Students can:

1. identify and relate the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Maryland Toleration
Act, the New England town meeting, the Mayflower Compact, and the
Enlightenment to the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. explain the purposes of representative assemblies established in the colonies.

3. predict why representative assemblies would acquire increasing local political
power.

4, compare the political and legal rights of the English colonists and the Native
Americans.

5. interpret a chart showing the different kinds of government that were used in the

British, Spanish, Dutch, and French colonies.

B. Theme 2

e Who were the colonists? What were the reasons they came? Where did they settle? What
social and cultural organizations did they create? What were the conflicts and cooperative
efforts between and within these groups? What was the impact on Native Americans?

« What motives did the colonists’ financial backers have in settling North America? How
did the English, French, Dutch, and Spanish colonies differ?

e What was daily life like in colonial America for the yeoman farmers, merchants, artisans,
planters, indentured servants, slaves, and Native Americans? How was life different
and how was it similar in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the South, the West, the
Spanish Southwest, and French Louisiana?

¢ How did diverse religious beliefs and practices affect life in the English colonies and lead
to denominationalism and religious freedom?


Students can:

1.

identify and relate Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy,
Lyndon B. Johnson, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy
Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King,
Jr., James Rhenquist, Malcolm X, Geraldine Ferraro, and Sandra Day O'Connor
to the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

construct a timeline from 1945 to 1994 showing the correct sequence of the
elections of Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson,
Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Bill
Clinton, George W. Bush, (etc); Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech,
withdrawal from Vietnam, and the beginning of the Watergate Scandal.

develop and support a generalization on how the leadership of specific
individuals reflects the fundamental American belief in the individual's ability to
influence history. [Use examples from the Women's Rights movement, the
Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam Protest, and examples from any other
major political movement that strengthen the argument.]

identify the goals and successes of the Great Society, the New Federalism, and
the Reagan Revolution.

compare and contrast the political philosophies of presidents during this period
as they relate to the role of government in domestic affairs.

use specific elections, personalities, speeches, and events to develop a
generalization about the role of the print and electronic media on contemporary
politics and the electoral process.

explain how these Supreme Court cases reflect political controversies about the
constitutional rights of the individual: Brown v. Board of Education, Gideon v.
Wainwright, Abington School District v. Schempp, Reynolds v. Sims, Miranda v.
Arizona, and Roe v. Wade.

use excerpts from these documents: Brown v. Board of Education, Kennedy's
Inaugural Address, King's Letter from Birmingham City Jail, King's March on
Washington Address "We Shall Overcome," and the Civil Rights Acts of 1964
and 1965 to develop generalizations about the goals and achievements of the
Civil Rights Movement since 1950.

[add objectives from 21* century issues. ]

A-97


e Weigh and judge different views of the past as advanced by historical figures
themselves, historians, and present-day commentators and public figures.

e Demonstrate that the interpretation and meaning of the past are open to change as new
data and different perspectives emerge.

e Develop sound generalizations and defend these generalizations with persuasive
arguments.

e Make comparisons and recognize the limitations of comparisons and generalizations.

e Apply knowledge, draw conclusions, and support those conclusions with convincing
evidence.

Assessing higher-order thinking skills implies the possibility of exercises with multiple correct
solutions or exercises that may require students to generate more than one solution. For example,
students may be asked to choose one of several reasonable positions on an issue or interpretations
of an event and defend it. Or, they may be asked to discuss different plausible opinions that people
might have had about an impending event and describe how those opinions might have been
defended. Scoring rubrics for these exercises must be developed accordingly.

25




Theme 3

explain the significance to American culture of individuals such as F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Emest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner, Eugene
ONeill, John Steinbeck, Langston Hughes, Grant Wood, Zora Neal Hurston,
Mary Cassatt, Rose Wilden Lane, Willa Cather, Carl Sandburg, and Irving
Berlin.

support the statement, "Technology changed American life," using examples
such as the automobile, airplane, radio, movies, and industrial advances.

identify the types of music, such as jazz, blues, and musical comedy; and
composers, such as Irving Berlin, W. C. Handy, Bessie Smith, and George
Gershwin that are associated with American music of this period.

relate the NAACP, Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frances
Perkins to the effects of the New Deal on African Americans and women during
this period.

use an excerpt from either "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" or "I, too" by Langston
Hughes to explain how the author could be viewed as a representative of the
African American's voice of the era.

develop a thesis on the social impact of agricultural problems after reading an
excerpt from "Grapes of Wrath" and looking at paintings and photographs by
Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton, John Curry, and Dorothea Lange.

e What effect did wartime economies have on the composition of the American workforce
and on the shift from a rural society to an urban society?

e How did wartime economic innovation and technological developments change the
American economy and American society? Who were the innovators?

e What factors led to the growth of the American economy in the 1920s? To what extent
was growing prosperity a reality for Americans from various levels of society?

e What caused the Depression? How did Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt respond?
How did it alter ideas, values, and practices of the American economic system? What was
its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans?

e How did the Depression and the New Deal influence economic theory and practice and
the role of the government in the economy?

A-93


e What were the characteristics of Native American and Southwest-Hispanic cultures? How
did African Americans develop unique cultures in response to slavery? How did free
African Americans, especially in the North, develop their own institutions and actively
seek the abolition of slavery? How did the cultures of Native Americans, Hispanics, and
African Americans adapt and survive?

e What groups (such as the Germans and Irish) immigrated to the United States during this
period? Why did they come? Where did they settle? What impact did they have on the
national culture as they adapted and became Americans?

e How did religious revivalism and the idea of human perfectibility contribute to many
reform movements? What was the role of women in revivalism and reform?

« What ideas about education emerged, what institutions were created, and how did the
increased emphasis on education influence society?

Students can:

1. identify and relate these writers/artists/schools of art or one of their works:
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel
Hawthorne, James Fennimore Cooper, The Hudson River School, George Caleb
Bingham, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, and George Bancroft, to the
development of a distinctly American culture.

2. use the contributions of specific people to support the generalization, "In the
middle years of the 19th century, there was a “flowering of the American
culture."

3. define Transcendentalism.

4. develop and support generalizations about the role of immigration in the
development of the United States.

5. explain some of the characteristics of the distinct African American culture that
developed in this period.

6. identify leaders in the 19th century women's reform movement.

7. recognize selections from Longfellow’s "Evangeline," "Hiawatha," and "The

Courtship of Miles Standish."

A-42


e What were the key events in the Second World War? (Pearl Harbor, Rise of
Nazism/Hitler, concentration camps/Holocaust, Atomic bomb, etc.) Who were the
leaders? (Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Mussolini, Churchill, Roosevelt, MacArthur, Eisenhower)
Why did the United States get involved in the Second World War?

e How did landmark Supreme Court decisions reflect changes in the nature of federalism,
the rights of individuals, and the power and duties of government (e.g., Gitlow v. New
York, Near v. Minnesota, and NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin)? Why did Franklin Roosevelt
try to “pack” the Supreme Court?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Supreme Court cases such as Gitlow v. New York and Near v.
Minnesota, Woodrow Wilson, Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Red Scare, the
Four Freedoms, the New Deal, Eugene Debs, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D.
Roosevelt, and the Hundred Days to the theme "Continuity and Change in
American Democracy."

2. construct a timeline showing the correct chronological order of the election of
presidents Wilson, Hoover, and Roosevelt; America's entry into World War I;
onset of the Great Depression, start of the New Deal; and America’s entry into
World War II.

3. explain how the New Deal changed the role of the federal government in the
economy.

4. recognize famous passages from Woodrow Wilson's and F.D. Roosevelt's war
messages to Congress.

5. use primary documents to evaluate the decision to send Japanese Americans on
the West Coast to internment camps during World War II.

B. Theme 2

e What artistic and literary figures (e.g., Emest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, John
Steinbeck, Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald) contributed to national culture and to
distinct ethnic and regional cultures? How did World War I, the Depression, the Dust
Bowl, and World War II affect writers and artists?

e Why were restrictive immigration policies enacted? What groups were restricted and
what groups were allowed? Why did large numbers of people continue to seek
opportunities to immigrate to the United States?

A-53


e Distractors should be plausible and homogeneous. Options that are obviously
wrong (e.g., because of some mismatch with the stem) or silly effectively reduce the
number of possible correct answers and, thus, reduce the validity of the item.
Sources of good distractors include common misinterpretations and errors in
reasoning, statements that are true but that are not correct answers to the questions
posed in the item stems, statements that are either too broad or too narrow to be
correct, and carefully worded incorrect statements that may sound plausible to the
uncritical reader.

e Distractors must be written with as much care and precision as the correct option so
that all alternatives are equally attractive to an examinee who guesses. Each option
should be a separate and distinctly different response to the stem. Responses should
not overlap or include other responses. "All of the above" should not be used as an
option. "None of the above" can be used as an option if it is used sparingly and not
always as a correct option.

e Both the stem and the options should be as brief and straightforward as possible.
All options should be parallel in point of view and grammatical structure and similar
in length. The stem should include any words that otherwise would have to be
repeated in each option.

Constructed Response Exercises

Constructed response exercises, requiring both written and graphic responses, will be used to
provide insights into students’ levels of thinking about U.S. history and to assess their abilities to
communicate about what they know. These exercises will require students to marshall a body of

facts and organize and express their thoughts--graphically, with a written response, or with a
combination of graphic and written responses.

