Changes to Naturalization Test for U.S. Citizenship Expected
Posted Dec 08, 2006
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The USCIS is in the process of changing the history and civics test that is required of applicants for U.S. citizenship. They are also revising the testing of English language skills. With limited exceptions, applicants for naturalization who apply for U.S. citizenship must be able to demonstrate a basic level of competence in the English language. This includes reading, speaking, and writing English. Applicants must also be able to pass a test of their knowledge of U.S. history and civics. There are limited exceptions to this requirement, also. Efforts to change the test are geared toward standardizing content, instruments, protocols, and scoring. The USCIS has released 144 proposed questions and their answers. The new test will undergo pilot testing with volunteer naturalization applicants in early 2007.
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Testing New Exam before Implementation
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The pilot program will take place at ten test sites throughout the United States. These test sites were selected to represent a cross section of diverse applicants and USCIS offices. There will be no penalty for participating in the pilot program. If volunteers cannot pass the pilot exam, they can take the current exam. The pilot test has 144 questions. About half of these questions are simply reworded versions of the questions from the current test. These will be cut to 100 questions, based upon the results from the pilot. Questions often have several acceptable answers, in an attempt to allow potential new citizens to learn more about a topic and to answer based upon a more meaningful understanding, as opposed to the mere memorization of facts. The pilot exam questions and their acceptable answers are available for review on the USCIS WebSite. There already has been some criticism of the USCIS pilot test. The USCIS's proposed answer for the longest river is given as the Mississippi, but there is some disagreement as to whether the correct answer should be the Missouri River.
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English Language
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As of this writing, the proposed reading and writing items have not been released. They will continue to require writing a basic sentence and reading brief written material, however. The subject of the reading and writing portions will be civics, rather than a broad range of topics. The English speaking test will continue to be based upon the responses to normal questions asked in the naturalization interview. The USCIS will begin to provide study materials, including a vocabulary list that is civics based.
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The English portion was developed by utilizing a panel of experts in English as a Second Language (ESL) and test development. These experts established the required level of English language proficiency a manner that is consistent with the reporting levels of the U.S. Department of Education basic adult education. This is important, since the legal requirement is a basic ability in English, rather than fluency and perfection.
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Timeframe
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The USCIS estimates that the pilots will take approximately two to four months. The results of these pilots will be analyzed and adjustments will be made to formulate the final test.