2025 civics test — practice test 6

The last of six practice tests on the official USCIS 2025 civics bank. Twenty questions, twelve to pass. With the five before it, this test completes coverage of every question in the bank whose answer does not change — 120 of the 128.

It opens with the federal system, and does it by contrast. Two questions sit side by side: which powers belong only to the federal government, and which belong only to the states. Printing money, minting coins, declaring war, raising an army, making treaties, setting foreign policy — federal, all of them. Driving licences, schooling, police and fire protection, zoning and land use — state. The two questions share each other's options on purpose, because the boundary is easier to hold in mind as a line than as two separate lists. A useful rule of thumb falls out of it: anything to do with war, money or other countries is federal; anything you deal with at a local office is not.

Then the Supreme Court's life tenure, and the reason for it. A judge who cannot be removed for an unpopular ruling can decide a case on the law rather than on what the president, Congress or the voters want. It is the only federal office with no fixed term at all, and that is the whole point.

The history in this test is the most recent in the bank, and the questions come in pairs that are easy to cross-wire. Korea and Vietnam share one answer: stopping the spread of communism. The Persian Gulf War has a different one entirely — driving the Iraqi army out of Kuwait, after the Cold War had already ended. September 11 is followed by the question of what came after it: Afghanistan, Iraq, the War on Terror, and not the earlier conflicts that crowd the options.

The final four questions are the national holidays, and they end on the pair the bank most reliably catches people with. Memorial Day honours those who died in military service. Veterans Day honours everyone who has served, living and dead. Both are asked, separately, and each one's answer appears among the other's wrong options — get them the right way round here and you will not lose the mark in the interview.

Also here: Madison as Father of the Constitution and Hamilton as first Secretary of the Treasury, where the wrong answers are almost always the other founders; the Selective Service, which is a legal obligation rather than a step towards any document; Martin Luther King and what the civil rights movement actually achieved; American Indian tribes; and American innovations, from the light bulb to the integrated circuit.

The eight questions whose answers change with an election or with your state are excluded here and handled separately in this track.

The questions and accepted answers come from the official USCIS bank, a work of the United States government. The practice format, the wrong options and the explanations are Zestly's own.

• Sort powers into federal-only and state-only, and apply the rule of thumb that war, money and foreign affairs are always federal
• Say how long Supreme Court justices serve and give the official reason for it
• Keep Memorial Day and Veterans Day apart — who each one honours
• Attach the right reason to Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War, and name a conflict that followed September 11
• Identify Madison and Hamilton by their real achievements rather than by the other founders'
• Name an American Indian tribe, an American innovation and a national U.S. holiday from the official lists
• State why registering for the Selective Service matters, without confusing it with voting or documents

From the official USCIS 2025 civics question bank: "Name one power that is only for the federal government. — Print paper money; Mint coins; Declare war; Create an army; Make treaties; Set foreign policy." "Name one power that is only for the states. — Provide schooling and education; Provide protection (police); Provide safety (fire departments); Give a driver's license; Approve zoning and land use." "Supreme Court justices serve for life. Why? — To be independent (of politics); To limit outside (political) influence." "What is Memorial Day? — A holiday to honor soldiers who died in military service." "What is Veterans Day? — A holiday to honor people in the (U.S.) military; A holiday to honor people who have served (in the U.S. military)." "Name three national U.S. holidays. — New Year's Day; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; Presidents Day; Memorial Day; Juneteenth; Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day; Veterans Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Day."