Study Guide

Overview and Test Objectives
Field 142: Social Studies (7–12)

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 and 30 minutes*
Passing Score	220

*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial

Test Objectives¹

Table outlining test content and subject weighting by sub area and objective.

Subarea		Range of Objectives	Approximate Test Weighting
I1	Professional Dispositions and Responsibilities in Social Studies	001–004	20%percent
II2	Social Studies Learners and Learning	005–007	15%percent
III3	Planning and Implementing Instruction and Assessment in Social Studies	008–011	25%percent
IV4	Civics Content Knowledge	012	10%percent
V5	Economics Content Knowledge	013	10%percent
VI6	Geography Content Knowledge	014	10%percent
VII7	History Content Knowledge	015	10%percent

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

Sub area 1 20%, Sub area 2 25%, Sub area 3 25%, Sub area 4 10%, Sub area 5 10%, Sub area 6 10%, and Sub area 7 10%.

Subarea I1—Professional Dispositions and Responsibilities in Social Studies

Objective 001—Practicing Continuous Improvement

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the resources, tools, and strategies necessary for continuous improvement (e.g., professional organizations; tribal, local, state, and federal governmental organizations; community partners; cultural institutions).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the emerging theories and changing points of agreement and disagreement of experts regarding interpretations of social studies questions and practices (e.g., bias in news media and historical sources; issues surrounding democratic processes and civic engagement; arguments about government intervention in business and the free market; the impact of an increasingly interconnected world and the effects on local communities).
• Demonstrate knowledge of tools and technology used in the fields of the social studies disciplines.
• Demonstrate knowledge of metacognitive processes and reflection techniques.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for regular reflection on pedagogical practice and content knowledge to identify areas of need for continual personal and professional growth.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of seeking out and evaluating current educational research to reflect on and improve educational practices and content knowledge.
• Demonstrate knowledge of professional learning networks that help build relationships and allow for reflection on and improvement of educational practices and content knowledge.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of coordinating and adjusting instruction during a lesson based on observed or collected data.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of designing and assessing instruction to provide access to knowledge, skills, processes, and practices for all learners.

Objective 002—Exploring Cultural Frames and Diverse Perspectives

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural frames and identities used by individuals and groups to view issues of equity, diversity, access, power, human rights, and social justice within the teaching profession, schools, and communities.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of recognizing one's own cultural frames, identities, interests, strengths, and areas for growth and how they may be different from those of others.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the unique challenges of historically marginalized groups (e.g., communities of color, Indigenous populations, the disabled community).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how different levels of access to economic, educational, and political institutions affect various groups within the population.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of seeking out and using resources to provide a historical, economic, geographic, and political context that is inclusive of historically marginalized groups.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of learning about students' cultural, religious, family, intellectual, and personal experiences, and of resources to use in social studies instruction.

Objective 003—Taking Informed Action

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the origins of the U.S. governmental system, including the Indigenous roots of democracy.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the dispositions, skills, and means necessary to take informed action in the school setting and as part of the democratic process.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the influences of personal perspectives on the application of skills related to taking informed action.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways in which issues of power and privilege affect systems of democracy and can benefit or exclude various groups within the population.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways in which informed action can be used to amplify marginalized voices and address injustices.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using theory, research, active listening, and personal reflection to discern the needs of individuals, groups, and communities.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of establishing democratic norms in the classroom (e.g., eliciting and centering students' voices, exploring multiple perspectives on issues).

Objective 004—Ways of Knowing

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of social studies as both integrative and interdisciplinary and as a set of distinct disciplines that represent unique methodologies for thinking, organizing, analyzing, verifying knowledge, developing civic engagement, and addressing societal problems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of initiating and advancing disciplinary inquiry as laid out in the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards and the Michigan K–12 Social Studies Standards covering grades 7–12.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to use disciplinary tools, sources, and evidence to understand diverse perspectives that reflect the plurality of lived experiences, including perspectives that are often marginalized (e.g., tribal, local, community-based), and to reach informed conclusions.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the difference between a reasoned claim and an unsubstantiated opinion.
• Demonstrate knowledge of disciplinary literacy practices using disciplinary concepts and tools to understand and evaluate sources and critique the credibility of claims, evidence, and reasoning by self and others.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to develop, refine, and share arguments using multiple sources of evidence about disciplinary and interdisciplinary issues (e.g., characteristics and causes of tribal, local, state, regional, national, and global public issues).
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to identify patterns of student thinking and development in social studies disciplines.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to ensure access to key content, concepts, and skills within social studies disciplines by modeling, demonstrating, and explaining content explicitly.

 

Subarea II2—Social Studies Learners and Learning

Objective 005—Understanding Social Studies Learners

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of resources to use in social studies instruction and of methods of learning about, understanding, and continuously acknowledging students' multiple perspectives informed by cultural, religious, family, intellectual, and personal identities and experiences.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for building respectful relationships with learners; accounting for and acknowledging individual sociocultural backgrounds, identities, needs, and assets of all learners; and leveraging those assets as resources for teaching and learning.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for eliciting student thinking and understanding, and for using that knowledge in creating and sustaining equitable learning opportunities.

Objective 006—Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using multiple perspectives, sources, abilities, and student voices as a foundation of an inclusive social studies classroom.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the use of culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy to build a safe, inclusive classroom community to support the ideals of democracy and principles of the U.S. Constitution.
• Demonstrate knowledge of practices for eliciting the multiple perspectives present in the classroom and ensuring that a wide range of differing perspectives are represented equitably.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of planning and implementing instruction that ensures equitable learning opportunities within social studies as well as utilizing resources, including those available from governmental (e.g., tribal, local, state, federal) and community organizations.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for organizing and managing participation by all students in inquiry and collaboration around social studies content to prepare for civic engagement (e.g., small groups, group discussions, student-led learning environments).

Objective 007—Preparing Learners to Be Informed Participants

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of pedagogical practices to elicit and interpret student thinking about public and civic issues and to help guide learners in informed, evidence-based reasoning about those issues.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the attributes of an inclusive learning environment for social studies learners.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for leading students in collaborative discourse, including group discussion and small-group learning environments.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of engaging learners in ethical reasoning to deliberate public and civic issues democratically, understand tensions, communicate conclusions, and take informed action as civic participants.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies for setting long- and short-term learning goals for students to take informed action as civic participants.
• Demonstrate knowledge of strategies to identify patterns of student thinking and development in a subject-matter domain of social studies.

 

Subarea III3—Planning and Implementing Instruction and Assessment in Social Studies

Objective 008—Planning for Instruction and Assessment

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of theory and research in planning learning sequences that engage learners with disciplinary content and inquiry.
• Demonstrate knowledge of disciplinary content in planning and assessment for civic competence as it applies to learners' lives.
• Demonstrate knowledge of resources that can assist in the development of instructional planning and assessment, including governmental (e.g., tribal, local, state, federal) departments, community resources, and educational organizations.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of planning learning sequences that incorporate disciplinary content and inquiry for civic competence and account for learners' backgrounds, needs, and assets.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of preparing the necessary materials, structures, and questions to engage students in disciplinary discourse (e.g., setting norms, activating prior knowledge).
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of collaborating with colleagues on planning for instruction and assessment.

Objective 009—Implementing Instruction

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of methods for and the role of teachers and students in engaging individual learners with disciplinary content and promoting collaboration.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of adjusting instruction based on the classroom situation; reflection and self-awareness; and learners' backgrounds, needs, assets, and current understanding.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using the Michigan K–12 Social Studies Standards covering grades 7–12 to help learners draw relevant connections between disciplinary content and their lives.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of implementing and adjusting learning sequences that engage learners in disciplinary content and inquiry.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of effectively facilitating group discussion by choosing an engaging and relevant topic and incorporating perspectives from the diverse backgrounds and assets of multiple learners.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of eliciting and using individual learners' thinking and understanding of disciplinary content.

Objective 010—Inquiry-based Instruction in Social Studies

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards and of inquiry as the foundation of disciplinary knowledge.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of designing instruction that supports students in developing questions and planning inquiries using the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of designing instruction that supports students in applying disciplinary concepts and tools using the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of designing instruction that supports students in conducting investigations, evaluating sources, and using evidence using the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of designing instruction that supports students in communicating conclusions and taking informed action to promote the common good using the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of designing instruction that supports students in analyzing and explaining interdisciplinary challenges in our social world as citizens.

Objective 011—Assessing Student Learning

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of various means (i.e., formative, summative) to assess learners' current understanding and knowledge of disciplinary content, tools, and literacies.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods to appropriately differentiate assessments to meet learners' backgrounds, needs, and assets.
• Demonstrate knowledge of authentic methods of assessment to measure learners' application of the dimensions of the C3 Framework and the Michigan K–12 Social Studies Standards covering grades 7–12, including community-focused applications of learning.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that are driven by and aligned to appropriate standards.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods to interpret assessment data to identify patterns of student learning and development in disciplinary content, tools, and literacies.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods to use and communicate formative and summative assessment data to improve planning, instruction, and learning.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods to design and implement authentic assessments in which students take informed action.

 

Subarea IV4—Civics Content Knowledge

Objective 012—Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools in Civics

Includes:

• Examine multiple systems of government from global perspectives.
• Evaluate the effect of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements on national and international order, including relationships with tribal nations, such as Anishinaabe tribal citizenship, governance, self-determination, and sovereignty.
• Use evidence from a variety of perspectives to evaluate ways that the U.S. Constitution has evolved and continues to be contested.
• Use evidence to evaluate arguments about institutions' effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the tribal, local, state, national, and international levels.
• Analyze arguments about how stakeholders influence governments, civil societies, and economic markets.
• Examine the context in which continuity and change occur in social and political systems over time.
• Demonstrate knowledge of productive civic engagement, the development of individual rights and societal structures, and relationships between these dynamic forces.
• Examine evidence and arguments about levels of government exercising authority.
• Examine continuity and change in citizen participation in government over time.
• Evaluate strategies used to reach consensus in the processes of diplomacy, lawmaking, and governing.
• Examine ways in which personal interests and perspectives on civic virtues and democratic principles affect how people address constitutional and human rights issues (e.g., gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, Indigenous rights, nationalism, religious freedoms, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, racial inequity, ethnic inequity).
• Analyze ways in which people use and challenge laws intended to address public issues.
• Evaluate the intended and unintended outcomes of public policies and related consequences for all members of society, particularly traditionally marginalized groups (e.g., communities of color, Indigenous populations, the disabled community).
• Analyze multiple perspectives on historical and contemporary means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using civics instruction to support students' curiosity, questions, and inquiry; engagement in dialogue and collaboration; and development of informed conclusions through rigorous pursuit of knowledge.

 

Subarea V5—Economics Content Knowledge

Objective 013—Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools in Economics

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the interaction of individual wants, goods, and services and the resulting exchanges in a structured society.
• Demonstrate knowledge of scarcity, opportunity cost, and incentives and how they influence choices and decision-making by individuals and groups.
• Compare and contrast multiple economic theories and market systems.
• Analyze the relationship between costs and benefits associated with economic decisions by individuals, businesses, and governments.
• Analyze the exchange of goods and services in markets under various circumstances, such as price or quantity controls.
• Examine the roles of entrepreneurship and technology in market economies.
• Examine the relationship between investments in human and physical capital and standard of living, with the perspectives of marginalized groups taken into account.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways in which the government can both cause and address market inefficiencies or failures.
• Analyze the varied ways in which the government affects households and businesses through policy decisions (e.g., redlining) and how these policies affect growth and prosperity for specific groups and across the population.
• Evaluate the role of monetary and fiscal policy in creating a stable market economy on both micro and macro levels.
• Analyze the role of nongovernmental institutions (e.g., banks, labor unions, nonprofit organizations, businesses, cooperatives) and their effect on the market economy.
• Evaluate arguments about the costs and benefits of international trade and its effect on individuals, businesses, and communities.
• Evaluate the long-term effects of individual financial decisions on larger economic systems and personal financial well-being.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using economics instruction to support students' curiosity, questions, and inquiry; engagement in dialogue and collaboration; and development of informed conclusions through rigorous pursuit of knowledge.

 

Subarea VI6—Geography Content Knowledge

Objective 014—Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools in Geography

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of geographic thinking and the use of tools to explain how human needs and wants relate to the environment.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the use of geospatial tools (e.g., geographic information systems [GIS], maps, globes, aerial and satellite imagery) to facilitate spatial inquiry and examine characteristics of place and region.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of visualizing data and analyzing spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics using paper and electronic maps.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of examining the characteristics of place, region, and interrelationships of human systems at local and global scales.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the components of Earth systems (e.g., weather, climate, water, geological activity, natural resources) and describe the causes and effects of changes in these systems over time.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationship between Earth systems and human systems and the effect an imbalance can have on marginalized groups.
• Examine ways in which cultural and physical adaptations, including changes in technology and transportation, have driven diffusion and increased globalization.
• Examine the factors that influence human settlement and the push/pull factors of human settlement and migration, such as physical characteristics, availability of resources, cooperation, conflict, and forced migration.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural and environmental characteristics of various world regions.
• Analyze spatial patterns of economic, cultural, and political activities across space, regions, and time (e.g., food deserts, historic redlining, gerrymandering, toponymy).
• Evaluate the role of resources in conflict and cooperation between countries, Indigenous populations, and regions.
• Examine ways in which shifts in population drive changes in culture, land use, and economic activity and how those changes affect societies, particularly marginalized communities.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using geography instruction to support students' curiosity, questions, and inquiry; engagement in dialogue and collaboration; and development of informed conclusions through rigorous pursuit of knowledge.

 

Subarea VII7—History Content Knowledge

Objective 015—Applying Disciplinary Concepts and Tools in History

Includes:

• Demonstrate knowledge of history as an organizing framework for developing a sense of time and chronology.
• Examine from multiple perspectives ways in which change and continuity affect historical events.
• Analyze the context in which events unfolded to be able to assess the significance of specific individuals, groups, and developments.
• Analyze multiple and changing historical interpretations.
• Analyze historical conclusions about probable causes and effects.
• Examine the complexity of historical events based on evidence and multiple and inclusive perspectives with special attention to local, state, national, and global historical traumas, such as slavery, Residential Boarding Schools (e.g., Holy Childhood Boarding School in Harbor Springs, Indian Industrial Boarding School in Mt. Pleasant, Holy Name of Jesus Indian Mission in Baraga), profiling of Middle Easterners post-9/11 in Michigan and the United States, Japanese-American internment, redlining, school segregation, the institutionalization of those with disabilities, and the Holocaust.
• Analyze sources and perspectives of people in the past, such as oral histories, Indigenous artifacts, newspapers, journals, letters, photographs, or diaries.
• Analyze ways in which historical interpretations are informed by historical evidence and constrained by the limitations of various kinds of historical evidence.
• Evaluate the usefulness of historical sources for a specific historical inquiry based on their maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to use multiple historical sources to identify further areas of inquiry and additional evidence.
• Analyze historical arguments from various forms of media based on evidence.
• Demonstrate knowledge of methods of using history instruction to support students' curiosity, questions, and inquiry; engagement in dialogue and collaboration; and development of informed conclusions through rigorous pursuit of knowledge.

 

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Footnotes

¹footnote 1  For additional information and background on the content of the Test Framework and for key vocabulary in this document, refer to the Michigan Department of Education's Standards for the Preparation of Middle Grades (5–9) and High School (7–12) Social Studies Teachers .

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