Courses identified by the state to meet the requirement are:
• AMH 2020: United States History from 1877 to Present
• POS 2041: American Federal Government

The EFSC Class Schedule lists the available on-campus and online sections for AMH 2020 and POS 2041. Students must earn a grade of a "C" or higher in one of those to meet the requirement. The EFSC Catalog has course descriptions plus the official catalog version of the Civic Literacy Graduation Requirement.

An Advanced Placement course and exam or CLEP test can satisfy the course AND exam requirements. See question #3 for more on those options.

Credit earned through an International Baccalaureate (IB) or AICE program can only be used to meet the course requirement. Students with AICE or IB credit must also pass an approved assessment, such as the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE).

Passing Score Requirements
• Florida Civic Literacy Examination (FCLE) - Score of 48 (or higher) out of 80 questions (60% correct)*
• AP Government and Politics: United States - Score of 3 (or higher) out of 5
• AP United States History - Score of 4 (or higher) out of 5
• CLEP American Government - Score of 50 (or higher) out of 80

* If you took an earlier version of the state exam that had 100 questions, the required passing rate is still 60%.

If you took an approved Advanced Placement course in high school from the list below and made the required passing score, that would meet both the course and assessment Civic Literacy requirements. If meeting the requirement through a CLEP testing record, that will also be applied in your student degree audit.

CLEP American Government is available through the EFSC Assessment Centers.
See more about preparing for the CLEP American Government exam.

These three AP or CLEP options can meet the course AND exam requirement:
• AP Government and Politics: United States - Score of 3 (or higher) out of 5
• AP United States History - Score of 4 (or higher) out of 5
• CLEP American Government - Score of 50 (or higher) out of 80

This CLEP exam can meet ONLY the course requirement:
• CLEP History of the United States 2: 1865 to Present - Score of 50 (or higher) out of 80

Official AP and CLEP scores must be forwarded to EFSC for posting of earned course credits to meet Civic Literacy graduation requirements. Details on how to have score reports and/or transcripts sent to EFSC are available at the CLEP website and also at the Advanced Placement/AP website.

Senate Bill 1108 amended s.1007.25, Florida Statutes (F.S.) and as put into practice by the State Board of Education through Rule 6A-10.02413, students must develop and demonstrate civic literacy competency that includes:

• Understanding the basic principles and practices of American democracy and how they are applied in our form of government
• Understanding the United States Constitution and its application
• Knowledge of the founding documents and how they have shaped the nature and functions of our institutions of self-governance
• Understanding of landmark Supreme Court cases, landmark legislation and landmark executive actions and their impact on law and society

The rule also requires that institutions must ensure that they provide opportunities for students to engage synchronously in political discussions and civil debates with multiple points of view and to master the ability to synthesize information that informs civic decision-making. Examples include course lectures, discussion groups, registered student organizations (e.g., speech or debate club, student government association), guest speaker series, community partnership and civic engagement events, service-learning and internships, among others.

The FCLE is offered free for Eastern Florida State College students at the EFSC Assessment Centers on all four campuses. You must have an appointment to take the exam, which can be made through the RegisterBlast online system. The RegisterBlast link includes instructions for registering, including choosing an appointment day and time.

Schedule FCLE Using RegisterBlast

To be eligible to take an initial Florida Civic Literacy Exam, EFSC students must either have already taken POS 2041 or AMH 2020 and earned a grade of "C" or higher or be currently enrolled in either course.

The examination, which is proctored, is administered at the EFSC Assessment Centers via a computer-based testing platform developed for the state of Florida by Cambium Assessment, Inc. Currently, there is no remote option for the FCLE.

A score of 48 correct or higher out of 80 questions will meet the minimum required threshold of 60% correct or higher. If a passing score is not earned, FCLE retesting will require a 14-day wait period.

See more about retesting, including how to request a waiver of the wait period, in Question 7.

The required coursework will cover many topics included in the 80 questions on the test. It's also recommended students utilize the following free test preparation resources before taking the exam.

⇒ Florida Department of Education (FDOE) Supplemental Guide and Sample Test Items
Please Note: The purpose of these FDOE sample test materials is to orient faculty and students to the nature of the test content and test questions on the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE). The content included in the Supplemental Guide is not intended to replace associated coursework or other preparation methods required to demonstrate civic literacy, as described in Florida Statute. The sample questions and answers are not intended to demonstrate the length of the actual test. Student performance on the sample test should not be used as a predictor of performance on the actual test, and neither the sample test nor the supplemental guide should be used to guide classroom instruction.

