Effective January 1, 2016, every public school student must pass a basic civics test, or alternate assessment, as a condition for receiving a high school diploma in the state of Utah. Utah Code Annotated 53A-13-109.5. USBE Administrative Rule R277-700-8.
The students must pass a test comprised of 50 questions selected from the 100 questions on the United States Customs and Immigration Service civics assessment that can be found here: Civics (History and Government) Questions for the Naturalization Test. Passing the test is defined in the legislation as answering 35 or more correctly.
The plan for administering this test in Jordan District is as follows:
- Students will take the test starting in grade 8 in their required US History course. Seniors will also be given a chance as needed to pass the test through their required US Government and Citizenship course.
- Testing results will be entered in Skyward under Educational Milestones. A “passed” indicator will then print on student transcripts.
- The Civics test will be administered online through a Canvas Course – see your counselor
- Students can log in and take the test at any time
- Teachers can provide incentives for students to pass in a timely manner, and the test may count toward a grade in the relevant course.
- Students may retake the test as many times as needed in order to pass.
- If an IEP team determines a student qualifies for an alternate assessment, the teacher can administer a 10-question oral exam where the student only needs to pass off 6 questions correctly.
- On January 1, all graduating seniors become eligible to take a 10-question version of the test with a 60% passing threshold.
Teacher Materials:
- Student instructions for logging into UTIPS and taking the test
- Teacher guidelines for the US Civics test, with instructions on viewing results
- Administrator guidelines for the US Civics test, with instructions on viewing results
Test Materials:
- Printable copy of US Civics Test 50 Questions 2021-2022
- Printable copy of US Civics Test 10 Questions 2021-2022
- Test Questions Without Answers: A list of the test questions without answers.
- Practice Test: A paper-and-pencil test which is identical to the online version available through UTIPS. (Answer Key)
- Test Questions With Answers: A simple version of the test with the questions, exactly as they appear on the test, followed by the answer.
- Alternate Test Questions Without Answers: A list of the 10 alternate test questions without answers.
- Alternate Practice Test: A paper-and-pencil test which is identical to the online version available through UTIPS. (Answer Key)
- Alternate Test Questions With Answers: A simple version of the 10-question alternate test with the questions, exactly as they appear on the test, followed by the answer.
If you have any questions about the US Civics test, please contact Scott Wihongi: 801-264-7400 or swihongi@murrayschools.org
Further Resources:
- The Utah State Board of Education has partnered with UEN to create a web resource regarding this new requirement: http://www.uen.org/american-civics-education/
- Questions for the basic civics test and alternate assessment must be taken from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ official list of civics questions and answers for the naturalization test. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offers a variety of study materials for the
Civics Test, including the Civics Practice Test:
