Arizona will become the first state to require high school students to pass a civics test in order to graduate.

State legislators and Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill Thursday that will begin measures for the class of 2017, Arizona Republic reported.

Students would have to pass a citizenship test in order to receive their diplomas.

The American Civics Act requires students to know 60 of the 100 questions in testing their knowledge of the history and workings of the American government.

Students can first take the United States Immigration and Naturalization test in the eighth grade and can retake it until they pass.

"Having students memorize and regurgitate facts is not going to get to the goal of what we want to accomplish here, which is retaining the importance and value of what American civics education should be," said Stephanie Parra, a member of the Phoenix Union High School District governing board.

She insisted requiring students to take such a test will take away from important classroom time.

"As a parent, I support this bill," said Moses Sanchez, a governing-board member of the Tempe Union High School District. "As an immigrant and naturalized citizen, I observed and assisted my parents as they studied for their citizenship test and shared in their pride as they passed it."

The Arizona Charter Schools Association also released a statement supporting the bill.

"This legislation will provide the means to measure whether Arizona students are learning the civics essentials necessary to grow into our nation's next generation of leaders," the statement said.

Yet, a retired civics teacher from Mesa Public Schools said requiring an extra civics test for students implies the subject has been poorly taught. Students already had to pass his civics course in order to graduate during the more than three decades he taught.

"To now mandate another 100-question civics test seems to fit the governor's definition of waste and duplication of effort," he said.

Other measures have found low civics literacy among students.