NES History/Social Science (826) Practice Tests

Competencies 01–03 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, cultural, and technological developments in world history to approximately the mid-fourteenth century CE; apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, cultural, and technological developments in the early modern world (from approximately the mid-fourteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century CE); apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, cultural, and technological developments in modern world history.

• Competency 0001: Apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, cultural, and technological developments in world history to approximately the mid-fourteenth century CE. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of human origins and early societies (e.g., African origins, early migrations, Neolithic agricultural revolution, complex societies); Demonstrate knowledge of the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological characteristics and historical development of the early societies of Western Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa (e.g., Mesopotamia, Egypt, Nubia, Phoenicia, Israel and Palestine), and Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., Axum, Swahili coastal societies, Ghana, Mali); Demonstrate knowledge of the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological characteristics and historical development of the early societies of Central and South Asia (e.g., Indus Valley civilization, Mauryan Empire, Gandharan Kingdom, Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, Persian Empire), East Asia (e.g., Shang, Zhou, Qin, Song, and Yuan dynasties of China; the Mongol Empire; the Kamakura shogunate; ancient Korea), and Southeast Asia and Oceania (e.g., Khmer Empire, Aborigines, Maoris); Demonstrate knowledge of the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological characteristics and historical development of the early societies of South and Central America (e.g., Maya, Olmec, Teotihuac-n, Zapotec, Toltec, Chav-n, Nazca, Moche, Lenca, Huetares, Chorotegas, Miskito) and the Caribbean Islands (e.g., Arawak, Taino, Carib); Demonstrate knowledge of the social, cultural, political, economic, and technological characteristics and historical development of the early societies in Europe (e.g., Celtic societies, Minoan and Mycenaean societies, ancient Greece, Persian Empire, Roman Empire and Republic, Islamic Empire); Analyze the types of interactions between ancient societies (e.g., conquest; trade; colonization; diffusion of religion, language, and culture) and their effects on those societies; Analyze the central tenets, historical development, and influence of major world religions (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Islam); Demonstrate knowledge of slavery in the ancient world and the beginning of the slave trade.
• Competency 0002: Apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, cultural, and technological developments in the early modern world (from approximately the mid-fourteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century CE). Skills tested: Analyze the political, economic, scientific, and cultural consequences of Islamic expansion into Africa, Europe, and Asia; Examine global interactions across regions, including the Silk Roads and the trading routes of West Africa and the Indian Ocean, and their effect on developments in philosophy, the arts, science, and technology in Africa, Europe, and Asia; Demonstrate knowledge of the political, social, and economic characteristics and territorial extent of early modern empires and kingdoms in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia (e.g., Byzantine, Ottoman, Mughal, Ming, Songhai, Aztec, Inca, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, British); Analyze the causes, course, and consequences of early European colonialism (e.g., the subjugation of indigenous peoples, exchange and exploitation of resources, the expansion of and resistance to the transatlantic slave trade of enslaved Africans, the reliance on slave-generated capital); Demonstrate knowledge of the origins, principal figures, and influence of the European Renaissance; the flourishing of Islamic arts, science, and learning; and the global spread and effects of Chinese inventions and technologies; Demonstrate knowledge of the emergence of nation-states, the rise of absolute monarchies, and the growth of constitutional governments in Europe; Demonstrate knowledge of the origins and major ideas of the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution; Compare the causes, goals, and outcomes of the American Revolution, French Revolution, Haitian Revolution, and Latin American wars for independence, and analyze the short- and long-term effects of these revolutions.
• Competency 0003: Apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, cultural, and technological developments in modern world history. Skills tested: Assess the causes, course, and global consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolutions; Demonstrate knowledge of the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments of Caribbean and Central and South American history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Analyze the causes of nineteenth-century European global imperialism (e.g., the concept of racial superiority and Social Darwinism, competition, economic goals) and its long-term impacts across Asia, Africa, and Latin America; Demonstrate knowledge of the causes, military technologies, human toll, and global consequences of World War I and World War II; Demonstrate knowledge of the ideologies of fascism, Nazism, communism, and totalitarianism and of the genocides and mass atrocities in Armenia, Russia, and the Ukraine; Demonstrate knowledge of the Holocaust, including its roots in Christian anti-Semitism, nineteenth-century ideas about race and nation, and the Nazi dehumanization and planned extermination of the Jews and persecution of LGBTQ and Roma people; Analyze the development and goals of nationalist movements in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Middle East and how the leaders brought about decolonization and independence; Demonstrate knowledge of the causes, key events, and consequences of the Cold War; Analyze the major developments in Chinese history since the middle of the twentieth century; Analyze major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in Latin America during the Cold War; Identify and analyze global economic, cultural, social, scientific, and technological developments since the end of the Cold War (e.g., communications and information revolutions, economic globalization, human migrations and recurring refugee crises, environmental challenges, climate change, disease and childhood mortality, education of girls and women, development of rural economies, international terrorism) and the effects of international efforts to address them; Demonstrate knowledge of genocides and mass atrocities since the middle of the twentieth century and analyze the factors that led to these events (e.g., in Cambodia, Bosnia, Kashmir, Rwanda, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, and Syria); Analyze how various social and intellectual movements since the middle of the twentieth century changed assumptions about race, ethnicity, class, gender, the environment, and religion (e.g., the modern feminist movement, the LGBTQ rights movement, the environmentalist movement and emergence of Green parties).

