NES Social Science (325) Practice Tests

Competencies 0001–0003 make up about 25% of the test. They ask you to understand major developments in world history from early civilizations to 1600 CE; understand major developments in world history from 1600 to the present; understand historical thinking and skills.

• Competency 0001: Understand major developments in world history from early civilizations to 1600 CE. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the governments, heritages, and economic systems of early river civilizations in Africa and Asia (e.g., India, Egypt, China, Mesopotamia); Examine the features of the civilization of ancient Greece and their enduring effects on later civilizations; Examine the features of the civilization of ancient Rome and their enduring effects on later civilizations and analyze the internal and external factors that contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire; Examine the features of feudalism and the manorial system after the fall of the Roman Empire; Demonstrate knowledge of the empires and states of Asia during the period (e.g., China, Korea, Japan, Mongol Empire) and the trade routes that contributed to their growth; Demonstrate knowledge of the trade routes and empires of Africa (e.g., Ghana, Mali, Songhai) and analyze the effects of the trans-Saharan slave trade on both western and central Africa and the enslaving societies; Analyze the achievements in medicine, science, mathematics, and geography of Islamic civilizations and the interactions between these civilizations and western Europe (e.g., Muslim conquests, Crusades, trade, influence on the European Renaissance); Examine developments surrounding the decline of feudalism and the emergence of nation-states in Europe and the changes arising from the European Renaissance; Analyze the religious, social, political, and economic changes arising from the Protestant Reformation; Analyze the causes and effects of European explorations, conquests, colonization, and the Columbian exchange.
• Competency 0002: Understand major developments in world history from 1600 to the present. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the major events and figures of the Scientific Revolution and analyze its effects on religious, political, and heritage-based institutions; Demonstrate knowledge of the major figures, writings, and ideas of the Enlightenment (e.g., use of reason, natural rights, tabula rasa) and analyze the effects of Enlightenment ideas on society, religious authority, and mercantilism; Analyze the influence of Enlightenment ideas on the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and Latin American revolutions for independence and the relationships between these revolutionary movements; Apply knowledge of the ways in which the Industrial Revolution fundamentally changed the means of production and affected the society, politics, and economics of western Europe and the world; Analyze the political, economic, and social causes and effects of the imperial expansion of industrialized nations in the nineteenth century; Examine the positive and negative effects of advances in technology, communication, and transportation in the first half of the twentieth century; Analyze the causes of World War I and the connections between the war and subsequent events (e.g., the Russian Revolution, the rise of totalitarianism, events and policies that led to World War II); Demonstrate knowledge of the causes and course of the Armenian Genocide during World War I and the Holocaust during World War II; Analyze the causes and major events of World War II and demonstrate knowledge of the treaties and agreements, changes to national boundaries, and newly created multinational organizations following World War II; Examine major political, social, and economic developments in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East since 1945 (e.g., nationalist movements and the end of colonial rule, the Chinese experience with communism, extensions of the Cold War in Latin America and Africa, the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa, Arab-Israeli conflicts, instances of genocide); Demonstrate knowledge of the causes of and major events surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War and analyze the resulting challenges and conflicts in former Soviet republics, Soviet allies, Europe, and the nonaligned world; Analyze major issues and challenges in the world since 1991 (e.g., struggles of groups for self-determination, shifts among global economic powers, improvements in technology, proliferation of nuclear weapons, shifts in global population, mass migrations, environmental concerns and the environmental movement, competition for the world's energy supplies).
• Competency 0003: Understand historical thinking and skills. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of historians' and archaeologists' practice of describing historical events and issues from the perspectives of people living at the time to avoid evaluating the past in terms of today's norms and values; Distinguish primary and secondary sources and use them to examine events and issues from multiple perspectives and analyze authors' differing points of view; Evaluate the accuracy and credibility of and identify potential assumptions in primary and secondary sources of historical information; Consider and cite textual evidence from primary and secondary sources to develop theses and support or refute positions; Analyze cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in historical events, including multiple causation and long- and short-term causal relations.

Competencies 0004–0005 make up about 25% of the test. They ask you to understand major developments in early U.S. history to 1877; understand major developments in U.S. history from 1877 to the present.

