Yes, and it should test more than just a basic level of understanding

Nope. Most Americans don't have a basic understanding. Why would we expect more from someone else than we do ourselves?

As a former US History teacher, I can guarantee you that most students would not pass this test without studying. Hell, most Americans could not pass this test right now. Do I think that US History is important and everyone (who lives here) should know at least some of it? Yes, absolutely. But most Americans are wildly undereducation in all social studies because of the intention underfunding of education and the recent attack on what's taught in the classroom. In fact, my best student one year was a German exchange student. Not only did she get a 100 in the class, she contributed so much to conversations and got nearly a perfect score on the state testing. I had 6 students not pass that year (passing score is 40%) out of my almost 200.