A political test in civics and social science lessons

Where it fits in the curriculum

• Secundaria: Formación Cívica y Ética, in the formative field “Ética, Naturaleza y Sociedades”. The content “Instituciones, organizaciones y mecanismos de representación democrática” asks second-year students to highlight the importance of citizen participation, social organizations and political parties in Mexico, and third-year students to assess the challenges facing democracy in Mexico and the world.
• The same program includes the content “Principios y valores de la cultura democrática como forma de gobierno y de vida”: a good moment to explain why the test, which measures the distance between answers and positions, is not an opinion poll and does not tell anyone how to vote.
• Preparatoria and bachillerato: in the Common Curriculum Framework for Upper Secondary Education (MCCEMS), the subject Ciencias Sociales I asks students in the first semester to analyze the concept of citizenship and what a state with participatory and representative democracy means.
• Sources: the SEP’s Programa de Estudio para la Educación Secundaria: Programa Sintético de la Fase 6 (first edition, 2024) and the SEP’s teaching material “Ciencias Sociales I. Estado, ciudadanía y relaciones de poder” (2026).

Lesson plan (50 minutes)

1. 5 min

   Introduction

   What a political test is and what it is not: it does not predict the election result, it is not an opinion poll and it does not tell anyone how to vote. In the federal election, Mexican citizens aged 18 or over with their voter ID card vote; anyone aged 16 or over can take the test.

2. 10 min

   The test

   Students take the quick test on their phone or computer. Each statement has a short explanation, and any question can be skipped.

3. 15 min

   Checking sources

   In pairs, students choose one statement and open the table comparing the parties. For two parties, they read the justification and open the source: does the source say what the test claims?

4. 15 min

   Discussion

   In groups, students choose the statement on which the parties disagree most and prepare three arguments for each side. Then the class discusses what the test does not measure.

5. 5 min

   Wrap-up

   Each student notes one thing they learnt about a party’s proposals and one question they would like to ask the parties.

Discussion questions

1. Did your result surprise you? Because of which statements?
2. Which statement separates the two parties closest to you?
3. Why do some parties run in a coalition even though they think differently on some issues?
4. What does the test not measure? For example, the candidates in each district, their experience, trust or whether a party keeps its promises.
5. The same vote elects the deputy for your district and counts for a party’s list: would you think more about the candidate or about the party? Why?
6. How can you check whether a party’s group in the Chamber of Deputies votes the way its platform says? The Parliamentary Gazette publishes each deputy’s vote.

Why the test is impartial

• All 8 parties are assessed on the same 45 statements and by the same rules.
• Each party’s position comes with a justification and a link to its source: its electoral platform, its basic documents, a vote by its group in the Chamber of Deputies or a public statement. Positions for which no clear document was found are marked as estimates.
• The methodology and the revision log are public: every change is recorded with its date.
• The project accepts no advertising, sponsorship or donations from parties, candidates or election campaigns, has no dealings with any party and never asks anyone to vote, or not to vote, for anyone.
• The result shows how close the answers are to the parties’ positions. It is not a voting recommendation.

Privacy in the classroom

Political views are personal. We recommend not asking students to show their result to the class: the statements and sources are enough for the discussion. The test does not ask for a name or email, and age and sex are optional. Details are in the privacy notice.

Useful pages for the lesson

• The test · The quick or the full test.
• Parties compared · Every party’s position on every statement in one table, each cell linking to the justification and source.
• Topics · What each party proposes on one topic.
• 2027 election · The timetable, who can vote, how the 500 seats are shared out and how coalitions work.
• Who is left and who is right among the parties · Where the parties sit on the political compass and why.
• Methodology · How the match is calculated and how party positions are determined.

Have you used the test in a lesson? Write to us at contacto@afinidadpolitica.mx: we would like to know what worked and what did not.