A bill requiring Nevada students to take a civics exam in order to graduate passed during the 2017 legislative session. Nevada students are already required to take and pass a Government course in order to graduate.
The bill, SB322, does not stipulate that a student must pass the exam in order to graduate, but the exam score will affect the student’s course grade.
SB322 states that the test must include at least 50 questions “identical to the civics portion of the naturalization exam adopted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security.”
The school can determine:
• the exact number of questions on the exam
• the desired score on the exam
• which course administers the exam
• how the results of the exam will affect students’ grade in the course
The bill requires high schools to compile and present the exam results to their district’s school board by Aug. 31 every year.
Between now and July 2019,when the bill takes effect, the Nevada Department of Education and the State Board of Education (SBOE) will nail down specifics. Humboldt County School District Superintendent Dave Jensen said the State Board of Education will provide guidance once that happens. Discussion of these details hasn’t officially begun.
The naturalization exam has two parts: Civics and English. The questions used for the civics exam for high school students will only come from the civics portion. Passing the civics portion of the exam demonstrates “a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, the principles, and the form of government of the United States (civics).”
