VOA新闻杂志2023--New US Citizenship Test Could Be Harder

New US Citizenship¹ Test Could Be Harder

A new United States citizenship test is expected to be launched by late next year. Some immigrants and their supporters worry the updated exam will hurt test-takers with lower levels of English skills.

The test is one of the final steps to gain American citizenship. The entire process takes months. It also requires legal permanent residency for years before applying.

The test currently in use was last updated in 2008.

In 2020, the former presidential administration launched a new citizenship test. It was harder and longer than the test it replaced.

When President Joe Biden came in to office months later, he ordered an end to that test. The order re-established the former test.

Late last year, U.S. officials announced that the test would be updated.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has proposed that the new test update the English-speaking part of the test. It suggests that test givers show images of simple, everyday things like weather or food, and ask the applicant² to describe what they see.

In the current test, an officer examines an applicant's speaking ability during the naturalization interview. The examiner asks personal questions that the applicant has already answered in writing, for naturalization documents.

"For me, I think it would be harder to look at pictures and explain them," said Heaven Mehreta. She emigrated from Ethiopia 10 years ago. Mehreta passed the naturalization test in May and, last month, she became a U.S. citizen.

Another proposed change would make the civics section on U.S. history and government multiple-choice. Currently, applicants³ give spoken short answers.

Bill Bliss⁴ is a language and civics educator in Massachusetts and a writer of citizenship textbooks. In a blog post, he gave an example of how the test would become more difficult and require more knowledge.

A current civics question asks the applicant to name a war fought by the U.S. in the 1900s. An applicant only needs to say one out of five correct answers — World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War or Gulf⁵ War — to get the question right.

But in the proposed test, the applicant would read that question and mark the correct answer from the following choices:

A. Civil War

B. Mexican-American War

C. Korean War

D. Spanish-American War

An applicant must know all five of the wars fought by the U.S. in the 1900s to choose the one correct answer, Bliss said. That requires a much "higher level of language proficiency⁶ and test-taking skill."

Currently, an applicant must answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly to pass. The 10 are among 100 possible civics questions. An applicant is not told which questions will be chosen for their test, but can see and study all the possible questions before taking the test.

Lynne Weintraub is with Jones Library's English as a Second Language Center in Massachusetts. She said the proposed test for the civics section could make the citizenship test harder for people who struggle with English literacy. That includes refugees, older immigrants and people who have disabilities.

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

Under federal law, most applicants seeking citizenship must show an understanding of the English language. That includes speaking, reading and writing words in normal usage. Applicants must also show knowledge of U.S. history and government.

The agency said it will hold a nationwide trial of the proposed changes in 2023. Then, a group of experts in the fields of language, civics and test development will review the trial's results. They will suggest ways to best make changes.

More than 1 million people became U.S. citizens in the 2022 financial year. That is among the highest number documented since 1907, when officials started keeping such records.

Words in This Story

applicant — n. someone who formally asks for something

interview — n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

resident — n. someone who lives in a particular place

civics — n. the study of the rights and duties of citizens and of how government works

proficient⁷ — adj. good at doing something

reflect — v. to show

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

5 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

6 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

7 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。