Approximately half of student time devoted to constructed response exercises should be spent on
those questions requiring short answers. Responses to short-answer questions may be in the form
of lists, phrases, sentences, or short graphic responses, such as filling in information on maps,
charts, or timelines.


11.

12.

13.

evaluate the results of the democratic revolution in the countries of central
Europe since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
assess the generalization that the 20th century has been "America's Century."

[add other objectives related to 21" century issues. ]

A-102


2. explain the diplomatic concerns that influenced the signing of the Emancipation
Proclamation.

The Development of Modern America (1865 to 1920)

Theme 1

e How did the movements of Populism and Progressivism lead to changes in basic
assumptions about the practice of democracy? What led to the 16th Amendment?

e Who were the leaders in these reform efforts? How did they affect events?

e What gains and losses in individual rights resulted (e.g., suffrage)? How did these
changes relate to other reform efforts? Who was left out of these reform efforts?

e How did the role of government change in relation to business and labor? What were the
issues and how were they resolved?

e What groups came to the U.S. (Italians, Jews, Russians, Poles, etc.)? Why did they come?

e What was the debate over American ownership of colonies after the Spanish-American
War and what was the influence of this debate on the nature of American government?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the Plessy v. Ferguson case, Carrie Chapman Catt, Populism,
Progressivism, William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow
Wilson, Jane Addams, and the Sherman Anti-Trust Law to the theme
"Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. interpret cartoons commenting on political corruption in the Gilded Age.

3. explain the main provision of the Dawes Act of 1887.

4. relate the terms "Jim Crow laws" and "segregation" to the broad history of
political rights of African Americans and to the Civil Rights Movement in the
1950s and 1960s.

5. construct a timeline to show important events leading to the passage of the 19th
Amendment.

6. analyze efforts to stop corruption through government regulation such as the

Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act.

A-4R


e How did diverse religious beliefs and practices affect life in the English colonies and lead
to denominationalism and religious freedom?

Students can:
1. recognize the correct definition of "colonist."
2. locate European settlements, such as Jamestown, Plymouth, and Santa Fe, on a
map of North America.
3. describe everyday life of ordinary people in European settlements and Native
American communities.
4. use excerpts from journals and drawings of slave ships to describe the hardships
of the "middle passage."
5. identify freedom of religion as one of the causes for coming to America, from a
list of possible causes.
6. given a list of religious practices, categorize them as Native American or
European.
Theme 3

e What ideas, individuals, motives, practices, and values influenced economic development
in the different regions of colonial North America and the West Indies?

e What were the roles of private property, communal landholding, the fur trade, the
“Protestant work ethic,” the plantation system, merchants, small farmers, indentured
servants, and slaves in the economies that arose in the European colonies?

e What roles did women play in colonial economies?

e How did indentured servitude differ from chattel slavery? Why did slavery come to mean
racial or black slavery?

e In what ways did slavery in the Americas differ from slavery in Africa, ancient Greece
and Rome, or in other places and times?

Students can:
1. use information about crops and ways of making a living in the New England,

middle, and southern colonies to develop a chart comparing and contrasting the
three regions.

A-6


e What were the positions of the political parties and their leaders on economic
development, territorial expansion, political participation, individual rights, states’ rights,
slavery, and social reforms? What was the significance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates?

Students can:

1.

10.

identify and relate Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, the Missouri Compromise,
Jacksonian Democracy, the Indian Removal Act, Nat Tumer's Rebellion,
"Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions,” James K. Polk,
"Fifty-four forty or fight," the Know-Nothings, and Nativism to the theme
"Continuity and Change in American Democracy.”

identify the Louisiana Purchase on a map outlining territorial acquisitions
between 1803 and 1861 and discuss the political significance of this territory,
particularly with reference to resources and the growth of slavery.

define "manifest destiny" and relate it to westward expansion.

evaluate the expansion westward from the point of view of the Native American
by using examples such as the "Trail of Tears" of the Cherokees.

analyze the importance of John Marshall and the Supreme Court cases of
Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland, .

support and/or criticize the generalization: "Andrew Jackson was the champion
of the common man."

explain Thomas Jefferson's concept of democracy.

develop generalizations about the objectives of the movement to reform the
franchise after reading excerpts from primary sources.

construct a timeline and show the correct sequence of the Purchase of Louisiana,
the presidency of Jefferson, the presidency of Jackson, the Missouri
Compromise, the Monroe Doctrine, and the Mexican War.

speculate about the reasons for the reform movements of this era and how they
are linked to earlier and later reform movements.

A-77


cC

e What ideas about education emerged, what institutions were created, and how did the
increased emphasis on education influence society?

Students can:

1.

Theme 3

recognize characters, such as Paul Bunyan, Hiawatha, Pecos Bill, Johnny
Appleseed, John Henry, from "tall tales" of the early years of the United States.

explain what we learn about American life from "tall tales" or early stories of the
United States.

describe the life of pioneers on the frontier.
locate the Louisiana Purchase, Texas, Mexico, and California on a map.

use a natural resource map of the Louisiana Purchase to explain why Thomas
Jefferson would have wanted to add it to the United States.

identify important figures, such as Andrew Jackson and Lewis and Clark, from
this period.

answer questions about a chart showing religious affiliations of the population
of the United States in the mid-19th century.

identify the underground railroad and Harriet Tubman.

distinguish points of view in differing accounts of historic events such as Indian
removal, plantation life, or westward expansion.

e How did geographical factors, technological innovations, individual inventors, and
entrepreneurism contribute to rapid economic growth and important economic
developments such as the specialization and division of labor, the manufacturing system,
the west-ward movement, “King Cotton,” and the expansion of slavery? What were
benefits and costs of these economic developments?

e Why was there growing prosperity for many? What was the influence of their prosperity
on society?

e How did the growth of the factory system affect living conditions, working conditions,
and where people lived?

A-13


12. hypothesize about why many people including women, blacks (both free and
slave), Native Americans, and non-property holders, were not given the right to
vote in the Constitution.

Theme 2

e What were the various roles of Native Americans, African Americans, and men and
women from different social and economic levels in the Revolution? What role did
Loyalists play in the Revolution?

e How did revolutionary rhetoric about equality and civic virtue produce rising
expectations for women, slaves, free blacks, and non-property owning men?

e What ideas, beliefs, and values emerged to create a national culture? How did that culture
compare and contrast to regional cultures in the United States and to the cultural
traditions of the Spanish borderlands (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, and
Florida)?

e What reforms and improvements were sought for women, African Americans, and Native
Americans in the new nation in response to new concepts of liberty, as they emerged
during the American Revolution? How did their lack of political power influence the
strategies and successes of reformers?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Charles Bullfinch, Phyllis Wheatly, Noah Webster, John
Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart, Patience Wright, Charles Wilson Peale, and
Washington Irving to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

2. develop a generalization about efforts to establish a national culture during the
early republic and support it with specifics from the works of artists and writers
cited in #1 above.

3. describe the role of various groups of people such as farmers, plantation owners,
merchants, women, artisans, and African Americans in early America.

4. evaluate the role of Thomas Jefferson as an architect of American national
culture.
5. compare life at a place such as Mount Vernon with life on a small farm in one of

the original 13 states.

6. develop a chart from data showing the origin of inhabitants of the 13 colonies.


Students can:

1. list some causes of the Revolutionary War.

2. identify Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson.

3. explain the purpose of the Declaration of Independence.

4. explain the meaning of the sentence from the Declaration of Independence, "We
hold these truths. . ."

5. describe some of George Washington's accomplishments.

6. define freedom, rights, responsibilities, and democracy.

7. distinguish the Declaration of Independence from the Constitution.

8. explain the meaning of freedom of speech after reading a story in which free

speech is important.

9. explain why a classroom needs a set of rules; predict what would happen
without a set of rules; and explain why a new nation also needs to write a set of
laws (rules).

10. look at pictures labeled as follows--slave, woman, white man, and Native
American--and identify which was the only one who could vote in the new
country.

B. Theme 2

What were the various roles of Native Americans, African Americans, and men and
women from different social and economic levels in the Revolution? What role did
Loyalists play in the Revolution?

How did revolutionary rhetoric about equality and civic virtue produce rising
expectations for women, slaves, free blacks, and non-property owning men?

What ideas, beliefs, and values emerged to create a national culture? How did that culture
compare and contrast to regional cultures in the United States and to the cultural
traditions of the Spanish borderlands (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, and
Florida)?

A-9


Students can:

1. identify and relate Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, the Missouri Compromise,
Jacksonian Democracy, the Indian Removal Act, Nat Turner's Rebellion, the
"Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions," James K. Polk,
"Fifty-four forty or fight," Know-Nothings, and Nativism to the theme
"Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. identify the Louisiana Purchase on a map outlining territorial acquisitions
between 1803 and 1861 and discuss the political significance of this territory,
particularly with reference to natural resources and the growth of slavery.

3. relate significant events such as the Mexican War, the Gadsden Purchase, and
the Annexation of Texas to westward expansion.

4, state arguments that explain how Native Americans such as the Cherokee could
justify fighting against westward expansion.

5. describe the roles played by leaders such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dorothea
Dix, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth in reform movements.

