OSAT U.S. History/Oklahoma History/Government/Economics (117) Practice Tests

Competencies 0001–0010 make up about 51% of the test. They ask you to understand and apply historical terms, concepts, and research skills; and demonstrate the ability to analyze and interpret historical information; understand and analyze American Indian societies before European contact, the course of European settlement in North America, and the institutions, structure, and development of colonial societies; understand and analyze the principal causes and key events of the Revolutionary War and the major political, economic, and social developments related to the formation and evolution of government and politics during the early years of the Republic, and more.

• Competency 0001: Understand and apply historical terms, concepts, and research skills; and demonstrate the ability to analyze and interpret historical information. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of historical terms and concepts (e.g., revolution, hegemony, continuity and change, nation-state, interdependence, racism, culture) and use these terms and concepts to analyze general historical phenomena and specific historical events; Demonstrate the ability to use reference resources (e.g., encyclopedias, almanacs, biographical dictionaries, the Internet), documents, and historical narratives and analyses to investigate historical questions; Recognize the differences between primary and secondary sources of historical information, analyze their advantages and limitations, and evaluate the usefulness of primary and secondary sources for specific inquires; Place historical events and developments in a chronological framework; interpret data presented in a timeline; evaluate how multiple, complex events are shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts; and analyze interacting factors that influence multiple perspectives during different historical eras; Apply research skills and processes of critical historical inquiry (e.g., formulating hypotheses, gathering data, identifying central questions addressed in historical narratives, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships, distinguishing significant events and developments from those that are inconsequential, applying interdisciplinary lenses to gather and evaluate information, assessing the credibility and objectivity of historical sources, identifying further areas of inquiry and additional relevant sources); Interpret historical data presented in various visual formats (e.g., graphs, charts, tables, maps, political cartoons); evaluate information from a variety of texts; and cite specific evidence to draw conclusions, support analyses, and defend arguments related to historical events and developments; Distinguish statements of fact from expressions of opinion; analyze the assumptions and points of view of historical texts; and evaluate the extent to which historical, cultural, and/or global perspectives affect an author's stated or implied purpose, use of evidence, and conclusions.
• Competency 0002: Understand and analyze American Indian societies before European contact, the course of European settlement in North America, and the institutions, structure, and development of colonial societies. Skills tested: Identify major American Indian peoples and civilizations prior to European contact and describe their economic, political, and cultural achievements; Recognize the objectives and results of key European explorers and expeditions to the Western Hemisphere (e.g., Columbus, Ponce de León, Vázquez de Coronado, Cortés, Hudson, Cavelier La Salle) and examine European competition in North America; Demonstrate knowledge of early European settlements in Colonial America (e.g., Jamestown, Massachusetts Bay, New Amsterdam); identify the economic, social, and political reasons for European migration to North America (e.g., economic opportunity, escape from religious persecution, military adventure); and analyze the challenges and successes of early settlements; Analyze sources of coexistence and conflict between Europeans and American Indians during the colonial period and compare the variety of cultural perspectives among these groups (e.g., land ownership and use, agricultural methods, production and distribution of commodities, trading practices); Recognize similarities, differences, and patterns of development among the New England, mid-Atlantic, and southern colonies; and compare the roles, daily lives, and perspectives of different social and economic groups (e.g., farmers, plantation owners, merchants, artisans, women, children, laborers, enslaved African Americans); Analyze the international economic and cultural interactions resulting from the triangular trade routes, including the forced migration of Africans through the transatlantic slave trade and experiences of the Middle Passage; Relate the contributions of important individuals (e.g., John Smith, Peter Stuyvesant, Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, William Penn, James Oglethorpe) and groups (e.g., Pilgrims, Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, merchants, royal officials) to the development of colonial societies in North America.
