Becoming an Australian citizen - Some dimensions of assessing a citizenship-type literacy amongst adults

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine

Evaluation of a 20-item assessment of citizenship literacy among 179 adults examines internal consistency and its ability to distinguish English-speaking from non-English-speaking participants. Findings show partial insight into citizenship information but reveal limitations: the instrument does not adequately capture higher-knowledge ability levels and shows deficits in adults’ general knowledge. Even with a 60% correct cut-off, failure rates remain high, informing proposed revisions to the Australian Citizenship Test.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Becoming an Australian citizen

Assessing citizenship literacy in adult samples

Legislative and test implementation background

Test structure, pass criteria, and question pool

Review outcomes and planned revisions

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 50, Number 1, April 2010 Becoming an Australian citizen: Some dimensions of assessing a citizenship-type literacy amongst adults James A Athanasou Adjunct Associate Professor La Trobe University This paper evaluates a 20-item assessment of citizenship literacy in an adult sample comprising 179 persons of English-speaking and non-English speaking background. The results indicated that the assessment was internally consistent and that as expected it distinguished English-speaking from non-English speaking participants. The pattern of answers provided an initial, albeit partial, understanding of what might constitute citizenship information but it also highlighted some limitations. The assessment failed to tap the ability levels of those with higher knowledge. Nevertheless, the results also indicated some deficits in adult general knowledge. The potential failure rate even with a cut-off point of 60% correct was quite high. Just over one-in-five failed to pass. The results have implications for the proposed revisions to the Australian Citizenship Test. Becoming an Australian citizen 165 In December 2006, the Australian Government announced a controversial intention to introduce a citizenship test. This followed the example of other citizenship testing programs in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Eventually the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Bill 2007 was introduced into Parliament in May 2007; it was passed by Parliament in September 2007 and the citizenship test was implemented in October 2007. The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Citizenship Testing) Act 2007 No. 142, 2007 stated inter alia that a person is eligible to become an Australian citizen if the Minister is satisfied that the person: (e) possesses a basic knowledge of the English language; and (f) has an adequate knowledge of Australia and of the responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship; and … (e) and (f) are taken to be satisfied if and only if the Minister is satisfied that the person has, before making the application: (a) sat a test approved in a determination under section 23A; and (b) successfully completed that test (worked out in accordance with that determination) . The actual citizenship test is described in official documents as a computer-based, written, multiple-choice test. The Standard Test is limited to 45 minutes in duration. It is stated that the test is designed: …to assess whether you have a basic knowledge of the English language. It is also used to test your knowledge of Australia and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. The test consists of 20 questions drawn at random from a pool of 200 questions. To pass the test, you must correctly answer 60 percent of the questions, including answering three questions on the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship correctly…The test includes questions about: Australia’s history; Australia’s geography; the Australian people; Australian values; the system of government; responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship (Australian Government 2007: 43) . 166 James Athanasou This reflects the longstanding legislative requirement for an applicant to have an ‘adequate knowledge of Australia’ in the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 (see 12(1)(e)) . There has also been a requirement for English in the same Act (see 12(1)(d)) . Between 1 October 2007 and 31 March 2009, 111,005 clients sat the Australian citizenship test with 96.7 per cent passing the test on their first or subsequent attempt. On average, there were 1.2 tests administered per client (Department of Immigration and Citizenship 2009: 4) . An independent review of the Australian citizenship test was undertaken in 2008 (Australian Citizenship Test Review Committee 2008). The Citizenship Test Review Committee recommended a number of changes. The key changes that will be implemented are: (a) the

FAQs

How is citizenship literacy assessed in the paper?

The study evaluates a 20-item citizenship literacy assessment using an adult sample of 179 participants.

What were the main performance findings of the assessment?

Results showed internal consistency and differentiation between English-speaking and non-English-speaking participants, but it failed to reflect higher-knowledge ability levels and still produced high failure rates.

Which revisions to the Australian Citizenship Test are discussed?

An independent review recommended plain-English rewriting of questions, removing mandatory questions, and raising the pass mark from 60% to 75%, with the revised test planned for late September 2009.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine