The U.S. Government will implement major changes in their citizenship exam.  The Associated Press reports that the changes will rely less on trivia and American history, and more on the applicant’s grasp of American democracy.  Currently, the test asks questions on historical facts and American symbols, such as the colors of the U.S. flag.  The new exam will focus specifically on the Bill of Rights and the meaning of democracy.  

"The idea is not to toss up roadblocks, it's to make sure people who apply for citizenship and want to become citizens understand and adhere to the values we have as a society, the values that are part of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights," said Shawn Saucier, spokesman for the Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The current exam doesn't guarantee knowledge of those values, Saucier said. A person may know which state was the 49th to be added to the union, for example, but not understand voting rights, he said.

The new exam will be given to volunteers beginning this winter in Albany , New York ; Boston , Massachusetts ; Charleston , South Carolina ; Denver , Colorado ; El Paso , Texas ; Kansas City , Missouri ; Miami , Florida ; San Antonio , Texas ; Tucson , Arizona ; and Yakima , Washington .  During the pilot, officials hope to work out any problems with the test and refine the exam. The revised test will be given to all applicants for naturalization beginning in 2008.

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According to survey released by the Institute of International Education , the number of foreign student coming to the U.S. grew this year, after years of decline that followed the September 11 attacks in 2001.  According to estimates, the number of new international students at American colleges and universities increased 8 percent this fall over last, to 142,923.  Allan E. Goodman, president of the Institute, said the State Department issued a record 591,050 student and exchange visas in the 12 months ending in September, a 14 percent increase over the previous year and 6 percent more than in the year leading up to the 2001 attacks.  

Dr. Goodman attributed the increase to the lax visa restrictions imposed after the terrorist attacks and greater efforts made by American colleges to attract foreign students.  "We’ve been worried for three years that there would be a slow and steady decline in the number of international students studying here," Dr. Goodman said.  "But it looks like that decline is ending."