• • Supplemental Guide for the FCLE [Link for Downloadable PDF that includes linked list of items to study for the exam]
  • FCLE Sample Items [Link for Downloadable PDF]

⇒ Landmark Supreme Court Cases [Review of these cases is strongly recommended]

⇒ U.S. Citizenship Test Study Resources

• • Civics Questions and Answers
  • Civics Flashcards for the Naturalization Test
  • Study Booklet for Naturalization Test

⇒ Florida Department of Education's Civic Literacy web page [Additional resources list at DOE site to foster civic literacy and help with exam preparation]

⇒ EFSC Library LibGuide: FCLE Study Guide

The requirement allows an unlimited number of attempts, with a recommended 14 days between retakes. But under the state rule, a student can appeal for a waiver to the 14-day wait due to extenuating circumstances.

Students who fail to meet the required passing score of at least 48 correct out of 80 questions can retake the exam after the 14-day wait period.

Scheduling a Civic Literacy (FCLE) retest is done through the EFSC Assessment Center's RegisterBlast system. When students use RegisterBlast to schedule the FCLE retest at the campus Assessment Center of their choice, they will need to choose "FCLE Retest" in the appropriate dropdown menu, plus choose and schedule an appointment day and time.

Schedule a Retest Using RegisterBlast

Appeals related to the 14-day wait between retest attempts should be sent to the Director of Testing and Assessment via email at testingassessment@easternflorida.edu with "FCLE Retest 14-Day Waiver Request" as the email subject line. The Director of Testing and Assessment will review the information and coordinate the appeal with the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs who has the authority to waive the retest wait policy in certain situations. 

Accommodations are available for the Florida Civic Literacy Examination for qualifying students at EFSC Testing Center. The Florida Department of Education plans to announce a timeline for implementation and a further description of allowed accommodations later. In the meantime:

• EFSC Assessment Centers are prepared to provide test accommodations for those with disabilities.
• The test software will allow all students to choose the print size, background color, and mouse pointer for their test.
• The FCLE is an untimed test, but all students must end their test sessions when the Assessment Center closes. We recommend those who require extended time consider making an appointment earlier in the day to ensure plenty of time to complete the test.
• Students who use assistive technology may contact an Access Specialist in the SAIL department with any concerns regarding compatibility with the testing software

Students enrolled in a U.S. Government course as part of their high school coursework must take a civic literacy assessment and that assessment may be the Florida Civic Literacy Exam. Students who have passed the FCLE in high school will be exempt from the civic literacy competency assessment portion of the requirement when they enter a Florida College System (FCS) or State University System (SUS) institution. However, these students will still need to fulfill the post-secondary civic literacy course requirement.

Baccalaureate students who enter EFSC under the 2021-2022 catalog year or beyond are required to meet the civics course and assessment requirement. If the student previously demonstrated civic literacy competency based on the previous civic literacy requirement through a course or an assessment under their Associate in Arts (A.A.) or Associate in Science (A.S.) degree program, those passed courses or passing scores could also be used toward demonstration of civic literacy competency for baccalaureate completion. The student would then just need to fulfill the missing requirement, if applicable, via an assessment or course.

The civic literacy requirement applies to students who are entering into A.A. and baccalaureate (bachelor) programs under the 2021-2022 catalog year and beyond, and to A.S. degree students who entered their program in the 2022-2023 catalog year and beyond, regardless of prior postsecondary coursework. This includes transfer students and students entering with prior postsecondary coursework. Students who have previously achieved a passing score on an approved assessment or passed an approved course will have met the assessment requirement or coursework requirement, respectively, and will not need to re-take assessments or courses. EFSC will know this information because the postsecondary FASTER electronic transcript will be updated to reflect if a student met the course requirement and assessment requirement.

The civic literacy requirement applies to students who are entering into A.A. and baccalaureate programs under the 2021-2022 catalog year and beyond, regardless of prior postsecondary coursework. This includes students from out-of-state.

If the change in major occured in Fall Term 2021, or any term after that, the updated Civic Literacy requirements that took effect in Fall 2021 will apply. A change in major switches the student's guiding catalog to the academic year catalog in effect when the major change took place. For example, if a student had started at EFSC in 2017 under the 2017-1018 academic catalog, before there was a Civic Literacy requirement, and then requested and received a major change in Fall Term 2021, the catalog guiding their program and graduation requirements would have changed to the 2021-2022 academic year and they must meet the new Civic Literacy requirement prior to graduation.

Your academic advisor can answer questions about the Civic Literacy requirement and your particular situation. Make an appointment with your advisor by logging into the myEFSC Portal and using the link in the Student Services Appointments area or call 321-433-5512.

For questions about the exam, contact an EFSC Campus Assessment Center.