USCIS Announces New Naturalization Test - Civics (History and Government) Items

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana

September 27, 2007 news release from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announces a redesigned naturalization test, beginning in October 2008, and explains that the civics component consists of 100 questions and answers. It describes how a pilot with 6,000 applicants informed selection and revisions, and how question wording and acceptable responses were adjusted for clarity. It also summarizes results by test component and provides details on available materials and the First Amendment question example. The release includes the civics item list starting with American Government principles and related answers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

USCIS Announces New Naturalization Test

Test rollout and study timeline (October 2008)

Pilot review, revisions, and expanded acceptable answers

Example civics question (First Amendment)

Pilot locations and pass-rate results

Secondary review with ESL comprehension levels

Online materials for the redesigned test

Civics (History and Government) items for the redesigned test

American Government: Principles of American Democracy

News Release September 27, 2007 USCIS ANNOUNCES NEW NATURALIZATION TEST October 2008 Start Date Gives Applicants One Year to Study WASHINGTON-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the 100 questions and answers that comprise the civics component of the new naturalization test. USCIS will administer this new test to citizenship applicants beginning in October 2008. Earlier this year, more than 6,000 citizenship applicants volunteered to take a pilot version of the test at 10 USCIS sites across the country during a four-month period. The 100 new civics items on the new naturalization test were selected after USCIS, a panel of history and government scholars, and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers conducted a thorough review of the responses to the 142 items on the pilot test. “We are very proud of this new test, and the open manner that we worked with our stakeholders throughout this entire process,” said USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez. “Together, we developed a test that will encourage citizenship applicants to learn and identify with the basic civic values that unite us as Americans.” The revised naturalization test will help strengthen assimilation efforts by emphasizing fundamental concepts of American democracy, basic U.S. history, and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It will also promote patriotism among prospective citizens. Following the pilot, USCIS refined the questions and answers, dropping several and adjusting others to increase clarity, narrowing the list to the new 100 questions. The range of acceptable answers to questions will increase so that applicants may learn more about a topic and select from a wider range of responses. For instance, one of the new questions with a range of correct answers is: “What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?” The applicant may respond with a variety of possible answers such as speech, religion, assembly, press, and petition the government. USCIS conducted the pilot during actual citizenship interviews in 10 districts across the country: Albany, NY; Boston, MA; Charleston, SC; Denver, CO; El Paso, TX; Kansas City, MO; Miami, FL; San Antonio, TX; Tucson, AZ; and Yakima, WA. Volunteers who participated in this pilot test achieved a 92.4 percent overall pass rate on the first try. The pass rates by test component were: civics, 93.7 percent; reading, 99.8 percent; and writing, 99 percent. Following the pilot, USCIS and an expert technical advisory group affiliated with Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) reviewed the responses and re-piloted several re-phrased questions at 64 civics and citizenship classroom sites across the country. This secondary review was primarily focused on groups of individuals possessing Low-Beginning to High-Beginning levels of English comprehension to ensure that the average citizenship applicant was able to understand the question and answer items. USCIS has posted the 100 new question and answers, the reading and writing vocabulary lists, a side-by-side comparison of the current and new test, answers to frequently asked questions and other information about the new test online at: [http://www.uscis.gov/newtest](http://www.uscis.gov/newtest). -USCIS- Civics (History and Government) Items for the Redesigned Naturalization Test Beginning October 􀀱 , 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin implementation of aredesigned naturalization test. All applicants who file for naturalization on or after October 1, 2008 will be required to take the redesigned test. For those applicants who file prior to October 1, 2008 but are not interviewed until after October 􀀱 , 2008 (but before October 􀀱 , 2009), there will be an option of taking the redesigned test or the current one. Civics (history and government) items from the redesigned naturalization test are found below. Some of the items have more than one possible answer listed. A

FAQs

When will USCIS administer the redesigned naturalization test, and what is the study timeline?

USCIS will administer the new test to citizenship applicants beginning in October 2008, giving applicants about one year to study.

How were the 100 civics questions and answers selected and refined?

After a four-month pilot, USCIS reviewed responses to 142 pilot items with history/government scholars and ESL teachers, then refined the questions by dropping some and adjusting others for clarity.

Can applicants give more than one answer, and how are acceptable answers handled?

Most questions require one answer from the listed options unless a question asks for more than one. USCIS also increased the range of acceptable answers so applicants can learn a topic and choose from more responses.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana