Civics Test Information

  • Background

    In the spring of 2015, the Arizona legislature passed the American Civics Act (House Bill 2064). This bill will require students, beginning with the graduating class of 2017 (currently Juniors), to pass a civics test based on the United States Immigration and Naturalization civics questions. Students will be required to score 60% or higher in order to graduate from high school or obtain a high school equivalency certificate. As a courtesy, the Arizona Department of Education, with help from the Maricopa County Education Service Agency and Arizona educators, has developed a mostly multiple choice version of the required test.

     

    Statutory Requirements

    Please find the complete text of the statute at the

    School district boards and charter school governing bodies may decide how the test is administered.

    Students must correctly answer at least 60 of the 100 questions on the civics test  Student may retake the test as many times as necessary to pass. New Legislation signed in 2022 requires student graduating in 2026 and after to have a passing score of 70/100.  If a student graduates in 2026, and has already taken the civics test and scored 60-69, they will need to retest and score 70/100 sometime prior to graduation in 2026.

    Schools must document a student’s passing grade on their transcript.

    Students receiving special education services are required to test but exempt from obtaining a passing score unless required by an IEP.

     

    Civics Test

    The official list of 100 civics questions included on the naturalization test and free study materials are posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services web site: http://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/study-test/study-materials-civics-test

     

    91茄子 Public Schools’ Plan

    Beginning in the Fall of 2015, the Civics Test will be administered to all of Cohort 2017 (currently enrolled Juniors) at every GPS high school.  The 100 question test will be offered multiple times through the school year at the High Schools. Because the statute is not tied to a specific high school course, GPS intends to provide as many opportunities for students to meet the requirement as possible between now and graduation from high school. 

    Spring 2016, the Civics Test will be administered again.  This administration will include Cohort 2018 and any Cohort 2017 students who did not meet the requirement during the initial administration. Moving forward, students in Cohorts 2017 and later will have at least two opportunities each year to satisfy the requirement.

    Once the Civics Test Requirement is met, students will be notified that they have passed and will no longer be required to sit for the assessment.