Competencies 04–06 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the history of North America prior to 1789; apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the history of the United States from 1789 to 1918; apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the history of the United States from 1918 to the present.

• Competency 0004: Apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the history of North America prior to 1789. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the diverse societies of Native Peoples across North America; Analyze interactions, coexistence, and conflict between and among Native Peoples, enslaved and free Africans, and Europeans (e.g., exchange of foods and technology, great loss of life due to the introduction of disease, religious conversions, enslavement, land ownership and property rights, loss of territory, alliances and wars); Analyze reasons different colonies were established in North America, and demonstrate knowledge of the location of and regional and economic differences across the first thirteen English colonies; Demonstrate knowledge of the origins of the transatlantic slave trade of enslaved Africans and the harsh conditions of the Middle Passage; Demonstrate knowledge of the legal status of African slavery in all the colonies, the prevalence of slave ownership, including by many of the country's early leaders, and the enduring effects of slavery throughout North America; Demonstrate knowledge of the events, issues, and ideas that precipitated the American Revolution; Demonstrate knowledge of the Revolutionary War, including major events and turning points, leading figures, challenges facing American forces, the roles and experiences of various groups during the war (e.g., Patriots, Loyalists, enslaved and free Africans, Native Peoples, women), and economic issues arising out of the war; and assess the long-term effects of the Revolution.
• Competency 0005: Apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the history of the United States from 1789 to 1918. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of key events and issues related to westward expansion (e.g., the Louisiana Purchase, the impact of geography on westward migration, the concept of Manifest Destiny, major territorial acquisitions, the Mexican-American War, forced removal of Native Peoples, Chinese immigration and exclusion); Analyze the role of slavery in the economies of the industrialized North and the agricultural South; examine reasons for the rapid growth of slavery in southern states, the Caribbean islands, and South America after 1800; and analyze how banks, insurance companies, and other institutions profited directly or indirectly from the slave trade and slave labor; Analyze aspects of life and culture of enslaved and free African Americans, including acts of resistance; Analyze the origins and accomplishments of the reform movements of the mid-nineteenth century (e.g., Second Great Awakening, abolition movement, campaigns for reform of education and treatment of the mentally ill, women's suffrage movement, temperance movement); Analyze the sources of sectional conflict over slavery and issues and events leading to the Civil War; Demonstrate knowledge of leading figures; military strategies; events and turning points; diplomatic initiatives; and the social, political, and economic consequences of the Civil War; Analyze the consequences of emancipation, Reconstruction, and the Jim Crow era for African Americans (e.g., limited educational and economic opportunities; organized perpetuation of white supremacist beliefs and violence from groups such as the Ku Klux Klan; the unifying role of African American churches, civic organizations, and newspapers; the formation of organizations such as the Colored Farmers' National Alliance and Cooperative Union; the founding of black colleges; the development of African American literature in the early twentieth century); Analyze the strategies of African Americans to achieve basic civil rights in the early twentieth century, and evaluate the extent to which they met their goals by considering the contributions of leaders and organizations (e.g., Ida B. Wells-Barnett, W. E. B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP]); Demonstrate knowledge of the settlement of the trans-Mississippi West, including factors encouraging migration; conflicts between different groups of settlers; technological innovations central to the growth of ranching, farming, and mining; the environmental consequences of westward expansion; and the government policies and military campaigns that led to the destruction of the Native Peoples of the Great Plains and Far West; Demonstrate