Redesigned Citizenship Test

Redesigned New Citizenship Test

In the interest of creating a more standardized, fair, and meaningful Citizenship and naturalization process, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently completed a multi-year redesign of the Citizenship test. The revised test, with an emphasis on the fundamental concepts of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, will help encourage citizenship applicants to learn and identify with the basic values we all share as Americans.

Background
Over the past decade, several in-depth studies of the Citizenship and naturalization test revealed concerns with the test’s content, how the test was being administered, and how it was being scored. To address these concerns, the federal government launched a test redesign in 2000. In April 2005, the USCIS Office of Citizenship took over responsibility for this redesign. A panel of adult education experts affiliated with Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), U.S. history and government scholars, expert test development contractors, and other external stakeholders provided input into the redesign.

Redesign Citizenship Test Process
The major aim of the redesign Citizenship Test process is to ensure that Citizenship applicants have uniform, consistent testing experiences nationwide, and that the civics test can effectively assess whether applicants have a meaningful understanding of U.S. government and history. Following a basic U.S. history and civics curriculum, the redesigned Citizenship test will serve as an important instrument to encourage civic learning and patriotism among prospective citizens.

To accomplish these goals, USCIS initially piloted a new test–with an overhauled English reading and writing section, as well as new history and government questions–in ten sites across the country. The feedback from this pilot was then used to finalize testing procedures, English reading and writing prompts, and a list of 100 new history and government questions. To ensure the pilot accounted for a representative sample of candidates with a variety of education levels, the test was also piloted at adult education sites nationwide.

The resulting redesigned Citizenship test was publicly introduced on September 27, 2007. Citizenship applicants will begin taking the revised test on October 1, 2008.

Which Test Do I Take?
Following the public introduction of the redesigned Citizenship test on September 27, 2007, there will be one full year before Citizenship applicants begin taking the revised test. This period will allow adult educators and immigrants working toward citizenship sufficient time to prepare for the redesigned test. The following guidelines will determine whether Citizenship applicants will take the current test or the redesigned version:

If an Citizenship applicant:

• Applies BEFORE October 1, 2008 and is scheduled for his or her Citizenship interview BEFORE October 1, 2008, he or she will take the current test.
• Applies BEFORE October 1, 2008 and is scheduled for his or her Citizenship interview AFTER October 1, 2008, he or she can choose to take the current test or the redesigned version.
• Applies AFTER October 1, 2008, he or she will take the redesigned version.

Is scheduled for his or her Citizenship interview AFTER October 1, 2009, regardless of when he or she applied, he or she will take the redesigned version