USCIS Naturalization Test - Civics

The civics portion of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Naturalization Test consists of 100 potential items (typically 10 randomly drawn in USCIS practice) and assesses those applying for citizenship on their knowledge of U.S. history and government. Numerous states also utilize some form of this test as a graduation requirement for high school students. 

Content

Sub-Category
Domains
Structure and Function of Government,
Foundations of the Political System,
Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens,
Integrated Civics
Subdomain

Principles and foundations of American democracy; Citizenship; American history; Geography; Symbols; Holidays

Grades
11th Grade,
12th Grade,
Post secondary
Languages
English,
Spanish
Respondent
Student

Administration Information

Administration
Paper
Timed
No

Access and Use

Psychometrics

Scoring
Manual scoring
Referencing
Criterion-referenced
Psychometric References

Torney-Purta, J., & Amadeo, J. (2023). Considerations for use of civics assessment instruments. EdInstruments Brief, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University. https://edinstruments.org/civics.

Item Type
Multiple choice

Psychometric Considerations

Psychometrics is the science of psychological assessment. A primary goal of EdInstruments is to provide information on crucial psychometric topics including Validity and Reliability – essential concepts of evaluation, which indicate how well an instrument measures a construct - as well as additional properties that are worthy of consideration when selecting an instrument of measurement.

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