knowledge of events and issues related to industrialization, immigration, and urbanization (e.g., technological and scientific advances; nativist hostility and violence; northward and westward migration of Southern African Americans; European, Latin American, and Asian immigration; women in the workforce; business entrepreneurs; labor unions) that led to the reforms of the Progressive movement; Analyze government policies, movements, and leaders from the Progressive Era (e.g., bans against child labor, the development of boarding schools for Native Peoples, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Reserve Act, women's suffrage movement, the Populist Party, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Marcus Garvey, Upton Sinclair, Robert La Follette, Theodore Roosevelt), and assess its effects; Analyze the causes and course of the growing role of the United States in world affairs, and make connections between key events and issues surrounding U.S. imperialism (e.g., the Spanish-American War, the territory of Puerto Rico, construction of the Panama Canal, U.S. involvement in the Mexican Revolution, Open Door policy); Demonstrate knowledge of the causes, roles, and consequences of U.S. involvement in World War I.
• Competency 0006: Apply knowledge of major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the history of the United States from 1918 to the present. Skills tested: Analyze the conflict in American culture between traditionalism and modernity (e.g., Prohibition, the debate over evolution, immigration restriction, the eugenics movement, growing prominence of same-sex relationships, persistence and resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan) through major political, economic, social, and cultural developments of the 1920s (e.g., the Red Scare, the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, the first Great Migration, racial and ethnic tensions); Demonstrate knowledge of the causes and evaluate consequences of and reactions to the Great Depression; Demonstrate knowledge of the responses of the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations to the domestic and international economic crisis of the 1930s, demonstrate knowledge of the major policies of the New Deal, and assess their impact on U.S. government and society; Analyze the causes, key events, and consequences of U.S. participation in World War II; Examine the short- and long-term consequences of important social and economic events during World War II and the generation after the war (e.g., the internment of Japanese Americans, economic growth, second Great Migration, women in the workforce, suburbanization and segregation, increased demand for civil rights for women and African Americans); Analyze the origins, evolution, goals, and methods of the African American Civil Rights Movement and the lasting impact of this movement on the United States; Demonstrate knowledge of U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and the impact of the Cold War on U.S. politics; Analyze the origins, key people, evolution, goals, and accomplishments of and connections between major social and political movements in the United States since 1945 (e.g., the African American Civil Rights Movement; women's rights and feminism; the workers' rights movement; the movement to protect the rights, self-determination, and sovereignty of Native Peoples; the LGBTQ rights and Gay Pride movements; the disability rights movement; the environmental movement); Analyze issues related to race relations in the United States, including resistance to integration in white communities; protests to end segregation; Supreme Court decisions on civil rights and coverage of these events in news articles/analyses, editorials, and radio/television; the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and its impact on neighborhood integration; policies, court cases, and practices regarding affirmative action and their effect on the workforce and higher education; disparities and trends in educational achievement and attainment, rates of incarceration, health outcomes, and wealth and income; and the election of Barack Obama; Analyze important domestic policies and events that took place during the presidencies of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson; Analyze the rise of the conservative movement in U.S. politics; Demonstrate knowledge of the new international context facing the United States after the end of the Cold War, and analyze the U.S. response to major international challenges and crises; Evaluate the impact of economic globalization on the United States, and analyze important major technological and social developments in recent U.S. history.

