I wasn't totally opposed to the idea of a test, and I actually found the information in the study guide the Home Office produced to be quite helpful--for instance, how do GCSE's work? What does the Citizens Advice Bureau do? etc. The format of the test itself though was ridiculous. I spent forever studying for a glorified pub quiz. How in the world does it make me a better citizen to remember that in exactly 1858 women gained the right to seek a divorce?
I prepared hard and was feeling relatively confident until I actually took my test. The one thing nobody had prepared me for, so I'll share it here, was the huge number of questions I got about Wales. I knew I had to know Wales-specific stuff and felt confident, but there were quite a few Wales questions on my test that did not appear anywhere on any practice exams. So for those living outside of England, be warned, learn everything mentioned about your own country, even if you have no reason to believe it will be on the test and even if it only constitutes a line or two in the book.
Luckily, I did still pass, but I suspect it was close.