6. identify arguments that could be used to support or criticize the labelling of this
period as the "age of reform."

7. construct a timeline showing the correct sequence of the following events:
Louisiana Purchase, presidency of Jefferson, presidency of Jackson, Missouri
Compromise, Monroe Doctrine, and Mexican War.

B. Theme 2

e What was distinctive about the new American culture? Who were the principal artistic
and intellectual figures? (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David
Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe) What were their contributions? How did the new culture draw
on, reject, and compare to European and British culture?

e What ideas, traditions, and traits such as individualism and the belief in the human
capacity to solve problems came to define the American character?

A-41


Theme 2

« What was distinctive about the new American culture? Who were the principal artistic
and intellectual figures? (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David
Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe) What were their contributions? How did the new culture draw
on, reject, and compare to European and British culture?

e What ideas, traditions, and traits such as individualism and the belief in the human
capacity to solve problems came to define the American character?

e What were the characteristics of Native American and Southwest-Hispanic cultures? How
did African Americans develop unique cultures in response to slavery? How did free
African Americans, especially in the North, develop their own institutions and actively
seek the abolition of slavery? How did the cultures of Native Americans, Hispanics, and
African Americans adapt and survive?

« What groups (such as the Germans and Irish) immigrated to the United States during this
period? Why did they come? Where did they settle? What impact did they have on the
national culture as they adapted and became Americans?

e How did religious revivalism and the idea of human perfectibility contribute to many
reform movements? What was the role of women in revivalism and reform?

« What ideas about education emerged, what institutions were created, and how did the
increased emphasis on education influence society?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Henry David
Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fennimore Cooper, The Hudson River
School, George Caleb Bingham, Edgar Allan Poe, Herman Melville, George
Bancroft, the Second Great Awakening, Transcendentalism, and Horace Mann
to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples," especially in relation to the
development of American culture.

2. explain the significance of Sequoia and Noah Webster as literary figures in
American history.

3. use the contributions of specific people to support the generalization, "In the
middle years of the 19th century, there was a “flowering of the American
culture.”

4. use artists or their works such as the architecture of Thomas Jefferson or the

work of Noah Webster to show how a self-conscious nationalism developed.

A-78


7. support generalizations about the "globalization of economic systems" by
referring to such factors as the role of computers, transportation, international
politics, consumerism, and satellite technology.

8. use charts on the kinds of work performed by women over the last 50 years to
comment on the changing role of women in the U.S. economy.

9. interpret data about the growth of real family income between 1945 and 2000 to
determine the changing distribution of wealth across the population as a whole.

10. use data about the development of a corporation such as IBM, McDonalds, or
Wal-Mart to develop charts or graphs depicting the growth of the company.

Theme 4

How and why did the United States become the pre-eminent economic and military
power in the world? How did U.S. participation in the First and Second World Wars
influence the rest of the world? How and why did the Soviet Union collapse?

What combination of ideology, economics, historical circumstances, individual
viewpoints, and other factors shaped the history of the Cold War? What factors led to its
end?

What were the foreign policy objectives of the major world powers after the Second
World War? What were the major events and conflicts? (Hungarian Revolution of 1956,
Berlin Airlift, Marshall Plan, Suez Crisis, Collapse of USSR, etc.) What led to these
policies? What influence did domestic and foreign leaders have on these policies (e.g.,
Harry Truman, John Foster Dulles, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Dwight Eisenhower, John
Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Golda Meir,
Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev,
and George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, George W. Bush)?

What were the main features of United States foreign policy during the Cold War era?
Who advanced specific proposals?

How did policies toward nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle
East change during the Cold War era? What were the causes and results of the Korean
War and the Vietnam War? In what ways did the Cold War strengthen or weaken
American democracy, the American economy, and American military practices?

What role has public opinion and public protest played in shaping American foreign
policy?

A-100


9. interpret a chart of immigration statistics between 1800 and 1900 to comment on
where immigrants were coming from and how the numbers of immigrants from
certain areas changed.

Theme 3

e What accounts for the surging growth of the American economy in this era? What were
the main features of industrialization, and what were the benefits and costs of this
economic development?

« What basic assumptions define socialism and communism? What were their followers’

critiques of the industrial economy? What was the economic critique of these approaches
to economic organization? What influence did these philosophies have on the American
economy?

e Who were the leaders of industrialization? What were their roles? What was their impact
on society?

e How did American industrial achievements and developments influence the rest of the
world? How did industrialization in other countries affect the United States?

e How did the American labor movement develop? Who were its leaders? What were its
goals?

e What were major conflicts between big business and labor? And what was the role of the

federal government in resolving such disputes?

« What was the influence of increased regulation on business?

e Who were the innovators? What major scientific and technological achievements and

developments influenced industrialization? Discuss the importance of Thomas Alva
Edison, the Wright brothers, and other inventors and pioneers of technology.

e How were American people’s work habits, living conditions, and attitudes shaped by
industrialization and urbanization?

e How did economic growth and industrialization affect the environment? What were the
goals of the early environmentalists?

e How was agriculture affected by technological development? How did it contribute to
industrialization and urbanization?

Students can:

1. study pictures of a "shoe factory" and a colonial craftsman making a pair of
shoes and compare the advantages and disadvantages of both processes.


e What were the main features of United States foreign policy during the Cold War era?
Who advanced specific proposals?

e How did policies toward nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle
East change during the Cold War era? What were the causes and results of the Korean
War and the Vietnam War? In what ways did the Cold War strengthen or weaken
American democracy, the American economy, and American military practices?

e What role has public opinion and public protest played in shaping American foreign
policy?
e How have the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the democratic

revolution in certain countries of Eastern Europe, and conflicts in the Middle East
reshaped American foreign policy?

e What is the significance of the United Nations in the world today?
Students can:
1. identify and relate the Cold War, Sputnik I, the Korean War, the Berlin Wall, the
Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the Peace Corps, the Iran-Contra
Hearings, Harry Truman, John Foster Dulles, Mao Zedong, John Kennedy,
Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail
Gorbachev, and George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and September 11,
2001 to the theme "Changing Role of America in The World."
2. describe the purposes of the Marshall Plan.
3. explain the historical context of the Marshall Plan.

4. identify Joseph McCarthy.

5. define the policy of containment and relate it to the Korean War.
6. relate the policy of containment to the Vietnam War.
7. analyze the lyrics of several protest songs of the Vietnam era and develop a

generalization about the values presented in the songs.
8. give some reasons for the end of the Cold War.
9. demonstrate an understanding of changing foreign policy by explaining the

varying approaches used by the United States since 1945 in its dealings with one
area of the world such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, or Europe.

A-61


Exercise Types

Both major types of exercises--multiple-choice and constructed response exercises--should be used
in the development of all the above scores and scales.
Scoring of Constructed Response Exercises

Scoring protocols (rubrics) should be created a_priori for constructed response (open-ended) items.
These rubrics should be modified appropriately after field-testing. Scores should be assigned
within the rubrics of complex items to reflect the quality of the responses, and each point on the
scoring rubric should contain specific criteria for the desired response at each level. An appropriate
Item Response Theory (IRT) model for polytomous exercise response data should be used for
scoring the open-ended items in order to accommodate a range of possible scores on an item, for
example, 0 to 4, rather than just assigning a right or wrong score.

Score Reporting

NAEP results will be reported primarily in terms of achievement levels. Since no method of
reporting of NAEP results has been optimal for all purposes, scale scores should be supplemented
with descriptive statistics for individual illustrative items or clusters of items. Detailed
recommendations for reporting are presented in a separate document.


SPECIFICATIONS
2006 NAEP ASSESSMENT IN U.S. HISTORY

INTRODUCTION

The 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress in U.S. History will assess students!
knowledge and understanding of the history of the United States in all of its complexity--its themes,
periods, events, people, ideas, turning points, movements, and sources. The assessment will
examine students’ understandings of chronology and perspectives across time, their grasps of
historical facts and contexts, their understandings of the ideals and realities of political institutions
and practices, their appreciation for the commonalities and diversities of American society, and
their views of how key documents and artifacts shed light on history. In addition, the assessment
will examine students' ways of knowing and thinking about history, not only the ability to recall
factual information, but also the ability to analyze the influence of the past on the present, the ability
to weigh evidence to reach sound generalizations and conclusions, and the ability to make informed
judgments.

A variety of stimulus materials will be used in the assessment--copies of primary documents and
secondary interpretations, maps, charts, graphs, political cartoons, pictures, photographs, timelines,
and artifacts. Two exercise (item) formats will be used for responses--single correct-response
multiple-choice items and constructed response items. The constructed response items will require
the student to generate different types of paper-and-pencil responses. Some items will require short
written answers, while others will require constructing maps or timelines, charting data, or writing
an extended response.

All exercises must be: 1) historically accurate; 2) sensitive to our multicultural society; 3) based on
primary and secondary source materials; and 4) engaging to students. Detailed specifications for
the overall assessment and for the exercises (items) are presented on the following pages.

An Item Writers' Guide setting forth basic rules for good item construction, for both multiple-
choice and constructed response item types, is to be provided by the test development contractor.
The Guide should include criteria for developing items using a combination of stimulus materials
and response formats and must conform to the specifications set forth in this document and the
NAGB Policy on Item Development and Review, as well as to any formatting requirements of
NAEP.