Competencies 07–09 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to apply knowledge of physical and human geography across the following regions: Western Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, North America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, South America, Central and South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; apply knowledge of the relationship between geography and culture across the following regions: Western Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, North America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, South America, Central and South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania; apply knowledge of concepts and principles of economics.

• Competency 0007: Apply knowledge of physical and human geography across the following regions: Western Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, North America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, South America, Central and South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the physical geography of Earth, including the location of significant landforms and bodies of water; Demonstrate knowledge of the human geography of Earth and the location of countries and cities as centers of global interaction; Analyze physical and human geographic factors influencing population distribution and settlement patterns; Demonstrate knowledge of the distribution and location of natural resources and the effects of resource allocation on human populations; Analyze the political, social, economic, cultural, and technological factors influencing human use of land and physical space; Demonstrate knowledge of the political division of Earth's surface.
• Competency 0008: Apply knowledge of the relationship between geography and culture across the following regions: Western Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, North America, Central America, Caribbean Islands, South America, Central and South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Skills tested: Analyze the causes (e.g., trade, migration, conquest, war, colonization, religion) and geographic and historical effects of cultural diffusion, convergence, and divergence; Examine ways that people have modified the physical environment, and assess the effects of these modifications on the environment and on human societies; Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of places and regions on the development of cultural identity (e.g., religious and cultural traditions, holidays, norms); Analyze the ways in which physical geography (e.g., landforms, river systems, resources, climate) has affected the development of agriculture, population centers, and trade in history; Examine the interactions between trade and patterns of economic development in history; Demonstrate knowledge of social, cultural, ideological, and military factors influencing the relationships and patterns of cooperation and conflict between places and peoples.
• Competency 0009: Apply knowledge of concepts and principles of economics. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of different economic systems; Demonstrate knowledge of the interaction of supply and demand and the role that supply and demand, prices, and profits play in determining production and distribution in a market economy; Examine the roles that government may play in a market economy (e.g., the provision of public goods and services, redistribution of income, protection of property rights, resolution of market failures, and the use of taxing and spending decisions [i.e., fiscal policy] and monetary policy) to promote price stability, full employment, and economic growth; Analyze how a country's overall level of income, employment, and prices are determined by the individual spending and production decisions of households and firms and how the government calculates measures such as gross domestic product (GDP), the inflation rate, and the unemployment rate; Demonstrate knowledge of the role of banks and other financial institutions in a market economy and the reasons for banking crises; Demonstrate knowledge of types of financial investments and why their values fluctuate.

Competencies 10–13 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to apply knowledge of the origin of constitutional government in the United States; apply knowledge of the purposes, principles, and institutions of U.S. and Massachusetts state and local government; apply knowledge of civic life and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States, and more.

