SouthFlorida.com | Teen Link South Florida

Nobody likes a test.

A test usually means having to study, having to work more than usual, having to expend extra energy to do well and pass.

Tests are not supposed to be easy.

Nobody likes a test, but we have them, and they remain necessary.

So why should a test that determines whether a person be granted citizenship to one of the world's most wealthy, most free and most sought-after nations be any different?

In October, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will launch its new citizenship test after seven years and $6.5 million worth of effort.

According to USCIS, this new test will emphasize "the fundamental concepts of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and will help encourage citizenship applicants to learn and identify with the basic values we all share as Americans."

The current U.S. citizenship test asks questions such as, "What are the colors of the American flag?" and "What is the Constitution?" The revised test asks, "What do the stars and stripes represent?" and "What does the Constitution do?"

Contrary to the initial reactions of many, USCIS claims this revised exam will not be much more difficult than the current one.

By focusing on central themes and underlying principles rather than mere civics trivia, the USCIS, with a team of historians, immigration and government experts, and English as a Second Language instructors, has finally made a step in the right direction.

They've created a test with a clear and logical purpose, and if we're going to administer a test at all, those qualities are reassuring.

Becoming an American isn't about filling out paperwork and paying fees, and it certainly shouldn't be about memorizing useless factoids and parroting them back on test day.

The new naturalization test is a crash course on civic duty, fundamental rights and what it really means to be American.

If hopefuls have to study a little harder to pass, at least they'll be better for it.