• Competency 0003: Understand and analyze the principal causes and key events of the Revolutionary War and the major political, economic, and social developments related to the formation and evolution of government and politics during the early years of the Republic. Skills tested: Evaluate the political climate in the British colonies prior to the French and Indian War, including the policy of salutary neglect, mercantilism, the Navigation Acts, and the Albany Plan of Union, and compare the Iroquois Confederacy to early attempts to unite the colonies; Analyze the political, social, and economic origins of the movement for American independence; and examine major events leading to the Revolutionary War (e.g., the French and Indian War, the Proclamation of 1763, the Stamp and Sugar acts, the Boston Massacre, the Intolerable Acts, the Second Continental Congress); Compare the advantages and disadvantages of Great Britain and the American colonies during the Revolutionary War; and analyze the significance of key developments, battles, and events (e.g., the British raids on Lexington and Concord, the publication of Common Sense, the Declaration of Independence, Saratoga, the alliance with France, Yorktown, the Treaty of Paris); Recognize the significance of key individuals during the Revolutionary War (e.g., George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Nancy Ward, Thayendanegea [Joseph Brant], Lord Charles Cornwallis) and compare the roles and perspectives of different groups during the war (e.g., women, colonists of different social classes, patriots, loyalists, Native Americans, African Americans); Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, evaluate events leading to the Constitutional Convention (e.g., Shays's Rebellion), and analyze major debates surrounding the creation and ratification of the Constitution; Examine major political developments in the United States during the presidential administrations of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison (e.g., the rise of political parties, the economic policies of Alexander Hamilton, the Whiskey Rebellion, the Alien and Sedition Acts, the election of 1800, the evolution of the Supreme Court); Demonstrate knowledge of U.S. foreign relations and major territorial policies from 1783 to 1823 (e.g., the Northwest Ordinances, Washington's Farewell Address, the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, the Monroe Doctrine).
• Competency 0004: Understand and analyze Jacksonian Democracy, westward expansion, and the major political, economic, social, and cultural developments in the United States from 1815 to 1850. Skills tested: Analyze the factors that led to the election of Andrew Jackson, recognize the principles of Jacksonian Democracy, and examine major political developments during the Jacksonian era (e.g., the Nullification Crisis, the debate over the Second Bank, the Indian Removal Act, the expansion of suffrage); Analyze the motivating factors and justifications for the westward expansion of the United States (e.g., the desire for cheap land, the California gold rush, the Mormon migration, the doctrine of Manifest Destiny) and examine the impact of westward expansion on American Indian peoples (e.g., forced migrations, treaties); Identify major territorial acquisitions of the United States, evaluate the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the need to maintain a balance of "free" and "slave" states, and analyze the causes and consequences of the Texas War for Independence and the Mexican-American War; Demonstrate knowledge of major intellectual, religious, and reform movements of the first half of the nineteenth century (e.g., the Second Great Awakening, utopian communities, temperance, abolitionism, women's rights); recognize the roles and achievements of the leaders of major reform movements (e.g., Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Dorothea Dix, Horace Mann, William Lloyd Garrison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton); and assess their impact on U.S. society; Analyze the role that transportation improvements, technological innovations, geography, and industrial development played in the economic growth and transformation of the United States; Describe and compare the different economies, cultures, and social structures of the North and the South (e.g., early industrialization, the impact of immigration in the North, the southern plantation system, the cotton gin and the development of slavery in the South) during the period before the Civil War; Compare the perspectives and experiences of both free and enslaved African Americans, including the emergence of a distinctive African American culture, the everyday life of slaves and free African Americans, acts of resistance to slavery, the Underground Railroad, legal restrictions and slave codes, and Nat Turner's Rebellion.