• Competency 0010: Apply knowledge of the origin of constitutional government in the United States. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of how political thought and democracy in the United States have been affected by elements of Greek direct democracy; Roman representative democracy; the Magna Carta; Enlightenment political philosophers; the English Bill of Rights, Parliament, common law, and tradition of limited self-government; and governments of Native Peoples; Identify and analyze the political principles in major documents that influenced the development of government in the United States (e.g., Mayflower Compact, Iroquois Confederacy Constitution, Albany Plan of Union, Suffolk Resolves); Demonstrate knowledge of the establishment of colonial governments (e.g., Virginia House of Burgesses, Massachusetts General Court); Analyze the principles of the Declaration of Independence, particularly the universal rights of all people, and evaluate how perspectives on these principles have evolved; Analyze the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and the impact of Shays' Rebellion in the years after the American Revolution; Demonstrate knowledge of the competing views of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists and of the origins and development of a two-party system in United States politics; Analyze the significance of major debates and compromises reached at the Constitutional Convention (e.g., distribution of power; rights of individuals; representation of states and the Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise; the Three-Fifths Compromise, which reinforced the institution of slavery); Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution and its amendments, the individual rights and protections guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and the exclusion of women and African Americans from voting rights and property rights in the Constitution of 1787.
• Competency 0011: Apply knowledge of the purposes, principles, and institutions of U.S. and Massachusetts state and local government. Skills tested: Analyze the structure, functions, and powers of the Congress, including the lawmaking process of the House of Representatives and the Senate and the varied understandings of the role of elected representatives in a democracy; Examine the various roles and responsibilities of the President of the United States; Analyze the structure, functions, and powers of the Supreme Court and other federal inferior courts as the judicial branch; Examine the interrelationships of the three branches of government (i.e., checks and balances); Evaluate the significance of other institutions of government (e.g., the military, central banks, administrative agencies, bureaucracies); Examine the historical context and significance of key changes in the Constitution and Supreme Court decisions that have made significant changes in citizens' lives (e.g., Fourth Amendment, Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Loving v. Virginia, Tinker v. Des Moines, Texas v. Johnson, Romer v. Evans); Analyze the forces that influence U.S. foreign policy and the tools used to carry out foreign policy; Distinguish the delegated, reserved, and concurrent powers in the federal system of the United States; Demonstrate knowledge of the structure, functions, and powers of state and local government in Massachusetts; Analyze the enumerated and implied powers of the Massachusetts Constitution and the various forms of local government (e.g., cities, towns, school districts).
• Competency 0012: Apply knowledge of civic life and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the ways that one can become a U.S. citizen; Demonstrate knowledge of the virtues (e.g., respect for the law; belief in liberty, justice, fairness, and equality), responsibilities, and duties associated with citizenship; Examine the role of a free press and media literacy in a free society, including the different functions of news articles, editorials, editorial cartoons, and "op-ed" commentaries; Demonstrate knowledge of methods for evaluating information and distinguishing opinion from fact in print and online media; Examine modern changes to media and communication, including the benefits and challenges that they present for a democratic society; Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts of due process, equal protection, and the rule of law; Demonstrate knowledge of constitutional amendments and laws related to voting rights and civic participation (e.g., Fifteenth Amendment, Nineteenth Amendment, Twenty-sixth Amendment); Demonstrate knowledge of the U.S. political system and factors that contribute to the outcome of elections (e.g., political parties and interest groups, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, methods used by political parties to craft messages and select candidates, voter turnout); Examine the role of political protest in a democracy; Examine the influence of public and private interest groups on government and public policy; Demonstrate knowledge of the means for taking informed action within a democratic society to address social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and international levels.
• Competency 0013: Apply knowledge of the guiding principles and instructional practices of effective history and social science education. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of how individual contexts and perspectives influence perceptions about history; Demonstrate knowledge of how different academic fields in the social sciences concentrate on different means to study societies in the past and how current historical interpretation might build on, extend, or reject an interpretation of the past; Demonstrate knowledge of effective instructional strategies that encourage honest and informed academic discussions about prejudice, racism, sexism, and/or bigotry in the past and present; Identify problematic narratives and instructional strategies that conflict with current historical scholarship and pedagogy and uphold prejudice, racism, sexism, and/or bigotry.

Competencies 14, 15 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to prepare an organized, developed written analysis of the information in given primary and secondary historical sources surrounding a discipline-specific inquiry question related to world history after the mid-fourteenth century CE; prepare an organized, developed written analysis of the information in given primary and secondary historical sources surrounding a discipline-specific inquiry question related to U.S. history. Social Science Concepts and Skills 10%; Social Science Analysis and Interpretation 10%.

• Competency 0014: Prepare an organized, developed written analysis of the information in given primary and secondary historical sources surrounding a discipline-specific inquiry question related to world history after the mid-fourteenth century CE. Skills tested: Construct a precise, knowledgeable claim in response to the discipline-specific inquiry question; Organize information and data from multiple primary and secondary sources; Analyze the central idea, purpose, point of view, and credibility of sources; Argue or explain conclusions, using valid reasoning and evidence.
• Competency 0015: Prepare an organized, developed written analysis of the information in given primary and secondary historical sources surrounding a discipline-specific inquiry question related to U.S. history. Skills tested: Construct a precise, knowledgeable claim in response to the discipline-specific inquiry question; Organize information and data from multiple primary and secondary sources; Analyze the central idea, purpose, point of view, and credibility of sources; Argue or explain conclusions, using valid reasoning and evidence.