Study Guide

Field 127: Middle Level Social Studies 
Test Design and Framework

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The test design below describes general assessment information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this test measures.

Test Design

Test overview, including duration of test, number of questions, and passing score.

Format	Computer-based test (CBT C B T ) and online proctored test
Number of Questions	80 selected-response questions and 1 constructed-response assignment
Time*	4 hours
Passing Score	240

*Does not include 15-minute CBT C B T  tutorial

Test Framework

Test weighting by number of questions per subarea.

Subareas		Range of Competencies	Approximate Percentage  of Test
Selected-Response
I roman numeral 1	U.S. History	0001–to0003	23% 23 percent
II roman numeral 2	Geography and Culture	0004–to0006	21% 21 percent
III roman numeral 3	Government and Civics	0007–to0009	23% 23 percent
IV roman numeral 4	Economics and World History	0010–to0012	18% 18 percent
this cell intentionally left blank.			85% 85 percent
Constructed-Response
V roman numeral 5	Pedagogical Content Knowledge	0013	15% 15 percent
this cell intentionally left blank.			15% 15 percent

Subarea I1—U.S. History

Competency 0001–Apply knowledge of major events in U.S. history from the colonial period until 1789.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Demonstrate knowledge of important social, economic, political, and cultural features of the American Indians of the Eastern Woodlands; how agricultural practices (e.g., the cultivation of the Three Sisters) contributed to the early survival of the colonists; and the evolving relationship between American Indians and English colonists involving territorial claims.
• Demonstrate knowledge of European exploration and early colonization of North America by the Spanish, French, English, and Dutch.
• Examine the early successes and challenges of the English colonies at Jamestown (e.g., the leadership of John Smith; interrelationships with American Indians, such as Pocahontas; challenges of the Starving Time; the exportation of tobacco; John Rolfe) and Plymouth (e.g., practice of self-government established by the Mayflower Compact, contributions of American Indians, Chief Massasoit, Squanto, the leadership of William Bradford), and the economic and political motivations of immigrants and indentured servants.
• Examine the development of New England, Middle, and Southern colonies, including contributions of important people (e.g., Anne Hutchinson, William Penn, James Oglethorpe), the colonies' political differences (e.g., forms of self-government), social differences (e.g., social class structure, religion), and economic differences (e.g., effects of climate and natural resources on agriculture and exports; labor systems using indentured servants; enslaved labor, including American Indians).
• Analyze the economic, political, social, and cultural features and implications of slavery in North America; the Middle Passage and the importation of enslaved Africans; resistance efforts by enslaved peoples; and attempts to maintain aspects of African culture.
• Examine the causes of the American Revolution, including British actions (e.g., Royal Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Intolerable Acts) and colonial reactions (e.g., colonial arguments regarding taxation and rightful representation in Parliament, boycotts of British goods, formation of the Committees of Correspondence, Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre and the death of Crispus Attucks, Boston Tea Party).
• Examine the advantages and disadvantages of the American and British forces (e.g., political and military leadership, military strength, population and resources, motivation, foreign alliances, financial and military support) and the primary military actions of the Revolutionary War (e.g., the appointment of George Washington as leader of the Continental Army; battles of Bunker Hill, Trenton, and Saratoga; winter encampment at Valley Forge; British surrender at Yorktown).
• Evaluate the motivations and points of view of Patriots, Loyalists, free African Americans, enslaved people, women, and American Indians with regard to the Revolutionary War and examine the effects of the war on these groups.