The following specifications for the assessment are divided into two sections: Assessment
Specifications and Exercise Specifications. The Assessment Specifications section defines how the
assessment should be built, while the Exercise Specifications section details the content and
cognitive domains and gives instructions for exercise construction.


Students can:
1.

2.

Cc. Theme 3

identify the term "Underground Railroad" and tell how it operated.

identify Harriet Tubman and describe how she fought against slavery.
comment on the meaning of the words in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
explain why slavery was unfair and unjust.

explain the meaning of the slave spiritual "Follow the Drinking Gourd."

read an excerpt from "Lincoln's House Divided Speech" and explain its
meaning.

e How did slavery as an economic system affect the economy and the social and class
systems in the North, the South, and the West?

e How did the economic strengths and weaknesses of each side affect the outcome of the

Civil War?

e What scientific and technological developments affected the economy, the Civil War, and
Reconstruction?

e How did Reconstruction change the economic life of the South?

Students can:

1.

look at maps of railroads, resources, and products in the North and South and
make statements about how the resources would affect the war effort on each
side.

describe how boats were used in the Civil War.

support the generalization about the importance of slavery to the cotton-growing
economy of the South.

prepare a handbill or tract that explains the evils of slavery and why the slaves
need to be freed.


Theme 3
e How did slavery as an economic system affect the economy and the social and class
systems in the North, the South, and the West?

e How did the economic strengths and weaknesses of each side affect the outcome of the
Civil War?

e What scientific and technological developments affected the economy, the Civil War, and
Reconstruction?

e How did Reconstruction change the economic life of the South?

Students can:

1. identify and relate "King Cotton," Homestead Act, new technologies of the War
(medical advances, photography, the railroads, the rifle) to the theme "Economic
and Technological Changes."

2. use a map of railroad networks in the United States to explain some advantages
the Union had over the Confederacy.

3. describe slavery as both an economic and social institution.

4. explain the importance of slavery to the southern economy.

5. evaluate the impact of ironclad ships on the Civil War and on future military
practices.

Theme 4

e How did Union and Confederate diplomacy affect the Civil War?
e In what ways did other nations influence the course and outcome of the Civil War?
e How did the Civil War affect Europe, Latin America, and Native American nations?

e How did the Civil War and Reconstruction influence the nation’s image in other
countries?

Students can:
1. identify and relate the Alabama, the "Trent Affair," Charles Francis Adams,
William Seward, and the Purchase of Alaska to the theme "Changing Role of
America in the World."

A-47


What was the role of American democratic ideals in the nation’s entry into the First
World War?

What was the role of American democratic ideals in the nation’s entry into the Second
World War? What was the relationship between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. during the
war? Why did this relationship end after the war?

How did isolationism influence American foreign policy between 1914 and 1945?

What roles did national leaders (e.g., Kaiser Wilhelm II, Woodrow Wilson, Joseph
Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlin, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight
Eisenhower, and Tojo) play in shaping military and foreign policy?

Why did some Americans oppose involvement in the First and Second World Wars?
How did U.S. policy and activities in the peacemaking process compare after each war?
Why did the failure to solve problems after the First World War lay the groundwork for

another war? How did U.S. policy after the Second World War differ from its policy after
the First World War?

What international alliances and agreements resulted from the wars? What were the goals
of the League of Nations and the United Nations? Why did the League of Nations fail?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, Allies and
Axis powers, the United Nations, the Atlantic Charter, Henry Cabot Lodge,
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Woodrow Wilson, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito
Mussolini, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry
Truman, the Good Neighbor Policy, George Marshall, the Marshall Plan, and
Lend Lease to the theme "Changing Role of America in the World."

2. construct a timeline showing such events as the signing of the Treaty of
Versailles, Japan's invasion of Manchuria, Germany's invasion of Poland,
England's and France's declaration of war on the Axis, Japanese bombing of
Pearl Harbor, America entering World War II, atomic bomb dropped on Japan,
the ending of World War II, and formation of the United Nations.

3. compare the causes of World War I and World War II.

4. relate the Fourteen Points to the formation of the League of Nations.
5. compare and contrast America's response to world leadership after World War I
and World War I.


ASSESSMENT AND EXERCISE
SPECIFICATIONS

NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS (NAEP)
IN

U.S. HISTORY

Used for the 2006 and 2010
NAEP U.S. History Assessments

September 2003

Developed Under Contract Number RN91072001 for the
National Assessment Governing Board by the
Council of Chief State School Officers and the American Institutes for Research



e How was the U.S. Constitution changed after the Civil War (e.g., 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments)? How did the changes affect democratic ideas and practices and contribute
to achieving democratic ideals? How did decisions by the Supreme Court undermine the
effectiveness of these amendments?

« What were the goals of radical and moderate reconstructionists? How and why did they
succeed and fail?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate "The Liberator," William Lloyd Garrison, Daniel Webster,
Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Dred Scott v. Sanford, the Compromise of 1850,
Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, the "free soil party," the Kansas-Nebraska
Act, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, William Seward, Jefferson Davis, John
Brown, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, the Battle of Gettysburg, Appomattox,
"radical reconstruction," and the Black Codes to the theme "Continuity and
Change in American Democracy."

explain the results of military engagements such as Bull Run, Antietam, Shiloh,
and Sherman's march to the sea to illustrate the course of the war.

develop generalizations about Abraham Lincoln by considering his justification
for going to war, excerpts from his two inaugural addresses, and his overall
leadership of the nation during the war.

place in correct chronological order: 13th Amendment, Gettysburg Address,
Emancipation Proclamation, first shot of war at Ft. Sumter, Lincoln's
assassination, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

describe the role of African Americans in the Union army and in politics after
the war.

use excerpts from primary sources such as the following to describe some of the
key ideas of the period: Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation,
"Battle Hymn of the Republic," "Dixie," Anna Dickinson's speech before
Congress, Lincoln-Douglas Debates, and Frederick Douglass' Independence Day
Speech.

explain the key provisions of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

explain the military strategies developed by the Union and the Confederacy to
defeat their adversary.

A-82


Periods of U.S. History
Cognitive Domain...........0000
Historical Knowledge & Perspective
Historical Analysis & Interpretation.

APPENDIX A CONTENT OUTLINES .
4th Grade Content Outline
8th Grade Content Outline.
12th Grade Content Outline .


9. develop and support a generalization about why the 15th Amendment did not
address women's suffrage.

B. Theme 2

e How did the social and cultural traditions of the pre-war North and South differ?
e What was the role of religion in the debate over slavery?

e In what ways did the Civil War and Reconstruction challenge earlier ideas and alter
relations between races, classes, and genders?

e What individuals and groups played significant roles in the war and Reconstruction?

e How did postbellum black communities differ from slave and antebellum free black
communities?

Students can:
1. identify and relate Wendell Philips, Theodore Weld, Angelina and Sara Grimke,
Harriett Beecher Stowe, Sojourner Truth, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick
Douglass, Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, and Harriet Tubman to the theme
"Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."
2. compare slave communities and free black communities in the period before the

war with black communities in both the North and South after the war.

3. develop and defend a position about why each of these individuals could be
called a hero: Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Harriet

Tubman.
4. analyze the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin on American attitudes toward slavery.
5. compare and contrast how abolitionists and pro-slavery forces used religious

justifications for their positions.

Cc. Theme 3
e How did slavery as an economic system affect the economy and the social and class
systems in the North, the South, and the West?

e How did the economic strengths and weaknesses of each side affect the outcome of the
Civil War?


10.

11.

sailor on a voyage between Europe and North America.
contrast a ship sailed by Columbus with a modern ocean liner.

identify products and ideas brought by Columbus that were new to the Native
Americans.

identify Western Hemisphere agricultural products and ideas that were new to
the European explorers and rulers.

explain how European exploration led to changes in the way that Native
Americans, and Europeans, lived.

D. Theme 4: The Changing Role of America in the World

e How did the quest for political and economic power among European nations cause
rivalries in the Western Hemisphere?

e How did Europeans’ efforts to gain control in the Western Hemisphere affect the people
of West Africa and the North American continent? How did these people respond?

Students can:

1. locate the Eastern and Western Hemispheres on a map.

2. locate Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Asia on a map.

3. identify the continents on which Spain, Ghana, and the Inca and the Aztec
Empires were located.

4. explain how Columbus’ discoveries for Spain led other countries in Europe to
send out explorers to the Western Hemisphere.

5. explain why Columbus’ voyages changed history.