• Competency 0005: Understand and analyze the origins, key events, and major social, economic, and political consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Skills tested: Analyze diverse perspectives on slavery in the North and the South and recognize how different views about slavery contributed to the intersectional tensions that resulted in the Civil War; Examine key events (e.g., the Compromise of 1850, the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, "Bleeding Kansas," Dred Scott v. Sandford, the election of 1860) that inflamed tensions in the North and South and increased sectional polarization; Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the Union and the Confederacy at the outset of the Civil War; assess key strategies used during the war (e.g., the Anaconda Plan, Total War, the Southern defense strategy); and demonstrate knowledge of major developments, battles, and events of the war (e.g., Fort Sumter, Fredericksburg, the Gettysburg Address, Northern and Southern diplomatic efforts in Europe, the Emancipation Proclamations of 1863 and 1865, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Appomattox); Recognize and compare the roles and perspectives of different groups during the Civil War (e.g., women, African Americans, American Indians, citizens of different social classes, immigrants) and demonstrate knowledge of the roles played by key individuals in the conflict (e.g., Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant); Analyze the significance of key events and phases of Reconstruction (e.g., Lincoln's assassination, the escalating conflict between President Andrew Johnson and Congress, the passage of the Reconstruction Acts, Andrew Johnson's impeachment, the Compromise of 1877); Examine the achievements and failures of Reconstruction and assess their lasting influence on the development of U.S. society (e.g., the establishment of the Freedman's Bureau; the expansion of tenant and sharecropping systems; the election of African Americans to government positions; the passage of Black Codes; the ratification of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan; the enactment of Jim Crow laws; Plessy v. Ferguson).
• Competency 0006: Understand and analyze the impact of expansion and industrialization on U.S. society, the reimposition of white rule in the South, and the changing role of the United States in world affairs at the beginning of the twentieth century. Skills tested: Identify key factors shaping western expansion after the Civil War (e.g., the Homestead Act, the development of the Transcontinental Railroad); analyze government policies toward American Indians (e.g., reservations, the policy of assimilation, the Dawes Act); examine the actions of the U.S. Army, missionaries, and settlers in areas inhabited by American Indians; and evaluate American Indian resistance to U.S. Indian policies; Recognize the causes and consequences of immigration to the United States during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; and analyze changing patterns of immigration, the growth of nativist sentiment, the evolution of federal immigration policy, and the urbanization of U.S. society from 1870 to 1914; Demonstrate knowledge of key technological and industrial innovations (e.g., the steam engine, the telegraph, the mechanical reaper, the Bessemer process, the assembly line) and their applications to industry, agriculture, transportation, and communication; and analyze the impact of industrialization, urbanization, and immigration on social, economic, and political development in the United States from 1870 to 1914; Examine social philosophies and political and economic movements produced by capitalism and the industrial experience (e.g., "The Gospel of Wealth," social Darwinism, muckraking, the settlement house movement, Populism, Progressivism, the labor movement) and assess their impact on government policy and U.S. society (e.g., child labor, working conditions, corporate regulations, women's rights); Recognize legal measures used to perpetuate white rule in the South (e.g., poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses) and social and economic discrimination in the North; demonstrate knowledge of the early civil rights movement; and compare the strategies of Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. DuBois, and Ida B. Wells to combat racial injustice; Analyze political, economic, military, and cultural rationales for U.S. imperialism (e.g., "The White Man's Burden," yellow journalism, jingoism); demonstrate knowledge of U.S. military and diplomatic initiatives in Latin America and the Pacific (e.g., the Spanish-American War, the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, the construction of the Panama Canal); and compare the foreign policies of Presidents Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson; Examine the causes and consequences of U.S. involvement in World War I, analyze the war's impact on U.S. society (e.g., the draft, wartime propaganda, the suppression of individual liberties, women and minorities in the workplace, the Great Migration), and evaluate Wilson's Fourteen Points and the debate over the League of Nations.
