US citizenship test changes coming, raising concerns for those with low English skills

People arrive before the start of a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Miami Field Office in Miami, Florida. [Via VOA]

The applicant must know all five of the wars fought by the U.S. in the 1900s in order to select the one correct answer, Bliss said, and that requires a "significantly higher level of language proficiency and test-taking skill."

Currently, the applicant must answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly to pass. Those 10 questions are selected from a bank of 100 civics questions. The applicant is not told which questions will be selected but can see and study the 100 questions before taking the test.

Lynne Weintraub, a citizenship coordinator at Jones Library's English as a Second Language Center in Massachusetts, said the proposed format for the civics section could make the citizenship test harder for people who struggle with English literacy. That includes refugees, elderly immigrants and people with disabilities that interfere with their test performance.

"We have a lot of students that are refugees, and they're coming from war-torn countries where maybe they didn't have a chance to complete school or even go to school," said Mechelle Perrott, a citizenship coordinator at San Diego Community College District's College of Continuing Education in California.

"It's more difficult learning to read and write if you don't know how to do that in your first language. That's my main concern about the multiple-choice test; it's a lot of reading," Perrott said.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a December announcement that the proposed changes "reflect current best practices in test design" and would help standardize the citizenship test.

Under federal law, most applicants seeking citizenship must demonstrate an understanding of the English language - including an ability to speak, read and write words in ordinary usage - and demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government.

The agency said it will conduct a nationwide trial of the proposed changes in 2023 with opportunities for public feedback. Then, an external group of experts - in the fields of language acquisition, civics and test development - will review the results of the trial and recommend ways to best implement the proposed changes, which could take effect late next year.

The U.S. currently has the easiest citizenship test compared to other Western countries - including Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom - according to Sara Goodman, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Goodman said she uses the following metrics to determine the difficulty of a test: the number of questions required to pass and the number of questions overall, the percentage of applicants who pass the test, the language level of the test, and whether or not questions with answers are made available to study before taking the test.

In the U.S. test, applicants must answer six out of 10 questions correctly to pass. About 96% of applicants pass the test, according to recent estimates. The test is at a "high beginner" level of English, Goodman said, and a question bank with answers is made available to study beforehand.

But in the German test, Goodman said applicants must answer 17 out of 33 questions correctly to pass. About 90% of applicants pass the test, according to recent estimates. The test is at an "intermediate" level of German, according to Goodman. And a question bank with answers is made available.

The Canada and United Kingdom tests are even harder, and a question bank is not provided in the latter, Goodman said.

Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies - a nonprofit research organization that advocates for less immigration - said the proposed changes would make the U.S. citizenship test even easier for many people.

"We think that's in the wrong direction," Jacobs said on behalf of the organization.

The proposed multiple-choice format for the civics section would put the answer to each question in front of applicants, Jacobs said, and would get rid of the memory challenge that's in the current test.

Jacobs said her organization would prefer a test that includes more material and emphasizes American values, such as religious freedom and freedom of speech.

She added that most people who naturalize are not in the U.S. because of merit or refugee status, but because of family sponsorship, where someone in their family became a citizen before them and petitioned for them to naturalize.

Jacobs said having a stricter test would help ensure that new citizens integrate into American society - and the economy - with sufficient English language skills, as well as promote a healthy democracy with civics knowledge and engagement.

Not everyone agrees.

"Is it important for us to even have a civics test in the first place? I don't know the answer to that question," said Corleen Smith, director of immigration services at the International Institute of Minnesota, a nonprofit that connects immigrants to resources.

Smith said USCIS already evaluates whether applicants have past criminal histories, pay taxes and support their children financially.

"They're already evaluating that portion of your background. Is it also important to know this information about history and government and be able to memorize it?" Smith said, adding: "People that were born in the U.S. and are natural-born citizens - a lot of those folks don't know many of these answers to the history of government questions."

More than 1 million people became U.S. citizens in fiscal year 2022 - one of the highest numbers on record since 1907, the earliest year with available data - and USCIS reduced the huge backlog of naturalization applications by over 60% compared to the year before, according to a USCIS report also released in December.