6. develop a story about what might have happened in the Western Hemisphere if
Columbus had not sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

I. Period Two: Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607 to 1763)

A-4


12th Grade Content Outline
(includes all 4th and 8th grade objectives)

I. Period One: Beginnings to 1607

A. Theme 1: Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Events,
Key Figures, and Controversies®

e What political, legal, philosophical, and religious traditions did Americans draw upon for
their conceptions of democracy? Who were the leaders, what were their contributions,
and what political and legal institutions developed? In what significant ways have these /
institutions continued? In what ways have they changed? What individuals and groups
have been important in maintaining, testing, and changing these institutions? Which
democratic institutions and procedures made change possible? How does the Constitution
permit compromise, continuity, and change? What landmark documents reflect change
and continuity?

e What are the basic principles and critical assumptions of American constitutional
government about the sources of political power and the rights of individuals? What core
civic ideas (e.g., individual rights and popular sovereignty) have influenced American
society? What individuals and groups have maintained, tested, and influenced the
evolution of these ideas? What primary documents include these commonly held civic
ideas (e.g., Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers,
Constitution, Bill of Rights, Seneca Falis Declaration of Sentiments, and “I Have A
Dream” speech)? What landmark Supreme Court cases have had an importance influence
on our nation (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, Plessy v. Ferguson, Marbury v.
Madison)? Why has the Constitution survived, and why has it become a model political
framework? How have Americans responded to inherent tensions and conflicts of
constitutional democracy, such as reconciling the desire for liberty with the need for
order, majority rule with minority rights, and liberty with equality?

e How has the cultural diversity of American society shaped the nation’s civic culture,
political institutions, and political practices? What individuals and groups played
important roles in raising and responding to issues about diversity and unity in the
American body politic? What major political controversies arose about the issues? Which
controversies have been resolved? And which have remained or re-emerged under other
circumstances?

°In the subsequent periods themes will be referenced simply by
number.

A-63


Students can:

1.

Theme 2

identify and relate Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy,
Lyndon B. Johnson, Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George
Bush, Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bill Clinton, and George
W. Bush to the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

construct a timeline from 1945 to 2006 and place these events on the time line:
elections of Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson,
Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton, and George W.
Bush, (etc.) .

explain the provisions of the Brown v. Board of Education, Gideon v.
Wainwright, Reynolds v. Sims, Miranda v. Arizona, and Roe v. Wade Supreme
Court cases.

use primary sources and charts and graphs about education practices in the
United States to evaluate the effect of the Brown v. Board of Education case on

society.

develop generalizations supporting the conclusion that grassroots politics has
influenced governmental decision making at the local, state, or national levels.

evaluate the goals and outcomes of the "war on poverty."

evaluate the effectiveness of the Constitution as the plan of government of the
United States.

compare the power of the president and the power of Congress in determining
the role of the government in society.

e How has immigration policy changed in the contemporary United States? What groups
(Hispanics, Asians) are immigrating in large numbers? Why?

e How has cultural diversity affected education, media, and popular culture?

e ‘How have the structures of families changed in contemporary American society?

e What has been the role of the media in contemporary America?

e What impact have civil rights movements and women’s movement had on individuals
and American society?

A-58&


to write well-reasoned arguments on complex historical topics and draw upon a wide range of sources to
inform their conclusions.


Students can:

1. give reasons why Americans should be concerned about what happens in other
countries.
2. identify contemporary issues that illustrate how the United States is linked to

other areas of the world.

3. give evidence of ways that the United States has influenced other parts of the
world.

A-28


D.

Theme 3

e What ideas, individuals, motives, practices, and values influenced economic development
in the different regions of colonial North America and the West Indies?

e What were the roles of private property, communal landholding, the fur trade, the
“Protestant work ethic,” the plantation system, merchants, small farmers, indentured
servants, and slaves in the economies that arose in the European colonies?

e What roles did women play in colonial economies?

e How did indentured servitude differ from chattel slavery? Why did slavery come to mean
racial or black slavery?

« In what ways did slavery in the Americas differ from slavery in Africa, ancient Greece
and Rome, or in other places and times?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the concept of private property, communal landholding, the
fur trade, the "Protestant work ethic,” the plantation system, merchant, yeoman
farmer, indentured servant, slaves, and triangular trade to the theme "Economic
and Technological Changes."

2. compare slavery in America, Africa, ancient Greece, and Rome.

3. develop and support a generalization about the economy of each region of
colonial America--North East, Middle region, South, and South West--using
crops, trading and shipping conditions, labor systems, and geography.

4. define “triangular trade."

5. diagram one approach to this type of trade by showing origins of products and
how products moved from one place to another.

6. compare the economic rights and roles of women in the English colonies, the
Spanish colonies, and the Native American culture.

7. define and give examples of the economic theory called "mercantilism."
Theme 4

e Why did European nations contend for control of North America? What were the trade
routes? And what was the extent of each nation’s empire by 1763?

A-70


7. evaluate a primary or secondary source that comments on the achievements of
the Progressives.

Theme 2

e What was the concept of Social Darwinism? How was it used by both liberals and
conservatives?

e How did westward expansion and the 19th-century belief in progress affect American
ideas and society? Who advocated westward expansion? Who advocated social change
and what changes did they advocate?

e What was the impact of westward expansion on Native American and Hispanic societies?
How did these groups respond?

e What was the influence of Mexican culture on the southwest?

e What factors influenced immigration? How did the image of America as a land of
opportunity develop? How did European immigration patterns change? What was the
experience of newly arriving groups such as the Swedes, Norwegians, Jews, Poles,
Russians, and Italians? What was the influence of European immigrants on the U.S.?

e Why did Asians immigrate to the United States? What were their experiences after their
arrival?

e How did forces of industrialization, immigration, technology, and urbanization change
popular culture, definitions of “What is American?” and family life?

e Why and how did public education develop and expand?

« How did women respond to the opportunities and problems produced by urbanization and
industrialization?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Social Darwinism, Pragmatism, the Gospel of Wealth, Sitting
Bull, Chief Joseph, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, the "muckrakers,"
Ida Tarbell, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Upton Sinclair, Jacob Riis, Helen Hunt
Jackson, Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Emily Dickinson, Jane Addams, and Hull
House to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples." :

2. explain how the American belief in progress led to proposals for reform and
social improvement.

3. discuss why the late 19th century is often called the Gilded Age.

A-49


e What reforms and improvements were sought for women, African Americans, and Native
Americans in the new nation in response to new concepts of liberty, as they emerged
during the American Revolution? How did their lack of political power influence the
strategies and successes of reformers?

Students can:

1. use pictures of the volunteer patriot militia and professional British army to
develop comparisons of the two armies of the Revolution.

2. recognize the meaning of the slogans, "No taxation without representation" and
"Give me liberty or give me death" from a list of possibilities.

3. compare the lives of people living on the frontier with those of people living in
towns.
4. describe the kind of schooling most children received in pioneer settlements.

5. compare the daily lives of free African Americans with those of African slaves.

6. develop comments about the African American traditions that developed during
the time of slavery, after reading a brief excerpt from slave narratives.

7. use the words in the "Star Spangled Banner" and later patriotic songs, such as
"America," "America the Beautiful," and "This Land is Your Land," to illustrate
American ideas and values.

Cc. Theme 3

e How did colonial economic growth interact with the British mercantile and Native
American economic systems?

e What economic factors contributed to the colonists’ decision to declare their
independence?

e What were the effects of the Revolution on economic development and institutions?

« What ideas, values, and practices caused the Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian debate over the
formation and direction of the nation’s economy and what were the results?

Students can:

1. use data to develop a chart showing the different ways people made a living in
the New England, middle, and southern English colonies.


e What is the importance of the New Deal in American social reform? What were the key
policies? Who developed the policies and who were the critics?

e How did technological innovations such as the radio, movies, and automobiles affect the
lives of ordinary Americans?

e What was the immediate and long-range impact on the homefront of World War II?

Students can:

1. explain how inventions (such as the radio, automobile, and movies) developed
during this period and describe how they changed family life.

2. identify in a list the accomplishments of Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor
Roosevelt.

3. use pictures, excerpts from journals, and other sources to develop
generalizations about life during the Depression.

Theme 3
« What effect did wartime economies have on the composition of the American workforce

and on the shift from a rural society to an urban society?

e How did wartime economic innovation and technological developments change the
American economy and American society? Who were the innovators?

e What factors led to the growth of the American economy in the 1920s? To what extent
was growing prosperity a reality for Americans from various levels of society?

e What caused the Depression? How did Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt respond?
How did it alter ideas, values, and practices of the American economic system? What was
its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans?

e How did the Depression and the New Deal influence economic theory and practice and
the role of the government in the economy?

« How did workers and labor leaders shape the discussion of economic theory and
employer policies and practices?

Students can:
1. explain how the World Wars caused more women to enter the workforce.

2. identify Henry Ford.

A-22


e How did landmark Supreme Court decisions reflect changes in the nature of federalism,
the rights of individuals, and the power and duties of government (e.g., Gitlow v. New
York, Near v. Minnesota, and NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin)? Why did Franklin Roosevelt
try to “pack” the Supreme Court?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate Supreme Court cases (Gitlow v. New York, Near v.
Minnesota, NLRB vy. Jones & Laughlin), Wilson's Fourteen Points, the era of
normalcy, the Red Scare, the Four Freedom's, the New Deal, Woodrow Wilson,
Eugene Debs, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Hundred Days to
the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

construct a timeline showing the correct chronological order of the elections of
presidents Wilson, Hoover, and Roosevelt; America's entry into World War I;
start of New Deal; and America's entry into World War II.

describe the Red Scare, explaining how it reflected post-World War | attitudes.

explain how the New Deal altered the perception of the role of government in
social welfare.

explain how each of the following affected the advancement or retreat of
democratic ‘institutions: the 19th Amendment, citizenship granted to Native
Americans in 1924, Japanese internment during World War H, and Truman's
first steps in the integration of the army in World War II.

use excerpts from Woodrow Wilson's "War Message to Congress" and George
Norris’ speech “Against Entry into the War (WWI)" to develop a statement
giving the reasoning behind the contrasting positions of the men.

recognize famous quotations from F. D. Roosevelt's "War Message to
Congress," December 1941.

evaluate the persuasiveness of contradictory historical interpretations of the New
Deal.