Competency 0002–Apply knowledge of major events in U.S. history from 1789 to 1877.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine major political policies and developments of the early republic (e.g., Alien and Sedition Acts, Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, evolution of a two-party system, War of 1812, Missouri Compromise, Monroe Doctrine).
• Analyze the causes and consequences of westward expansion in the United States (e.g., Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark Expedition, the concept of Manifest Destiny, influence of railroads on economy and culture, annexation of Texas, Mexican-American War, discovery of gold in California, effects on the culture of American Indians and their homelands).
• Analyze the growth and entrenchment of slavery, the slave system, the experiences of the enslaved, and the importance of slavery as a principal cause of increased sectional polarization leading to the Civil War.
• Analyze the significance of political, economic, and social transformations of the era of Andrew Jackson (e.g., election of 1824, states' rights, expansion of voting rights, nullification crisis, Worcester v. Georgia decision, forced removals of various American Indian nations, establishment of the Indian Territory).
• Analyze the ideals, significance, and principal leaders of reform movements in the nineteenth century (e.g., abolitionism, women's rights).
• Examine the growth of sectionalism and division in the 1850s, including political factors (e.g., Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854), legal factors (e.g., Fugitive Slave Act, Dred Scott decision), and social factors (e.g., publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin).
• Analyze the course and results of the Civil War, including the election of 1860, the relative advantages and disadvantages of the Union and Confederacy, strategies employed by the two sides (e.g., Anaconda plan, total war, Southern defensive strategy), and major battles (e.g., Fort Sumter, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Appomattox).
• Analyze major plans, policies, and constitutional amendments proposed or enacted for Reconstruction after the Civil War (e.g., Emancipation Proclamation; Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments) and the achievements and failures of Reconstruction (e.g., Enforcement Acts, Compromise of 1877).
• Demonstrate knowledge of changes that occurred in the North (e.g., rise of industry, increased immigration) and the South (e.g., rise of the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, Lost Cause movement) in the years following the Civil War.

Competency 0003–Apply knowledge of major events in U.S. history from 1877 to the present.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Analyze the effects of industrialization on the economic, social, and political development of the United States and examine the social philosophies and political and economic movements produced by the industrial experience (e.g., the gospel of wealth, social Darwinism, Populist Movement).
• Analyze changing patterns of immigration to the United States and the growth of anti-immigrant sentiment, and assess the ways in which immigration and urbanization influenced U.S. society.
• Examine the segregation and disenfranchisement of African Americans (e.g., Jim Crow laws, de jure and de facto segregation, lynching, Plessy v. Ferguson), U.S. government policies toward American Indians (e.g., the use of the military, the establishment of reservations, the policy of assimilation, Dawes Act), and the effects of these policies on American Indian nations.
• Examine the major reform initiatives of the Progressive Era (e.g., environmental measures, political reforms, social and labor legislation, woman suffrage movement).
• Analyze the causes of U.S. involvement in World War I and the effects of the war on U.S. society.
• Evaluate the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and the effects of the New Deal on U.S. society.
• Examine U.S. involvement in World War II (e.g., the attack on Pearl Harbor, Battle of Midway, D-Day, the decision to drop the atomic bomb) and the effects of the war on the economy and society in the United States (e.g., women and minorities in the workplace, internment policies, economic recovery).
• Examine the domestic and international effects of the Cold War (e.g., McCarthyism, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Space Race, the development of the military-industrial complex).
• Analyze social, economic, and technological developments of the post–World War II era (e.g., deindustrialization and suburbanization, the computer revolution, globalization) and political events and developments of this era (e.g., Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society, Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal, Ronald Reagan and the rise of the conservative movement).
• Analyze the achievements and limitations of major social movements of the second half of the twentieth century (e.g., civil rights movement, women's movement, the Chicano movement, the American Indian movement [AIM], environmental movement).
• Analyze significant challenges facing the United States in the post–Cold War era (e.g., religious extremism, domestic and global terrorism, environmental problems, immigration, an aging society).

Subarea II2—Geography and Culture

Competency 0004–Apply knowledge of the physical geography of the earth.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Demonstrate familiarity with various forms of visual information and maps, including map projections and their distortions, and the concepts of scale, distance, direction, place, relative location, absolute location, latitude, longitude, and mental mapping.
• Integrate visual information and geographic data to form interpretations, draw conclusions, make predictions, and analyze patterns of spatial distribution.
• Analyze how the processes and factors of latitude, elevation, prevailing winds, and Earth-sun relationships influence climate.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the physical processes that shape the earth's surface (e.g., volcanos, earthquakes, weathering, erosion, plate tectonics).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the physical features of the earth (e.g., gulfs, deltas, capes, isthmuses, peninsulas) and compare physical characteristics of different places and regions.
• Locate major landmasses, significant landforms, and important bodies of water (e.g., continents, subcontinents, oceans, seas, rivers) on maps of different types, scale, and projection.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the distribution of natural resources across regions of the world.
• Examine how the physical features of the earth have changed over time and how future changes could affect the physical space of the earth.

