Civics Test Graduation Requirements

WI Act 55 (2015) is the 2015-17 biennial state budget.  There is a requirement in Act 55 that any students graduating from a Wisconsin high school (starting with the class of 2017) "takes a civics test comprised of 100 questions that are identical to the 100 questions that may be asked of an individual during the process of applying for U.S. citizenship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the pupil correctly answers at least 65 of those questions." (Section 3266R, 118.33(1m)(a)1.)

Wisconsin statute requires that any students graduating from a Wisconsin high school (starting with the class of 2017) "takes a civics test comprised of 100 questions that are identical to the 100 questions that may be asked of an individual during the process of applying for U.S. citizenship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the pupil correctly answers at least 65 of those questions" (Wis. Stat. sec. 118.33(1m)(a)1, Section 3266R).

​To support students in passing the civics graduation requirement, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has created these resources:

• The 2025 Revised Civics Graduation Requirement Multiple Choice Exam, which can be copied for your district’s use (this link will require you to make a copy).
• The 2025 Revised Civics Graduation Exam Answer Key
• You can also access the Civics Graduation Requirement Multiple Choice Exam in Spanish (NOTE: this is the 2007 test, not the newly revised 2025 test.  We are working on updating this.)  Upon clicking the link, you will be required to "make a copy" in Google for your district's use. 
• Civics Graduation Requirement Answer Key in Spanish (NOTE: this is the 2007 test, not the newly revised 2025 test.)
• A joint project between Madison Metropolitan School District and the Wisconsin Educational Service Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, The Wisconsin School for the Deaf, and Outreach to support Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in Wisconsin provides the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration test in American Sign Language. For more information, contact Connie Gartner at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf.

Civics Graduation Exam Study Resources

• Naturalization Test and Study Resources from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Department of Homeland Security

For questions about the civics graduation exam or study materials, contact Kris McDaniel, Social Studies Education Consultant.

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Changes to the USCIS Test as of October 20, 2025

On September 18, 2025, the Trump Administration announced that as of October 20, 2025, the naturalization and citizenship test used by USCIS would change. Wis. Stat. sec. 118.33(1m)(a)1, Section 3266R requires that students in Wisconsin schools "takes a civics test comprised of 100 questions that are identical to the 100 questions that may be asked of an individual during the process of applying for U.S. citizenship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the pupil correctly answers at least 65 of those questions".  

These changes (taken directly from the Federal Register announcement of 9/18/2025) include:

• An expansion of test bank items from 100 to 128 questions, 
  • Rewording/revision of some questions
  • Adding questions to ensure adequate familiarity with American history and principles and form of US government  
• Those taking the naturalization test for US citizenship must answer 20 questions instead of 10 and answer 12 questions correctly (formerly 6).  (*note: this does not affect our statute for the Civics Graduation Requirement)
• The USCIS estimates that 75% of the content of the new 2025 test comes directly from the 2008 test (which has been used for the state statute since it passed).

With this information in hand, the following guidance has been approved by the WI DPI in regards to the Wisconsin Statute for the Civics Graduation Requirement:

• Students who have already taken the test and passed it by October 20, 2025 do not have to retake the test.
• The USCIS use of the new 2025 test goes into effect on October 20, 2025, and districts should plan to implement the new test after that date (in the current school year). 
•  Wis. Stat. sec. 118.33(1m)(a)1, Section 3266R specifically states "100 questions" must be asked.  The new 2025 test will be 128 questions.  Therefore, districts must choose 100 questions from the pool of 128 questions.  DPI will not be stating which 100 questions must be used. 
• Wis. Stat. sec. 118.33(1m)(a)1, Section 3266R also specifically states "correctly answer at least 65 of these questions." This is not stated as a percentage, so students need to answer 65 correctly from the 100 questions that are chosen by the district.  
• Other factors in the statute (such as assistance for students with special needs and/or English learners) are not affected by this change at the federal level.  

Other resources:

• 128 question Civic Questions & Answers (2025 version) from the USCIS
• Our trusted partner, the Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida, has completed a content comparison between the 2007 USCIS test and the new 2025 version.  Feel free to access this to learn about the specific content changes to the test.