A-91


5. describe how developments in transportation changed the workplace and influenced
daily life. ,

6. describe ways that technology has made their lives different from their parents' lives
when they were children.

7. give evidence to show that the United States interacts with other nations of the
world.

8. describe some of the United States’ accomplishments in modern space exploration.

Theme 4

« How and why did the United States become the pre-eminent economic and military power in the
world? How did U.S. participation in the First and Second World Wars influence the rest of the
world? How and why did the Soviet Union collapse?

« What combination of ideology, economics, historical circumstances, individual viewpoints, and
other factors shaped the history of the Cold War? What factors led to its end?

e What were the foreign policy objectives of the major world powers after the Second World War?
What were the major events and conflicts? (Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Berlin Airlift,
Marshall Plan, Suez Crisis, Collapse of USSR, etc.) What led to these policies? What influence
did domestic and foreign leaders have on these policies (e.g., Harry Truman, John Foster Dulles,
Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Nikita
Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Golda Meir, Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher,
Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, and George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton,
Colin Powell, George W. Bush)?

e What were the main features of United States foreign policy during the Cold War era? Who
advanced specific proposals?

e How did policies toward nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East
change during the Cold War era? What were the causes and results of the Korean War and the
Vietnam War? In what ways did the Cold War strengthen or weaken American democracy, the
American economy, and American military practices?

« What role has public opinion and public protest played in shaping American foreign policy?

e How have the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the democratic
revolution in certain countries of Eastern Europe, and conflicts in the Middle East reshaped
American foreign policy?

¢ What is the significance of the United Nations in the world today?

A-27


3. relate pictures of military equipment from the Civil War and World War II to
each war.

4. identify Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh, and Amelia Earhart.

Theme 4

e How did events in Europe and Asia, such as the outbreak of the First World War, the
Russian Revolution, the Nazis’ rise to power, the Axis alliance, the Nazi-Soviet pact, and
Japanese territorial expansion influence United States history?

e How was life in the United States affected by expansion and participation in the First
World War?

e What was the role of American democratic ideals in the nation’s entry into the First
World War?

e What was the role of American democratic ideals in the nation’s entry into the Second
World War? What was the relationship between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. during the
war? Why did this relationship end after the war?

e How did isolationism influence American foreign policy between 1914 and 1945?

« What roles did national leaders (e.g., Kaiser Wilhelm II, Woodrow Wilson, Joseph
Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlin, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight
Eisenhower, and Tojo) play in shaping military and foreign policy?

e Why did some Americans oppose involvement in the First and Second World Wars?

e How did USS. policy and activities in the peacemaking process compare after each war?
Why did the failure to solve problems after the First World War lay the groundwork for

another war? How did U.S. policy after the Second World War differ from its policy after
the First World War?

« What international alliances and agreements resulted from the wars? What were the goals
of the League of Nations and the United Nations? Why did the League of Nations fail?

Students can:
1. develop comments about why people were willing to go to war after reading a
story about bravery and heroism in either World War I or II.
2. locate Germany, Japan, England, France, and the former Soviet Union on a map.
3. identify Adolf Hitler and relate him to World War II and the Holocaust.

A-23,


Students can:

1. identify and relate William Seward, Alfred T. Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt,
William McKinley, "yellow journalism," jingoism, the Platt Amendment, the
Open Door Policy, the Boxer Rebellion, William Randolph Hearst, Joseph
Pulitzer, John Hay, and the Treaty of Paris to the theme "Changing Role of

America in the World."
2. explain some causes of the Spanish-American War.
3. comment on how the Spanish-American War changed the role of America in

world affairs.

4. identify or locate on a map the lands that America acquired at the end of the
Spanish-American War.

5. explain the significance of the Open Door Policy.

Modern America and the World Wars (1914 to 1945)
Theme 1

e Why did the U.S. decide to enter First World War? What were the major turning points in
this war? Who were the leaders? (Woodrow Wilson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, etc.) What
happened in the First World War?

e How did politics in the 1920s reflect both the advancement and the retreat of important
democratic practices?

e Why was the Constitution amended to ban the sale/consumption of alcohol? Who
supported Prohibition? Why was the amendment repealed?

e How did women’s suffrage get enacted as an amendment to the Constitution? Who were
leaders of the women’s suffrage movement (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Carrie Chapman Catt)? Why did some people oppose women’s suffrage?

e How did the Depression affect American politics? How did the Depression change
assumptions about the nature of federalism and the role of government?

e How did Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation change the role of the federal
government in relation to social welfare and individual rights? Which new agencies were
created and which became a lasting part of American government?


10. take a position, and support the position with specifics, on the overall
effectiveness of the United States as leader of the free world since 1945.

11. describe U.S. foreign policy issues in the 21" century.

A-62


Theme 4

Not to be tested at this grade level.

The Development of Modern America (1865 to 1920)
Theme 1

e How did the movements of Populism and Progressivism lead to changes in basic
assumptions about the practice of democracy? What led to the 16th Amendment?
e Who were the leaders in these reform efforts? How did they affect events?

« What gains and losses in individual rights resulted (e.g., suffrage)? How did these
changes relate to other reform efforts? Who was left out of these reform efforts?

e How did the role of government change in relation to business and labor? What were the
issues and how were they resolved?

= What groups came to the U.S. (Italians, Jews, Russians, Poles, etc.)? Why did they come?

e What was the debate over American ownership of colonies after the Spanish-American
War and what was the influence of this debate on the nature of American government?

Students can:
1. identify the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
2. explain why women wanted the right to vote.

3. identify Theodore Roosevelt as the president that set aside many acres of land
for national parks.

4. summarize the goals of the progressives after reading an excerpt from their
statement for reform.

Theme 2

e What was the concept of Social Darwinism? How was it used by both liberals and
conservatives?


Students can:

1.

10.

11.

identify and relate Social Darwinism, Pragmatism, the Gospel of Wealth, Sitting
Bull, Chief Joseph, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, "muckrakers," Ida
Tarbell, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Upton Sinclair, Jacob Riis, Helen Hunt
Jackson Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Emily Dickinson, Jane Addams, and Hull
House to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

compare the "new immigration" with that of earlier periods as to country of
origin, motivation, adaptation to American lifestyle, and the reaction of some
Americans to these new immigrants.

compare the issues of the U. S. Indian policy of this period from the points of
view of the pioneers and the Native Americans.

describe the role of philanthropy in this period and some of the controversies
surrounding it.

describe the goals of progressive educators for American education during this
period.

interpret the architectural designs of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to
explain their contributions to American culture.

use examples from new technology, popular culture, family life, the changing
role of women, and the "new" immigration to support generalizations about the
new patterns of society that developed in this period.

use excerpts from Booker T. Washington's "The Atlanta Exposition Address"
and W.E.B. DuBois' "The Talented Tenth" to compare the views of these two
African American leaders.

hypothesize about which writers of the era would most appropriately be
illustrated by a Jacob Riis photograph and develop arguments to support the
hypothesis.

analyze a chart showing the backgrounds (ethnic groups, sex, age) of the victims
of the Triangle Waist Company Fire and make a generalization about how
reformers might have used this incident to seek social change.

evaluate Turner's thesis that reform and national identity have resulted from
western expansion.

A-87


VIII.

A.

9. evaluate charts on quotas and immigration to develop a generalization about
American reaction to the Holocaust and international refugee issues.

Contemporary America (1945 to Present)
Theme 1

e How have the ideas of the founding period about the nature of the government, liberty,
and sources of political power been maintained and changed? Why do the important core
civic ideas of individual rights, equal rights under law, and popular sovereignty continue
to be forces in American society?

e How did the Second World War affect the movement for racial equality?

e What political issues have been most significant in contemporary America (¢.g.,
abortion; affirmative action; anti-war protests; civil liberties; civil rights for minorities,
women, and the disabled; environmentalism; national security; reducing government
regulation and taxes; terrorism)? How have issues and controversies been resolved in the
American democratic political system?

e How did Harry Truman respond to Soviet military challenges in Europe and Greece?
How did Dwight Eisenhower respond to McCarthyism and the Brown decision? How did
John F. Kennedy respond to the Cuban missile crisis and to the civil rights movement?
How did Lyndon B. Johnson attempt to balance the “Great Society” domestic reforms
while expanding American involvement in the Vietnam War? How did Richard Nixon
change the nation’s relations with China but lose his presidency because of Watergate?
How did Ronald Regan hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union? What caused George
H.W. Bush to initiate Operation Desert Storm? What was the impact of welfare reform
under the Clinton administration? What were the policies of George W. Bush following
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks?

e How have landmark Supreme Court decisions affected constitutional rights, political
controversies, and the relationships of individuals and groups (¢.g., Brown v. Board of
Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, Abington School District v. Schempp, Reynolds v.
Sims, Miranda v. Arizona, and Roe v. Wade)?

e What is the role of political leadership in contemporary politics? What individuals or
groups have taken leadership roles? What strategies and political philosophies have they
pursued to achieve power and resolve political issues?