Competency 0005–Apply knowledge of human geography, the development of human systems, and the development of human culture.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine the concept of region and the major political, economic, and cultural regions of the world.
• Evaluate the effects of geographic factors (e.g., landforms, climate, vegetation, natural resources) on settlement patterns and population distribution, density, and growth.
• Identify on a political map the national boundaries of major nations and population centers of major regions.
• Analyze data used by geographers to distinguish between developed and developing regions of the world (e.g., Human Development Index, literacy rate, life expectancy, infant mortality, per capita income).
• Analyze the ways in which push factors and pull factors have affected migration, settlement patterns, and the human characteristics of places over time.
• Examine how cultural diffusion, both voluntary and forced, affects native and migrant populations.
• Examine the cultural traits (e.g., language, ethnicity, traditions) practiced among peoples.
• Evaluate the development of major religions (e.g., geographic hearths, major beliefs, customs) and the significance of religion in contemporary societies.

Competency 0006–Apply knowledge of the interactions between the environment and climate and human populations.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine the ways in which the location and distribution of natural resources have affected economic activity and human populations in major regions.
• Evaluate the effects of weather, climate, and natural disasters on human populations (e.g., forced migrations, scarcity of consumer goods and natural resources, economic activities, loss of life).
• Analyze how humans have adapted to and modified their environments in order to survive and grow.
• Analyze the ways in which human activities (e.g., agriculture, urbanization, industry, demand for energy) have changed and threatened natural ecosystems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the environmental conditions and human mismanagement of resources that resulted in the Dust Bowl in the 1930s and of the New Deal policies regarding the conservation of natural resources.
• Evaluate how climate change is affecting environments and human populations.

Subarea III3—Government and Civics

Competency 0007–Apply knowledge of the role of government, different forms of government, and the roles of citizenship.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Demonstrate knowledge of the origins of government, the purposes of government, and how governments acquire and justify authority.
• Examine different systems of government, including representative governments (e.g., democracy, republic, constitutional monarchy) and authoritarian systems (e.g., dictatorships, absolute monarchy, oligarchy).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the roles of citizens in government and of the civic virtues that citizens should use when interacting with one another and the virtues that guide official government institutions.
• Examine issues related to indigenous sovereignty and autonomous regions within nations and national governments.
• Examine the roles of international and supranational entities and organizations (e.g., North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO], United Nations [UN], European Union [EU], Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN], Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC]) and the effect of international treaties and agreements.
• Analyze reasons for conflict and cooperation between groups, societies, and countries.
• Evaluate authentic civic issues that involve civic responsibility, individual rights, and the common good, including those issues in which fundamental constitutional values are in conflict.

Competency 0008–Apply knowledge of the political and historical foundations of the U.S. government.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine the intellectual origins of representative self-government (e.g., Greek and Roman traditions, Magna Carta, Mayflower Compact, John Locke's theory of natural rights).
• Analyze the significance of the Continental Congress in the formation of the United States (e.g., formation of the Continental Army, establishment of a currency, Olive Branch Petition, writing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence, drafting of the Articles of Confederation, Treaty of Alliance with France).
• Examine the central ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the Articles of Confederation, including its strengths (e.g., resolution of disputes over western territories, organization and leadership in winning the Revolutionary War) and weaknesses (e.g., lack of common national currency, lack of common defense, lack of national judiciary, mismanagement of war debts, inability to tax, difficulty in attaining unanimous votes), and challenges it faced, such as Shays' Rebellion.
• Analyze the issues, negotiations, and compromises of the Constitutional Convention (e.g., Virginia and New Jersey plans, Great Compromise, Three-Fifths Compromise, the leadership of James Madison).
• Evaluate the Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments for and against ratification of the Constitution.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the role of George Washington in establishing precedents for the U.S. government and presidency, including his attempt to develop a cohesive American Indian policy and the ideas expressed in Washington's Farewell Address.