• Competency 0007: Understand and analyze major political, cultural, and economic developments in the United States between 1920 and 1945 and the causes, key events, and significant effects of U.S. involvement in World War II. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of major political, technological, and cultural developments of the 1920s (e.g., urban prosperity, rising racial tensions, the Tulsa Race Massacre, resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, the Red Scare, labor unrest, urban and rural electrification, the Jazz Age, motion pictures, the Harlem Renaissance, the Lost Generation, Prohibition); Analyze the causes (e.g., overproduction, stock market speculation, bank failures, government policies, environmental degradation) and effects (e.g., mass unemployment, population migrations, political change) of the Great Depression; and compare differing perspectives on the impact of the Depression on individuals, families, and the nation; Demonstrate knowledge of major New Deal programs (e.g., the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Works Progress Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Tennessee Valley Authority); and analyze the transformative impact of the expanding role of government on business, agriculture, politics, and society in the United States; Examine reasons for U.S. involvement in World War II and compare different perspectives on the U.S. role in international affairs prior to the outbreak of war (e.g., isolationism, appeasement, material support for Great Britain, debates about entering the war); Analyze major battles, turning points, and key strategic decisions during World War II (e.g., Pearl Harbor, Midway, D-day, the island hopping strategy in the Pacific, the Manhattan Project, the decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan); evaluate the consequences of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences; and assess the roles of leading individuals during the war (e.g., Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, Harry Truman); Examine how preparation, mobilization, and conduct of World War II affected the economy and society of the United States (e.g., the internment of Americans of Japanese descent, the treatment of Americans of German and Italian descent, rationing, economic recovery, women and minorities in the workplace).
• Competency 0008: Understand and analyze U.S. foreign policy and the role it has played in domestic and global developments since World War II. Skills tested: Analyze the origins of the Cold War and demonstrate knowledge of major confrontations between the Soviet Union and the United States (e.g., the division of Berlin, the Berlin airlift, the Iron Curtain, the nuclear arms race, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U-2 incident); Evaluate the political, economic, and military strategies used by the United States to contain communism in Europe, Asia, and Latin America by the Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy administrations (e.g., the Marshall Plan, the nuclear arms race, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, the Korean War, the Domino Theory, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Alliance for Progress, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Peace Corps); Identify the functions of major international organizations and military alliances formed after World War II (e.g., the United Nations [UN], the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO], the Warsaw Pact) and analyze how these organizations and alliances have influenced U.S. foreign policy; Examine the origins of U.S. military commitments in Southeast Asia (e.g., the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, military aid to Taiwan, U.S. protection of Japan) and analyze the major events and military-diplomatic consequences of the Vietnam War (e.g., the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the Tet Offensive, the expansion of the war into Laos and Cambodia, U.S. withdrawal and the collapse of South Vietnam); Evaluate the impact of the Cold War on U.S. politics and society (e.g., McCarthyism, the emergence of the military-industrial complex, the space race, student protests, the presidential election of 1968, the 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the War Powers Act); Demonstrate knowledge of the causes, key events, and consequences of U.S. diplomatic and military interventions in Latin America (e.g., the Bay of Pigs invasion, U.S. support for authoritarian regimes, the Iran-Contra affair) and Southwest Asia (e.g., the Camp David Accords, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Persian Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War); Analyze the impact of President Nixon's détente with China and the Soviet Union (e.g., the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty [SALT]), assess the U.S. role in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and relate the end of the Cold War to new challenges to U.S. leadership in the world (e.g., international terrorism, nuclear proliferation, the emergence of China as an economic and military superpower).
