American Canyon Eagle-ACHS students pitch ideas to Congressman Thompson

Presented with the opportunity to pitch an idea to their local congressman, students at American Canyon High School picked a hot topic: Should students be required to pass a civics test to graduate.

The plan was crafted as part of a government assignment in Tom Stolberg's class. He had two groups of students prepare briefing papers that were presented to Congressman Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, who visited the class last week.

The other proposal presented to Thompson focused on ways to help improve employment opportunities and money management skills for young people.

The civics test plan, however, was particularly timely. It was only last month that Arizona became the first state in the nation to require all high school seniors to take and pass a test to demonstrate proficiency in American government and history.

The Arizona law mandates students take the same test administered to immigrants seeking to become citizens. That test features 100 questions on U.S. government and history. Students will have to get 60 of the questions correct in order to graduate.

ACHS freshmen Caleb Bertuman, Jaylynn DelRosario, William Trang and Johnell Amoroso liked this idea and told Thompson that they believe students everywhere, including those in California, should also take the test.

"There needs to be a way where all the citizens of the United States know the laws of their country," the students wrote in their position paper. "That is why there needs to be a law, where seniors in high school have to pass the Citizenship Test in order to graduate."

To back up their argument, they included a survey conducted by the Center for the Study of the American Dream at Xavier University that showed about a third of citizens would fail the civics portion of the immigration test.

"The most commonly missed questions included how our government works and functions, and also the powers shared between the federal and state governments," the students wrote.

Thompson agreed that too many Americans lack a strong understanding of their government, and he finds it particularly upsetting when people don't even know the most important elected official in the country.

"Nothing angers me more," he told the students, "when people don't know who the president is. It's terrible."

Thompson said he liked the students' proposal and thinks it's "a good idea" for students to take such a test.

However, he added that because education policy is largely handled at lower levels of government, "This is a state issues, not a federal issue."

He encouraged the students to take up the matter with ACHS teachers and administers. "Start right here, say, ‘Let's do this,'" he said, while informing them that unless the California legislature adopts a law requiring a civics test for graduation, the exam could only be taken voluntarily for the time being.

Lawmakers in Sacramento have not introduced legislation on this matter. But legislators in at least 15 other states have followed Arizona's lead and are discussing their own plans for a test linking graduation to a civics exam.

Thompson praised the students for their work, as well as those who crafted a plan calling for schools to offer financial and job-related instruction to help teens better prepare for the working world once they finish school.

Freshmen Emily Marcelo, Hannah Washburn, Heather Kapphan and Elizabeth Kone said too many students leave high school without sufficient skills for managing money or how to properly apply for work.

"Our suggested plan of action is to introduce existing programs, such as the YEOP [Youth Employment Opportunity Program] or Money Management International, into current school curriculum," they wrote in their proposal. "Another possible solution would be to encourage schools to create a course that demonstrates the basic techniques and methods needed in order to lead a prosperous life."

Such instruction "would include creating a professional résumé, preparing for job interviews, opening a bank account, and helping them decide which job is best for them," they added.

Thompson recommended the students contact the state Employment Development Department, which operates YEOP, for more assistance and to contact local chambers of commerce to develop job boards geared towards youth employment.