a civics test if they are to receive a high school diploma, News Channel 5 in Nashville reported. The test would be modeled after the U.S. citizenship test that immigrants take.

Because of McCormick’s leadership position, he has the ability to push legislation through the House. The state legislature convenes on Jan. 13.

When interviewing random people about questions on the test, News Channel 5 found that many adults didn’t know some basic questions about the Constitution, such as: what are the first three words of the document, and how many amendments does the Constitution have.

Because of the difficulty for some adults long out of high school, one person suggested that state lawmakers pass the test before they force high school seniors to do so. Another man told News Channel 5, “You know, it's good that people know it, because you know I'm not up on it, but kids studying history and civics in school you'd think at least they'd know it then.”