• Competency 0009: Understand and analyze the economic, social, and political transformation of the United States since World War II. Skills tested: Examine the causes and effects of major developments in the U.S. economy since 1945 (e.g., the postwar rise in the standard of living, the oil embargoes of the 1970s, federal budget deficits, the North American Free Trade Agreement [NAFTA], the decline of manufacturing, economic globalization, income inequality, the Great Recession); Recognize major social and political changes in the United States in the postwar era (e.g., the baby boom, the expansion of suburbia, the emergence of the youth culture, the growth of the religious right, domestic terrorism, political polarization, the changing role of the media), examine key decisions of the Supreme Court (e.g., Gideon v. Wainwright, Loving v. Virginia, United States v. Nixon, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission), and analyze the impact of these developments on U.S. culture and society; Demonstrate knowledge of major political developments in the United States since 1945 (e.g., Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, the rise of the conservative movement, Watergate, the impeachment of William (Bill) Clinton, the disputed presidential election of 2000, the presidencies of Barack Obama and Donald Trump) and assess their impact on U.S. society; Identify and compare important groups and individuals in the movement for African American rights (e.g., the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP], the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [SNCC], Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X); and analyze the major events, tactics, and accomplishments of the civil rights movement (e.g., the desegregation of the U.S. armed forces, Brown v. Board of Education, the Montgomery bus boycott, the Freedom Rides, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, Black Power, affirmative action, the Black Lives Matter movement); Describe major social movements in the United States since 1945 (e.g., the struggle for women's rights, the environmental movement, the organization of migrant farmworkers, the American Indian Movement [AIM], the LBGTQ+ movement) and evaluate the effects they have had on the development of U.S. society; Examine the changing demographic profile of U.S. society, the aging of the national population, and the sources and causes of immigration to the United States since 1945; and analyze debates over U.S. immigration policies, the impact of new and growing immigrant communities, and the evolving personal and social challenges for young people and older Americans; Identify major technological advances (e.g., television, personal computers, the Internet), communications innovations (e.g., cell phones, social media, video conferencing), and new financial mechanisms (e.g., electronic funds transfers, bitcoins) since 1945 and assess their impact on U.S. government, politics, business, and culture.
• Competency 0010: Understand and analyze major political, social, and economic developments and institutions and the key eras and events in the history of the state of Oklahoma. Skills tested: Locate and describe major physical and human features of Oklahoma (e.g., regions, landforms, waterways, railway lines, cities, ecological regions, natural resources, highways) and assess their influence on the political, social, and economic development of the state; Identify the pre-contact cultures that occupied territory in present-day Oklahoma; compare the cultural perspectives of American Indians and European Americans regarding land ownership, self-government, religion, and trade; analyze the causes and consequences of Indian removals; recognize the role of American Indian peoples in the development of Oklahoma; and evaluate the achievements and contributions of significant historical and contemporary American Indian figures (e.g., Sequoya, Quanah Parker, the Kiowa Five, Wilma Mankiller); Demonstrate knowledge of major political and economic developments in Oklahoma prior to statehood (e.g., territorial acquisitions, military posts and activities, early trading patterns and settlements, the rise of the cattle and coal mining industries, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Boomer Movement, the establishment of the reservation system, railroad construction, land redistribution, the movement for statehood and the formation of constitutional government) and evaluate their impact on Oklahoma history and society; Examine the experiences, challenges, and contributions of major cultural and ethnic groups in Oklahoma (e.g., Asians, African Americans, American Indians, Eastern Europeans, Italians, Germans, Latinx) and analyze the causes and effects of historic and contemporary immigration and settlement patterns; Demonstrate knowledge of major political and economic developments in Oklahoma since statehood (e.g., the growth of natural resources industries, the mechanization of agriculture, the influence of organized labor and socialism, the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, mobilization for World War II, political corruption, domestic terrorism) and analyze the impact of economic growth on the state and its people (e.g., rural to urban migration, the development of the aerospace industry, oil and gas booms and busts); Analyze the evolution of race relations in Oklahoma during the twentieth century (e.g., the activities of the Ku Klux Klan; the enactment of Jim Crow laws; the Tulsa Race Massacre; the desegregation of public facilities, schools, and higher education; landmark Supreme Court cases); Analyze changing perceptions of Oklahoma and its citizens (e.g., The Grapes of Wrath, Oklahoma, Route 66, college and professional sports, the response to the Murrah Federal Building bombing), recognize the contributions of individual Oklahomans (e.g., Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie, Ralph Ellison, the Kiowa Six), and summarize the impact of individual Oklahomans' leadership on state and national politics; Examine ongoing issues in Oklahoma, including immigration, criminal justice reform, employment, the environment, race relations, civic engagement, and education.