• Competency 0004: Understand major developments in early U.S. history to 1877. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of the governments, social structures, religions, technologies, and agricultural practices of major early Native American civilizations (e.g., Maya, Inca, Aztec, Mississippian); Analyze the economic, political, and religious reasons for European exploration and colonization of the Western Hemisphere and the short- and long-term effects of exploration and colonization; Examine the forced migration of Africans to the American colonies, the practice of enslavement of people, and colonial economic development; Analyze the causes and effects, key events, and significant figures of the American Revolution; Examine the foundations of the American nation and the principles elaborated in the Declaration of Independence and the Northwest Ordinance; Analyze the problems arising under the Articles of Confederation and the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the ratification of the U.S. Constitution; Demonstrate knowledge of early presidential administrations and the establishment of a strong federal government from 1789 to the 1820s; Examine the connections between territorial expansion of the United States through treaties and purchases, economic and industrial development, Manifest Destiny, war with Mexico, debates over sectional issues, and the displacement of Native Americans; Analyze federalism, economic developments, sectional issues, and the practice of slavery as causes of the Civil War; Analyze the effects, key events, and significant figures of the Civil War; Analyze the effects of the Reconstruction period (e.g., changes to the U.S. Constitution, an affirmation of federal authority, interracial democracy, lingering social and political differences).
• Competency 0005: Understand major developments in U.S. history from 1877 to the present. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of events surrounding the emergence of the United States as an urban industrial society; Examine the continued settlement of Americans in the West, the intensified conflict with Native Americans, and the forced reservation system that resulted from this; Examine the political and social structures of the South and the institutionalization of racial discrimination after Reconstruction; Demonstrate knowledge of the aims and achievements of the Progressive Era; Analyze the emergence of the United States as a world power and the conduct of foreign policy through the 1920s (e.g., Spanish-American War, World War I, isolationism); Examine the developments that contributed to unrest, tensions, and social change in the 1920s (e.g., racial intolerance, anti-immigrant attitudes, the Red Scare, technological innovations and an improved standard of living, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, women's suffrage, Prohibition); Analyze the causes of the Great Depression and the government's responses to it; Examine U.S. participation in World War II and the effects of the war on American society; Demonstrate knowledge of the origins, issues, and events associated with the Cold War and U.S. foreign policy since 1945; Analyze major social, economic, and political developments in the United States since 1945; Examine the aims, activities, strategies, prominent figures, and achievements of the struggle for African American equality (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, Montgomery bus boycott, civil disobedience, sit-in movement, Birmingham and Selma campaigns, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Black Power movement); Demonstrate knowledge of events and issues in the struggle for the further extension of civil rights.

Competencies 0006–0007 make up about 20% of the test. They ask you to understand civic participation and skills, the roles and systems of government, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship; understand basic principles of the U.S. Constitution and the structure and functions of different branches and levels of government in the United States.

• Competency 0006: Understand civic participation and skills, the roles and systems of government, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of the ways in which political parties, interest groups, and social and civic groups provide opportunities for civic involvement; Apply knowledge of how communication technology affects the ability of governments, interest groups, individuals, and the media to share information and how communication technology and media influence public opinion and civic participation; Apply knowledge of the civic skills that contribute to the democratic process (e.g., persuasion, compromise, consensus building, collaboration, negotiation); Differentiate between democracies, dictatorships, monarchies, and theocracies and analyze the ways in which governmental authority in different systems affects the extent of citizens' liberties and responsibilities; Apply knowledge of the ways in which Greek democracy and the Roman Republic were a radical departure from monarchy and theocracy and how they influenced the structure and function of modern democratic governments; Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in the United States.
• Competency 0007: Understand basic principles of the U.S. Constitution and the structure and functions of different branches and levels of government in the United States. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of the general purpose of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights in establishing a federal republic that incorporates the civic ideals of the American democratic system (e.g., elected representatives, separation of powers, checks and balances); Analyze the constitutional protections for individual liberties and limits on governmental power embodied in the Bill of Rights; Examine ways in which constitutional government in the United States has changed as a result of legislation and informal practices; Analyze the effects of the Reconstruction Amendments (i.e., Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth) on African Americans and on constitutional government in the United States; Apply knowledge of the effects of twentieth-century constitutional amendments that have extended suffrage and other civil rights; Examine ways in which Supreme Court decisions have changed constitutional government in the United States; Demonstrate knowledge of constitutional amendments that have altered provisions for the structure and functions of the federal government; Apply knowledge of the distinct powers and responsibilities of the three branches of government; Apply knowledge of the principles of federalism and how federal, state, and local levels of government divide and share powers and responsibilities; Apply knowledge of how the three branches of government, at all levels, enact policy.

Competencies 0008–0009 make up about 15% of the test. They ask you to understand spatial thinking, geographic tools and skills, and physical and cultural features of places and regions; understand human systems.

