H.R. 866·High School Beginner
A Bill to Require a Civics Exam to Graduate High School
Rep. Stewart (D-MN)
Conditions ESSA funds on requiring students to pass a 100-question civics exam to graduate.
Sec. 1 — Mandate
States receiving ESSA funds shall require students to pass the 100-question USCIS naturalization civics test to graduate.
Sec. 2 — Passing Score
Students must answer at least 60 of 100 questions correctly.
Sec. 3 — Funding
$14 million for test administration.
Sec. 4 — Enforcement
State certification of compliance.
Tournament Prep
Mechanical parts, sourced & timed
Use this as your pre-round checklist. Memorize the source citation. Time yourself to the delivery target.
- Bill / Number
- H.R. 866 — A Bill to Require a Civics Exam to Graduate High School
- Funding source
- $14M ED civics formula grant.
- Timeline
- Effective at next state-graduation-policy cycle.
- Realistic — 18 states already require similar tests.
- Enforcing agency
- State ed agencies; ED audit.
- Yes — ESSA standards-and-assessment compliance.
- Penalty for non-compliance
- Loss of civics-grant share.
- Source citation
- Center for American Progress / iCivics (2021), 'Survey of Civics Education Standards' — americanprogress.org.
- Delivery time (read aloud)
- 55s
Strongest counter-argument
Standardized tests for graduation push out vulnerable students.
Your pre-emptive answer
The 60% passing threshold is low — even the original USCIS test is passed by 94% of test-takers on first try (USCIS 2023). And the bill provides unlimited retakes, eliminating the high-stakes barrier critique.