Competencies 0011–0014 make up about 21% of the test. They ask you to understand important political science concepts and apply that knowledge to analyze contemporary political issues; understand and analyze the principles of democratic government in the United States and compare the political and economic systems of the United States with those of other nations; understand and analyze the structure, organization, and operation of different levels of government in the United States, and more.

• Competency 0011: Understand important political science concepts and apply that knowledge to analyze contemporary political issues. Skills tested: Define political science concepts and terms (e.g., power, authority, legitimacy, sovereignty, electorate, political economy) and apply them to analyze general political phenomena and specific political issues; Examine the origins and purposes of government (e.g., to meet the needs of citizens, to regulate territory, to manage conflict); and recognize how governmental powers are acquired, used, and justified; Identify and compare various systems of government, including representative governments (e.g., democracy, republic, constitutional monarchy), authoritarian governments (e.g., absolute monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship), and totalitarian governments; evaluate individual liberties and the role of citizens under different forms of government; and compare the role of government in market and command economic systems; Distinguish between limited and unlimited governments; analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the ways governmental power is distributed, shared, and structured in unitary, federal, and confederal systems; and examine the operation of formal institutions with the authority to control and direct the behavior of individuals in a society (e.g., tribal councils, courts, legislatures); Identify, analyze, and interpret events related to U.S. government and politics in primary and secondary sources (e.g., identifying central ideas; analyzing cause-and-effect relationships; making distinctions among propaganda, fact, and opinion; drawing conclusions); Interpret historical and contemporary political issues represented in various visual formats (e.g., maps, tables, diagrams, charts, political cartoons, graphs).
• Competency 0012: Understand and analyze the principles of democratic government in the United States and compare the political and economic systems of the United States with those of other nations. Skills tested: Relate ideals contained in major political documents (e.g., Magna Carta, the English Bill of Rights, the Mayflower Compact, The Federalist Papers) to the U.S. Constitution and the fundamental principles of democratic government in the United States; Examine the central ideas and intellectual origins of the Declaration of Independence and describe how the principles contained in the Declaration became unifying ideals of democracy in the United States; Identify and explain fundamental concepts of the government of the United States (e.g., popular sovereignty, majority rule, minority rights, the rule of law, constitutionalism, limited government, judicial review); Analyze the development of democratic and representative government in ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the United Kingdom, and the American colonies; Identify the contributions of influential philosophers (e.g., John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu) and events (e.g., the Great Awakening) to the development of government and politics in the United States; Compare and contrast the contemporary political systems of the United States with those of other democratic nations; Examine similarities and differences between the contemporary political systems of the United States and those of authoritarian nations.
• Competency 0013: Understand and analyze the structure, organization, and operation of different levels of government in the United States. Skills tested: Analyze major features of the U.S. Constitution (e.g., purposes expressed in the preamble, powers and limitations, amendment process) and the rights and liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights; Demonstrate knowledge of the structure, functions, authority, and operation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government (e.g., the separation of powers, the operation of the system of checks and balances, the process by which bills become law); Explain the role of the national government in formulating and carrying out domestic policy, including regulatory, distributive, redistributive, and constituent policy, and analyze the evolution of government policies in key areas (e.g., defense policy, economic policy, environmental policy, social welfare policy); Identify the administrative components of the U.S. foreign policy establishment (e.g., the powers of the president, the functions of the State Department, the role of the Senate) and analyze how foreign policy is formulated and carried out by the federal government; Recognize major constitutional amendments and the conflicts or issues they addressed, and analyze landmark Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Marbury v. Madison [1803], McCulloch v. Maryland [1819], United States v. Nixon [1974], Bush v. Gore [2000], Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission [2010]); Demonstrate knowledge of the concept of federalism (e.g., enumerated, implied, reserved, and concurrent powers); compare the roles and responsibilities of legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government at the national, state, tribal, and local levels; examine relations between the different levels of government; and analyze the relationship between the federal government and sovereign American Indian nations; Recognize the structure, functions, and powers of Oklahoma state government; identify units of local government in Oklahoma (e.g., counties, cities, towns, regional authorities); demonstrate knowledge of revenues and services provided by state and local governments in Oklahoma; describe state constitutional provisions, including the direct primary, initiative petition, referendum, and recall; and analyze significant state and local public issues.
