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Study Guide

Overview and Test Objectives
Field 084: Social Studies (Secondary)

Test Overview

Table outlining the test format, number of questions, time, and passing score.
Format Computer-based test (CBT)
Number of Questions 100 multiple-choice questions
Time 2 hours 30 minutes*
Passing Score 220

*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial

Test Objectives

Table outlining test content and subject weighting by sub area and objective.
Subarea Range of Objectives Approximate Percentage of Questions on Test
1 Historical Perspectives 001–002 10%
2 World History 003–006 18%
3 U.S. History 007–010 18%
4 Geography 011–014 18%
5 Political Science 015–017 13%
6 Economics 018–020 13%
7 Inquiry, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, and Public Discourse 021–023 10%

Hover over each subarea for details of subtest content or see table above.

Sub area 1 10%, Sub area 2 18%, Sub area 3 18%, Sub area 4 18%, Sub area 5 13%, Sub area 5 13%, and Sub area 7 10%.

Subarea 1—HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

Objective 001—Understand historical concepts and terms.

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Objective 002—Understand historical sources of information and perspectives.

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Subarea 2—WORLD HISTORY

Objective 003—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 1, the beginnings of human society to 4000 BCE; Era 2, early civilizations and cultures and the emergence of pastoral peoples, 4000 to 1000 BCE; Era 3, classical traditions, world religions, and major empires, 1000 BCE to 300 CE; and Era 4, expanding and intensified hemispheric interactions, 300 to 1500 CE.

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Objective 004—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 5, the emergence of the first global age, fifteenth to eighteenth centuries CE; and Era 6, an age of global revolutions, eighteenth century to 1914 CE.

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Objective 005—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 7, global crisis and achievement, 1900 to 1945 CE.

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Objective 006—Understand major events and developments in world history during Era 8, the Cold War and its aftermath, twentieth century since 1945 CE.

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Subarea 3—U.S. HISTORY

Objective 007—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 1, beginnings to 1620 CE; Era 2, colonization and settlement, 1585 to 1763 CE; and Era 3, revolution and the new nation, 1754 to 1800 CE.

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Objective 008—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 4, expansion and reform, 1792 to 1861 CE; and Era 5, the Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850 to 1877 CE.

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Objective 009—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 6, the development of an industrial, urban, and global United States, 1870 to 1930 CE.

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Objective 010—Understand major events and developments in U.S. history during Era 7, the Great Depression and World War II, 1920 to 1945 CE; Era 8, the post–World War II United States, 1945 to 1989 CE; and Era 9, America in a new global age, 1990 CE to the present.

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Subarea 4—GEOGRAPHY

Objective 011—Understand geographic terms, concepts, and resources.

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Objective 012—Understand physical systems.

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Objective 013—Understand the interaction between human societies and the environment.

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Objective 014—Understand human systems.

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Subarea 5—POLITICAL SCIENCE

Objective 015—Understand political science concepts, terms, and perspectives.

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Objective 016—Understand the foundations of U.S. government, the U.S. political process, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.

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Objective 017—Understand the structure, organization, and operation of different levels of government in the United States and the role of the United States in the international community.

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Subarea 6—ECONOMICS

Objective 018—Understand economic concepts and the market economy.

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Objective 019—Understand personal finance.

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Objective 020—Understand the national economy and the international economy.

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Subarea 7—INQUIRY, INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES, AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE

Objective 021—Understand social science research methods and the analysis and interpretation of social studies information.

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Objective 022—Understand interdisciplinary perspectives.

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Objective 023—Understand core democratic values, recognize the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society, and apply methods for analyzing public policy questions.

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