Where do I send back my passport?
Aug. 3rd, 2009 11:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
major_clangerOops. Despite having lived in the UK for all of my forty years, and not only possessing a law degree but having been called to the Bar, I scored only 54% on the Practice UK Citizenship Test. It looks like I'll be joining several of my friends on the boat out.
But..but... this test sucks. I mean it - I have had some training and experience in writing multiple-choice tests, and this one is an absolutely awful example of one of those. Many of the questions (such as the one on how many children there are in the UK) give four very similar answers, any one of which fall within the level of accuracy of knowledge one might reasonably expect (i.e. 'about 20-25% of the total population' for that particular question).
Other questions were wrong. I've filled out a metric shitload of job applications recently, and I was asked for my NI Number far more often than a CV. (Many employers have tailored application forms and expressly do not want CVs.) Some want information that is frankly of historical interest only, such as the exact year when women gained the right to divorce. (That they did, and relatively recently, is important - but surely it's enough to know that it was around 150 years ago, rather than say between the Wars or when the Bill of Rights was enacted.)
And then there were questions that required an exactly correct answer. I've studied EU law as part of my legal training and recently did a major pro bono project that involved me going over documents from the various major organs of the Union. And I managed to get 'Council of Europe' rather than 'Council of the European Union' as the final answer.
This test is not, to use a favourite phrase of our Government, Fit For Purpose.
But..but... this test sucks. I mean it - I have had some training and experience in writing multiple-choice tests, and this one is an absolutely awful example of one of those. Many of the questions (such as the one on how many children there are in the UK) give four very similar answers, any one of which fall within the level of accuracy of knowledge one might reasonably expect (i.e. 'about 20-25% of the total population' for that particular question).
Other questions were wrong. I've filled out a metric shitload of job applications recently, and I was asked for my NI Number far more often than a CV. (Many employers have tailored application forms and expressly do not want CVs.) Some want information that is frankly of historical interest only, such as the exact year when women gained the right to divorce. (That they did, and relatively recently, is important - but surely it's enough to know that it was around 150 years ago, rather than say between the Wars or when the Bill of Rights was enacted.)
And then there were questions that required an exactly correct answer. I've studied EU law as part of my legal training and recently did a major pro bono project that involved me going over documents from the various major organs of the Union. And I managed to get 'Council of Europe' rather than 'Council of the European Union' as the final answer.
This test is not, to use a favourite phrase of our Government, Fit For Purpose.
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no subject
Date: 2009-08-04 07:43 pm (UTC)Incidentally, last year I was stung by another aspect of this mania for citizenship. My employer (of nine years) announced that they had to see documentary proof within a couple of days that all employees were entitled to work in the UK. I can't imagine they came up with this independently - it must have been in response to some official demand. The only forms of ID that were acceptable for a UK citizen were a valid UK passport, a full photographic driving license with all the supporting paperwork (not just the card), or a long-form birth certificate.
I can't drive, my passport lapsed before Alex was born, and my parents only got me a short birth certificate. There was much flapping when I explained the problem. I did apply for a long birth certificate, which duly arrived and was accepted as proof. Why this is proof of anything is a mystery to me, as anyone can apply for a copy of anyone's birth certificate. Ain't bureaucracy fun?