A-96


e How have the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the democratic
revolution in certain countries of Eastern Europe, and conflicts in the Middle East
reshaped American foreign policy?

e What is the significance of the United Nations in the world today?

Students can:

1.

10.

identify and relate the Cold War, NSC 68 and the policy of containment,
Sputnik I, the Korean War, the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the
Vietnam War, the Peace Corps, the Iran-Contra Hearings, Gulf War, Harry
Truman, John Foster Dulles, Mao Zedong, John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev,
Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Golda Meir, Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher,
Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W.
Bush (etc.) to the theme "Changing Role of America in The World."

evaluate the effectiveness of the policy of containment in achieving America's
foreign policy goals, using specific examples, including Korea, Vietnam, the
Persian Gulf War, and the War in Iraq.

examine U.S. post-war policies toward Japan and Germany and discuss their
relationships to the generalization made by Lincoln that the defeated enemy
should "be let up easy.”

discuss the effect of the world "arms race" and world terrorism on international
relations.

compare and contrast how the "Munich Analogy" and the "Vietnam Analogy"
have shaped U.S. foreign policy.

evaluate the generalization "50 years of European peace is due to the clear lines
of protection shown in the NATO and Warsaw Pact alliances."

analyze excerpts from Kennedy's Inaugural Address on the United States'
responsibilities to the world.

analyze the lyrics of several protest songs of the Vietnam era and develop a
generalization about the values presented in the songs.

develop and support a position on the reasons for the dissolution of the Soviet
Union.

describe the causes of the democratic revolutions that began in central Europe
after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

A-101


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Assessment Construction
Dimensions of Assessment.
Content Dimensions: Themes and
Historical Periods
Major Historical Themes.

Periods of History ..
Cognitive Dimension .
Allocation of Testing Time ..:. .
Achievement Levels .........ccsccssesssecssssessssseessseesssvecssurecsseesssuesssniesssueessesssueesssnresssnesesese

Review Process and Criteria ..........cecsssssesssesssesssesssessecsseesseesssecsesneesseesncecucessesuceenseesneesneeesnsees
History Expert Review
Bias Review

Scoring.
General Criteria.
Exercise Types..
Scoring of Constructed Response Exercises
Score Reporting

EXERCISE SPECIFICATIONS ......cscsessssssssssseesseesseesseessseesesssesssesssesssssssecssessuessecssessuesseessvessueesaneesnee 12
General Characteristics of Exercise Development ..........c.csscesseesseesesstesssessessesuessseesseessneeesiee 12
Achievement Level Descriptions .0..........stessesessseseessesesnesnseseesesesecseeneenseneeneenenesnesaceseenneensess 12

4th Grade ..

8th Grade
12th Grade

Exercise Format Specifications.
Stimulus Material ....
Response Formats

Multiple-Choice Exercises
Constructed Response Exercises .

Content Specifications ...
Content Areas ...
Major Themes of U.S. History.. 223


D. Theme 4

judge the validity of differing interpretations about the impact of developments
such as the factory system, the westward movement, the expansion of slavery,
capitalism, and "King Cotton" on the economic development of the United
States.

develop generalizations about the economic development of the United States
by using several examples such as private ownership, government subsidies,
growth of a national transportation system, tariffs, immigrant labor, and foreign
investments.

recognize the major values of female textile workers as presented in their
publication The Lowell Offerings.

outline the major positions of Jackson and Webster on the crisis over the
National Bank.

e How and why did the United States expand its boundaries? What was the Monroe
Doctrine? Who were the chief advocates of territorial expansion? What were the major
events in territorial expansion? What was the idea of Manifest Destiny? Who were its
supporters and opponents?

e How did the United States influence revolutionary movements in the Caribbean and Latin
America? How did those movements affect the United States?

e How did the United States attempt to prevent European nations from regaining control of
Latin America? Who were the leaders?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate Henry Clay, the Monroe Doctrine, John Quincy Adams, the
Rush-Bagot Agreement, James K. Polk, Bolivar, Matthew Perry, Sam Houston,
Santa Anna, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Winfield Scott, and Zachary Taylor
to the theme "Changing Role of America in the World."

trace the background of the Monroe Doctrine and evaluate the effectiveness of
the Monroe Doctrine during this period.

identify Toussaint L'Ouverture and explain the influence of the Haitian Revolt
on the United States.

A-80


2. discuss why Native American groups--such as the Cherokee and Creek--allied
with the British in the American Revolution while others--such as the Iroquois--
supported the Revolutionaries.

3. evaluate the diplomatic implications of the Battle of Saratoga in the American
Revolution.

4. describe the immediate cause of the Battles of Concord and Lexington.

5. explain the significance of the Battles of Concord and Lexington.

6. formulate arguments that support a view that the War of 1812 was either a

success or a failure for the United States.

Expansion and Reform (1801 to 1861)
Theme 1

e Why did the nation expand across the Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific Coast? What
ideas about democracy emerged? Why did the nation decide to add states and give them
equal standing instead of creating colonies? What controversies arose about organizing
territories and adding states to the union? How and to what extent were these
controversies resolved?

e How did the American political culture develop? What procedures emerged for managing
controversy and responding to changing political and social needs? Who played important
roles in this process?

e How did Jefferson and Jackson change the power and practices of the presidency? What
caused the rise of interest-group politics?

e How did the right to vote expand?

e How did reform movements challenge assumptions about slavery, women’s rights,
qualifications for citizenship and the right to vote, and the rights of Indians?

e How did reform movements change political practices, the rights of individuals, and the
meaning of American constitutional democracy?

e How did landmark Supreme Court decisions affect the development of the legal system
and constitutional government (e.g., Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland)?

e What were the positions of the political parties and their leaders on economic
development, territorial expansion, political participation, individual rights, states’ rights,
slavery, and social reforms? What was the significance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates?

A-40


5. read and interpret a chart/table showing where immigrants have come from

since 1970.

6. suggest some reasons why people want to come from other countries to live in
America.

7. examine a variety of sources depicting life before and after desegregation and

explain why the changes have happened.

8. explain the rituals involved in one of the many religious holidays that are
celebrated by the different groups in the United States.

Theme 3
e What caused the general economic boom and growing prosperity in the post-Second
World War era?

e What have been key technological innovations (e.g., transistors, television, computers, jet
airplanes, penicillin, plastics, the hydrogen bomb, and space exploration)? Who were the
innovators? How have these innovations influenced society?

e What has been the influence of the labor movement on the economy and society?

e How has technological change influenced work habits, the composition of the workforce,
and economic productivity?

e How have mass production, the consumer economy, entrepreneurship, and changing
economic conditions affected American society?

Students can:

1. locate regions, such as the Great Plains, the Southeast, the Northeast, the Southwest,
the Rocky Mountain region, and the Northwest on a map of the United States, and
explain how the land and natural resources led to different ways of making a living
in these regions of the United States.

2. interpret a products/natural resources map and draw conclusions about how people
in different regions make a living.

3. categorize a list of living and non-living natural resources.

4. describe how television and computers have changed the way we live.

A-26


Students can:

1.

7.

D. Theme 4

identify and relate the Navigation Acts, "salutary neglect," triangular trade, the
Sugar Act, protective tariff, and embargo to the theme, "Economic and
Technological Changes."

use specific examples of goods and geographic locations to explain the
mercantilist system of trade.

describe the mercantilist system from the points of view of a British merchant, a
typical American colonial, and a Native American.

describe Alexander Hamilton's economic plan for the new nation.

explain how Supreme Court cases like Dartmouth College v. Woodward and
Fletcher v. Peck provided property protection through "sanctity of contract."

form a generalization about the federal power of taxation and the Whiskey
Rebellion.

describe federal land policy as shaping western expansion.

e What were the contributions of other nations to the American victory in the Revolution?

e In what ways did the American Revolution and the establishment of the United States
influence people in other nations? How did these events reshape the image of America in
other countries? What was the significance of George Washington’s Farewell Address?

e How did the French Revolution affect American domestic and foreign policy?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate the Peace of Paris of 1763, the War of 1812, Lafayette,
Saratoga, Yorktown, Pinkney's Treaty, Jefferson's Embargo, the XYZ Affair, the
Louisiana Purchase, Barbary Pirates (Tripoli War), Benjamin Franklin, and
Washington's Farewell Address to the theme "Changing Role of America in the
World."

compare how countries, such as France and Spain, reacted to the American
Revolution.

A-75




Theme 3. Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Society, Ideas, and the
Environment

Defining Questions:

How did the United States develop from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban,
industrialized superpower? What were the human and environmental benefits and costs of
this development? How and why has the standard of living for most Americans changed
over time? How have state and national governments responded to issues raised by
economic developments and how have they participated in the economy?

What ideas, values, and practices (e.g., individual entrepreneurship, private ownership of
property, laissez-faire economics, free enterprise, monopolies, and government regulation)
contributed to the development of the American economic system? What types of labor
systems developed and how did they influence society and the economy? How has the
economic system, including its ideas and values, adapted to changing conditions and
changing demands? What forms of prosperity and opportunity resulted? How have the
work lives and economic opportunities of various groups differed (e.g., men and women,
racial groups, and people in different regions)?

How have geography and economic and technological developments influenced society?
How have these developments influenced how Americans make a living, where they live,
their quality of life, and their natural environment?