• Competency 0014: Understand and analyze the U.S. election process, political participation, and the rights and responsibilities of individuals in a democratic society. Skills tested: Identify major components of the electoral process in the United States (e.g., reapportionment and redistricting, primary elections, nominating caucuses and conventions, the Electoral College); Examine significant developments in the evolution of political parties in the United States and recognize the impact of third parties on the U.S. political system; Evaluate the influence of campaign funding and spending, advertising, and public opinion polls on the electoral process in the United States; and assess how lobbyists, interest groups, and the media influence the policy agenda and decision-making process of government institutions; Evaluate how political movements, Supreme Court decisions, and constitutional amendments have increased individual rights and expanded participation in the U.S. political system since 1787 (e.g., the Constitutional Convention; Jacksonian Democracy; the growth of presidential primaries; recognition of American Indian citizenship and voting rights; Brown v. Board of Education [1954]; the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments); Analyze developments and events in U.S. history that have diminished individual rights and limited participation in the U.S. political system since 1789 (e.g., Chinese Exclusion Act, passage of Jim Crow laws, Plessy v. Ferguson [1896], gerrymandering, voter identification laws, voter registration restrictions, voter purges); Demonstrate knowledge of the political, legal, and personal rights guaranteed to citizens of the United States by the U.S. Constitution and recognize the duties and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship (e.g., service on trial juries, registration for military service, obedience to lawful authority); Define civic virtue, examine ways in which citizens participate in and influence the political process and the actions of government in the United States (e.g., communicating with public officials, registering and voting in public elections, engaging in civil discourse, participating in public demonstrations, becoming informed voters), and recognize skills needed for effective participation in public affairs.

Competencies 0015–0017 make up about 13% of the test. They ask you to understand important economic concepts, problems, goals, and theories and apply that knowledge to analyze various economic institutions and public policies; understand and analyze the components, structure, organization, and operation of the U.S. economy and the roles of labor, business, consumers, and government in the U.S. economic system; understand and analyze the international economy and the relationships between contemporary national economies, and analyze the interdependence of developed and developing economies.

• Competency 0015: Understand important economic concepts, problems, goals, and theories and apply that knowledge to analyze various economic institutions and public policies. Skills tested: Define and explain economic concepts, goals, and theories (e.g., scarcity, opportunity costs, incentives, money supply, Keynesian economics) and apply them to various economic phenomena; Recognize the different functions of money; and explain how money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services; Analyze the characteristics, advantages, and limitations of traditional, command, market, and mixed economies and compare the results such economic systems have produced as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), national prosperity, individual income, and wealth; Identify the factors of production, (i.e., land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship, and technology) and analyze their roles in economic systems; Identify the three basic economic questions that every society must answer and evaluate the market price system in allocating resources; Analyze factors that affect the supply and demand of goods and services available in a market economy and explain how changes in supply and demand impact economic activity (e.g., price changes, costs of productive resources and technologies, profit opportunities, consumers' options and incomes); Define inflation and explain how it is measured, identify the causes and types of unemployment and how it is measured, and analyze the impact of inflation and unemployment on different sectors of the U.S. economy; Define gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP), explain how they are used to describe economic output over time, evaluate the impact on the economy when GDP and GNP are growing or declining, examine the differences between nominal and real GDP, and compare GDP data for the United States and other countries.