Competency 0009–Apply knowledge of the U.S. Constitution, the functions of the U.S. government, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Analyze the concept, purposes, and responsibilities of the U.S. government as expressed in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
• Analyze the key principles of government established by the U.S. Constitution (Federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, popular sovereignty, rule of law).
• Examine the Bill of Rights and the guarantees of individual rights as expressed in each of the ten amendments.
• Analyze the structure of U.S. government and the roles of the three branches of government in the legislative process.
• Analyze the significance of Chief Justice John Marshall and the constitutional principles established by the decisions in Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland.
• Examine the process of amending the Constitution and the effects of constitutional amendments of civil liberties and individual rights.
• Analyze the significance of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Gideon v. Wainright, Roe v. Wade).
• Evaluate the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens (e.g., voting in public elections, engaging in informed civil discourse, serving on juries, paying taxes, obeying laws, registering for military service).

Subarea IV4—Economics and World History

Competency 0010–Apply knowledge of fundamental economic concepts, the organization and operation of the domestic and international economy, and the significance of resources and trade.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine the roles of the factors of production in the economic system (i.e., land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship, and technology) and the importance of natural resources and resource usage on regional and national economic growth.
• Evaluate the three levels of economic activity (e.g., primary, secondary, tertiary) and the effect on the economic growth of a nation and region.
• Analyze the benefits and limitations of traditional, market, and command economic systems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how the concepts of supply and demand operate to cause prices to change in a market economy.
• Demonstrate knowledge of measures of economic growth (e.g., gross domestic product, gross national product).
• Examine how government policies affect economic activities and trade relationships.
• Examine patterns and networks of globalized economic interdependence and trade, including the concepts of balance of trade and the outsourcing of technological and manufacturing jobs to developing regions.
• Evaluate how trade influences economic growth and standard of living.
• Evaluate the influence of economic development and distribution of wealth on various societies.

Competency 0011–Apply knowledge of major political, social, economic, and technological developments in world history prior to the Industrial Revolution.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine the major features of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and analyze their effects on contemporaneous and future civilizations.
• Examine the origins, traditions, and beliefs of major world religions (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism).
• Analyze major characteristics, cultural perspectives, and contributions of the civilizations of Asia, Africa, and the Americas (e.g., ancient Indian and Chinese civilizations; the West African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai; civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca).
• Examine the development of feudalism in Europe, the role of the Roman Catholic Church in medieval society, interactions between the Christian and Islamic worlds, and the major developments and outcomes of the Protestant Reformation.
• Analyze the origin, development, and achievements of the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment and their effects on the development of world civilization.
• Analyze the causes and consequences of the English and French revolutions.

Competency 0012–Apply knowledge of major political, social, economic, and technological developments in world history since the Industrial Revolution.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Examine the principal causes and significant effects of the Industrial Revolution (e.g., scientific and technological changes, urbanization, emigration, the emergence of modern capitalism, the development of socialism, the growth of the trade union movement).
• Examine major political changes in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas during the nineteenth century (e.g., the Congress of Vienna, the expansion of democracy, the development of nationalism, the growth of imperialism, the effects of colonialism, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Taiping Rebellion in China, the Meiji Restoration in Japan).
• Examine major historical developments in the first half of the twentieth century (e.g., World War I, Bolshevik Revolution, the rise of totalitarian regimes in Europe and Asia, Great Depression, World War II) and assess the political, economic, and social effects of these developments on people of the world.
• Analyze major global developments since World War II (e.g., the establishment of the United Nations [UN], the creation of the modern state of Israel, decolonization, the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chinese Revolution, the rise of international terrorism, the emergence of the global economy).

Subarea V5—Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Competency 0013–Apply pedagogical content knowledge to design developmentally appropriate instruction to help students achieve a specific, standards-based learning goal in social studies that promotes learning for all students.

 start italics  The following topics are examples of content that may be covered under this competency.  enditalics 

• Apply knowledge of standards-based learning goals for social studies.
• Apply knowledge of appropriate and effective assessments to measure and promote students' learning and growth in social studies.
• Apply knowledge of appropriate and effective instructional strategies for helping students analyze topics in social studies.
• Apply knowledge of methods for designing specific, developmentally appropriate instruction that connects students' prior understanding and experiences to new knowledge in social studies.
• Apply knowledge 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 designated as high achieving, and students at risk of failure.
• Apply knowledge of methods for analyzing student data to identify and address students' strengths and needs in social studies.
• Cite evidence of student learning in a social studies lesson.

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