• Competency 0008: Understand spatial thinking, geographic tools and skills, and physical and cultural features of places and regions. Skills tested: Apply basic geographic terms and concepts (e.g., latitude and longitude, absolute and relative location, cardinal and intermediate directions, assimilation, demographic cycle, complementarity, sustainability); Demonstrate knowledge of the properties and functions of geographic representations (e.g., maps, globes, graphs, diagrams) and how they can be used to investigate, analyze, and solve geographic problems and communicate the results; Demonstrate knowledge of the properties and functions of geospatial technologies (e.g., Internet-based mapping applications, geographic information systems, global positioning systems, remote sensing, geographic visualizations) and how they can be used to investigate, analyze, and solve geographic problems and communicate the results; Interpret geographic information about people, places, and environments presented in various visual formats (e.g., maps, charts, tables, population pyramids, images); Demonstrate knowledge of the location and uses of natural resources in the United States and the world and apply knowledge of the physical processes that influence the formation and distribution of renewable, nonrenewable, and flow resources; Identify and describe physical, political, and heritage-based features of the world (e.g., landforms, bodies of water, climate zones, countries, regions, population centers, linguistic groups) on maps of different types and scales; and use geographic skills to understand and analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth's surface; Define and apply the concepts of region and place, identify major regions of the United States and the world determined by various criteria (e.g., landforms, climate, population, economic characteristics), and explain how and why regions change over time through physical and human processes; Use modern and historical maps and other geographic tools to trace the development of human settlement and the movement of people, products, and ideas and to analyze how historic events have been shaped by geography.
• Competency 0009: Understand human systems. Skills tested: Analyze physical, economic, and political factors that have promoted or impeded the movement of people and the effects of human migrations on physical and human systems; Analyze patterns of the diffusion of technology, agricultural practices and products, and heritage-based and religious practices and the effects of such diffusion on human societies; Analyze the effects of physical environments and the availability of natural resources on human activities, settlement patterns, and land use; Analyze opportunities and challenges posed by urbanization for cities and their surrounding regions; Examine the opportunities and constraints placed on human societies by the physical environment and how people have used a variety of strategies to adapt to the environment; Analyze ways in which human societies modify the physical environment and the effects of those modifications on both the environment and on human societies; Examine social, political, and economic consequences of assumptions for historically marginalized groups and the population as a whole; Demonstrate knowledge of current patterns of trade, communication, and interdependence among countries; Analyze the causes and effects of globalization.

Competencies 0010–0011 make up about 15% of the test. They ask you to understand the core ideas in economics; understand fundamental concepts of financial literacy.

• Competency 0010: Understand the core ideas in economics. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of basic economic concepts (e.g., scarcity, opportunity cost, productive resources, economic incentives, competition, specialization, marginal utility, elasticity, economies of scale, the law of diminishing returns); Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of different economic systems (e.g., traditional, market, command, mixed) and the different ways that these systems allocate limited resources; Apply knowledge of the interaction of supply and demand in determining market prices, quantities of outputs produced, and the quantities of productive resources used and of the ways that those adjustments send signals and provide incentives to consumers and producers to change their decisions; Demonstrate knowledge of the effects of competition among sellers and competition among buyers in a market system; Demonstrate knowledge of the economic indicators (e.g., productivity, gross domestic product, inflation rate, unemployment rate) gathered by the government to assess a nation's overall level of economic well-being; Examine the federal government's use of fiscal policy, regulatory actions, and the intended and unintended effects of these policies on economic activity; Examine the Federal Reserve System's use of monetary policy tools to regulate the nation's money supply and moderate the effects of expansion and contraction in the economy; Apply knowledge of the principles of absolute advantage and comparative advantage as explanations of the benefits of international trade; Analyze the effects of protectionist tariffs, quotas, subsidies, trade agreements, embargoes, and membership in multinational economic organizations on international trade; Analyze ways in which international trade affects regions' and nations' production, consumption, and interdependence and the ways in which the global economy creates advantages and disadvantages for different segments of the world's population.
• Competency 0011: Understand fundamental concepts of financial literacy. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of financial decision-making strategies and other elements of financial responsibility and the factors that affect people's earning potential as employees and as entrepreneurs; Demonstrate knowledge of the development of a personal budget or spending-and- savings plan and the application of budgeting principles to purchasing decisions, including decisions about postsecondary education options; Demonstrate knowledge of the financial responsibility of planning for and paying local, state, and federal taxes; how other deductions from gross pay affect take- home pay; and how tax credits and deductions affect total tax liability; Demonstrate knowledge of laws and agencies that regulate the economic and financial system and protect consumers, investors, and debtors from fraud and potential loss; Demonstrate knowledge of the variety of financial institutions (e.g., banks, online banks, credit unions, brokerage houses), the products and services they offer (e.g., savings accounts, checking accounts, debit cards, financial planning services), and other advocates and organizations that provide information and protection to consumers and investors; Demonstrate knowledge of tools to protect consumers from the potential loss of personal and business assets and income (e.g., warranties and service plans; product liability lawsuits; health, life, disability, auto, homeowners, renters, and liability insurance; protections against identity theft); Apply knowledge of key investing concepts, principles, and strategies to help achieve the goal of increasing net worth (e.g., assets, liabilities, compound interest, the time value of money and the cost of delay, diversification) and analyze options among investment products in terms of costs and fees, tax implications, time horizon, liquidity, rate of return, and various types of risk; Apply knowledge of the risks that can arise from the contractual terms and conditions of credit cards, lines of credit, loans from banks, and loans from payday lenders and apply knowledge of the effective balancing of credit and debt to maintain a good credit score and achieve other financial goals.