• Competency 0016: Understand and analyze the components, structure, organization, and operation of the U.S. economy and the roles of labor, business, consumers, and government in the U.S. economic system. Skills tested: Describe the role of different economic institutions (e.g., banks, labor unions, corporations, legal systems, not-for-profit organizations) in the U.S. economic system and analyze how their actions influence economic activity; Analyze the role of entrepreneurs, risk, and profit in the U.S. economy and examine the potential risks and gains entrepreneurs face when opening new businesses in the U.S. marketplace; Analyze how competition, self-interest, incentives and disincentives, and technological advancements influence market decisions in the United States and affect the business cycle and fluctuations in the GDP; Recognize the role of the government within the economy as in defining, establishing, and enforcing property rights and the rule of law in a market economy; and evaluate the economic impact of government programs in the United States (e.g., government assistance programs, education, pollution control, business regulation, government-imposed price floors and ceilings); Demonstrate knowledge of how government fiscal policies influence economic activity, identify historical examples of fiscal policies (e.g., New Deal stimulus programs, Employment Act of 1946, Troubled Assets Relief Program [TARP, 2009]), and examine the impact of federal deficits and surpluses on the economy; Recognize various components of the money supply in the United States (e.g., currency, coins, checking account deposits), analyze the relationship between interest rates and the rate of inflation, and examine how changes in real interest rates influence decisions to borrow money and purchase goods; Identify the tools of monetary policy, evaluate the impact of policy changes by the Federal Reserve on the economy, and evaluate conditions under which the Federal Reserve tends to expand or contract the nation's money supply; Analyze how interest rates, unemployment, Consumer Price Index (CPI), individual savings and debt, government debt, government deficits, government-enforced price ceilings, labor supply, and inflation affect economic conditions in the United States and assess how those conditions impact consumers, producers, and government policymakers.
• Competency 0017: Understand and analyze the international economy and the relationships between contemporary national economies, and analyze the interdependence of developed and developing economies. Skills tested: Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental concepts of international economics (e.g., specialization, trade, the balance of international payments, exchange rates, the theory of comparative advantage); Analyze the interdependence of economic systems, examine the role of trade and multinational corporations in the global economy, and identify examples of interdependence in economic development (e.g., the World Trade Organization, the European Union, NAFTA/USMCA); Recognize the functions and operations of major institutions of international trade and finance (e.g., the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN]), analyze the impact of these institutions on nations undergoing economic development, and evaluate intended and unintended consequences of government policies on international markets and trade; Demonstrate knowledge of regional and global patterns of economic interaction among post-industrial/more economically developed countries (MEDC) and industrializing/developing countries and examine the role of the United States in the world economy; Recognize different types of trade restrictions (e.g., tariffs, quotas), examine reasons why nations attempt to restrict trade, and analyze the effects of imposing restrictions on international commerce; Evaluate the effect of changing technologies on the structure and operation of the global economy and analyze how advancements in technology impact economic growth and standards of living.

Competency 0018 makes up about 15% of the test. They ask you to apply pedagogical content knowledge to design developmentally appropriate instruction to help students achieve a specific, standards-based learning goal in social studies. Constructed-response assignment.

• Competency 0018: Apply pedagogical content knowledge to design developmentally appropriate instruction to help students achieve a specific, standards-based learning goal in social studies. Skills tested: Apply knowledge of appropriate strategies for helping students analyze primary and secondary source documents in the social studies within the core curriculum for U.S. history, Oklahoma history, government, and economics; Apply knowledge of methods for assessing student readiness for a standards-based learning goal for social studies content, including how to identify potential and apparent student difficulties; Apply knowledge of methods for designing specific, developmentally appropriate instruction that connects students' prior understanding and experiences to new knowledge in social studies and facilitates collaborative, interdisciplinary learning in which learners use disciplinary facts, concepts, and tools; engage in disciplinary inquiry; and create disciplinary forms of representation; Apply knowledge of strategies for modifying instruction to meet the needs of all students, including English language learners, students with special needs, students from diverse language and learning backgrounds, students identified as high achieving, and students at risk of academic failure; Apply knowledge of methods for analyzing student data and/or student work to identify and address students' strengths and needs in social studies and to plan instruction based on this information.