What have been major American achievements and developments in science and
technology? Who played key roles? What caused these developments? How have these
developments influenced the economy, the environment, and the rest of the world? What
have been the most important economic, scientific, and technological issues? What has
been the impact of scientific and technological developments elsewhere on the United
States?

Theme 4. The Changing Role of America in the World

Defining Questions:

What were the causes and consequences of key events that marked American involvement
in world affairs? Spanish-American War? World War I? World War II? Marshall Plan?
The Cold War? Globalization?

How have the geographical location and resources of the United States, its ideals, its
interests, and its power influenced its role in the world? How and why has that role
changed? Who played significant roles in international affairs at critical moments in
American history? What is the role of public opinion in shaping foreign policy ina
democracy? What primary documents and historical sources record the key developments?

22


Cc

Theme 3

compare the contributions and influence of African Americans such as Frederick
Douglass, Nat Turner, and Sojourner Truth.

explain some of the characteristics of the distinct African American culture that
developed in this period.

discuss the revival of religion in America, the growth of religious diversity, and
the long-range impact of the Second Great Awakening.

discuss the origins of the women's movement in the 19th century and elaborate
on the conditions, the leaders, and the results.

use a chart to explain how the literacy rates for various groups might fit ideas
about public education in this era.

develop a generalization about Tecumseh's strengths and weaknesses in trying to
defeat expansion.

How did geographical factors, technological innovations, individual inventors, and
entrepreneurism contribute to rapid economic growth and important economic
developments such as the specialization and division of labor, the manufacturing system,
the west-ward movement, “King Cotton,” and the expansion of slavery? What were
benefits and costs of these economic developments?

Why was there growing prosperity for many? What was the influence of their prosperity
on society?

How did the growth of the factory system affect living conditions, working conditions,
and where people lived?

How did government subsidies, growth of a national transportation system, tariffs,
immigrant labor, and foreign investments influence economic development?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate Samuel Slater, DeWitt Clinton, Robert Fulton, Oliver Evans,
Samuel F.B. Morse, Francis Cabot Lowell, Eli Whitney (the cotton gin and
interchangeable parts), the "factory systems," the Erie Canal, steamboats, , and
Robert Fulton to the theme "Economic and Technological Changes."

A-79


In what ways have the ideas embodied in the Declaration of Independence served as
fundamental and enduring ideas of American political life?

What were the political debates regarding independence and the creation of new state
governments and a national government? Who supported what positions?

Who were the leaders of the American Revolution? What was the role and importance of
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others in the
revolutionary generation? What ideas about government, sources of political power,
rights of individuals, and political participation are specified in the Declaration of
Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution,
and the Bill of Rights? How did ideas in these documents contribute to a common civic
culture?

What factors and events, such as problems of the Articles of Confederation and Shays’
Rebellion led to the Constitutional Convention? Who were the participants? What key
issues did they debate? What major compromises did they make to create the Constitution
of 1787?

What are the most important features of the Constitution? How did it differ from the
Articles of Confederation? How have its core civic ideas of individual rights, equal
justice under law, and popular sovereignty become the basis for the nation’s common
political culture? Why did it become recognized as a model political framework? How
has it sustained aspirations for individual freedom and dignity, here and in other nations,
for more than 200 years?

How does the ratification of the Bill of Rights illustrate the idea of compromise and
change that has been a basic principle of American Constitutional government?

What political and legal institutions were created by the Constitution? How was power
distributed among the branches of the federal government and between federal and state
governments?

How and why did issues such as slavery, the rights of individuals, the power of the states,
and the nature of federalism and republicanism divide Americans? How did the
Constitution provide avenues for addressing these issues?

Why did political parties arise (e.g., Federalists and Democratic-Republicans)? How did
the party system influence the development of democracy? What was the role and
importance of George Washington? Why was the peaceful transfer of power following
Jefferson’s election such a landmark event in history?

How did John Marshall establish as a principle of constitutional government the judicial
review by the Supreme Court of acts of state and federal governments? What does this
mean today?

A-8


D. Theme 4

explain differences among the economic theories of capitalism, socialism, and
communism.

define the free enterprise system and evaluate the influence of this economic
concept on the development of the American economy.

weigh evidence to determine the appropriateness of the labels "Robber Baron"
and "Captain of Industry" for prominent industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie
or John D. Rockefeller.

use short descriptions of life in an urban area, a mining town, a farming
community, and a cattle-raising region to develop a chart about the positive and

negative aspects of life in these economic settings.

explain differences in approaches to labor organizing between Knights of Labor,
AFL, and WW.

explain the importance of major technological breakthroughs of the era
(Bessemer steel, telephone, typewriter, streetcar, electricity).

interpret a diagram of the major features of the Federal Reserve System.

examine a diagram of a “dumbbell apartment" and a chart of the average number
of occupants and write several "journal entries" describing life there.

e What were the reasons the United States enlarged its role in world affairs in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries?

e Who were the champions and critics of expansion?

e In what ways did the United States expand its territory, its diplomatic importance, and its
military power?

e In what ways did other nations respond to the expanding American role in world affairs?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate William Seward, Alfred T. Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, Mr.
Dooley (Finley Peter Dunne), William McKinley, "yellow journalism,"
jingoism, the Platt Amendment, the Open Door Policy, the Boxer Rebellion,
William Randolph Hearst, Joseph Pulitzer, John Hay, and the Treaty of Paris to
the theme "Changing Role of America in the World."

A-89


Il.

Theme 4: The Changing Role of America in the World

e What were the causes and consequences of key events that marked American
involvement in world affairs? Spanish-American War? World War I? World War II?
Marshall Plan? The Cold War? Globalization?

e How have the geographical location and resources of the United States, its ideals, its
interests, and its power influenced its role in the world? How and why has that role
changed? Who played significant roles in international affairs at critical moments in
American history? What is the role of public opinion in shaping foreign policy in a
democracy? What primary documents and historical sources record the key
developments?

e How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, power, and activities of other
nations affected the U.S.?

e How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, power, and activities of the
U.S. affected other nations?

e How has life inside the U.S. been affected by the nation’s role in the world?

Students can:

1. assess the significance of the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 on the European
nations' quest for power and on colonization in the Western Hemisphere.

2. develop and support generalizations about the various reactions of American Indians
in North America to European exploration and settlement.

Period Two: Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607 to 1763)
Theme 1

e How did various European colonists reshape their political, legal, and philosophical
traditions to fit their circumstances in North America? What new political traditions
evolved? In the English colonies, what practices of self-government and law developed?

e How did various Native American groups view and respond to European colonization?

e How did ideas about individual rights, popular sovereignty, and law develop in different
parts of the British, Spanish, Dutch, and French colonies?

e What conceptions of law, government, literacy, education, and human nature did English
colonists bring with them? What was the significance of the Mayflower Compact?


3. explain how the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments altered definitions of
citizenship.

4. develop and support a generalization about the disenfranchisement of African
Americans after Reconstruction.

5. evaluate the effectiveness of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson in
achieving the reform agenda of the progressives.

6. list the goals of the Populist Party and relate them to other reform efforts in
American history.
7. summarize the reasons for John Marshall Harlan's dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson

after reading excerpts from the decision and from Harlan's dissent.

8. evaluate the generalization that the power and influence of the presidency was in
decline from 1865-1900.

Theme 2

e What was the concept of Social Darwinism? How was it used by both liberals and
conservatives?

e How did westward expansion and the 19th-century belief in progress affect American
ideas and society? Who advocated westward expansion? Who advocated social change
and what changes did they advocate?

e What was the impact of westward expansion on Native American and Hispanic societies?
How did these groups respond?

e What was the influence of Mexican culture on the southwest?

e What factors influenced immigration? How did the image of America as a land of
opportunity develop? How did European immigration patterns change? What was the
experience of newly arriving groups such as the Swedes, Norwegians, Jews, Poles,
Russians, and Italians? What was the influence of European immigrants on the U.S.?

e Why did Asians immigrate to the United States? What were their experiences after their
arrival?

« How did forces of industrialization, immigration, technology, and urbanization change
popular culture, definitions of “What is American?” and family life?

e Why and how did public education develop and expand?

« How did women respond to the opportunities and problems produced by urbanization and
industrialization?

A-86


4. identify American authors of the period, such as Mark Twain and Bret Harte,
and explain why their works are considered distinctly "American."

5. contrast the points of view of a pioneer and a Native American on the issues of
westward expansion.

6. identify the leaders of the women's suffrage movement and the arguments used
to support their cause.

7. interpret journals, letters, and photographs to draw conclusions about some
aspects of the lives, in America, of the immigrants who came during the "new
immigration."

8. use data about the origin of immigrants to develop a chart showing the patterns

of immigration between 1865 and 1920.

Theme 3

e What accounts for the surging growth of the American economy in this era? What were
the main features of industrialization, and what were the benefits and costs of this
economic development?

e What basic assumptions define socialism and communism? What were their followers’
critiques of the industrial economy? What was the economic critique of these approaches
to economic organization? What influence did these philosophies have on the American
economy?

e Who were the leaders of industrialization? What were their roles? What was their impact
on society?

« How did American industrial achievements and developments influence the rest of the
world? How did industrialization in other countries affect the United States?

e How did the American labor movement develop? Who were its leaders? What were its
goals?

e What were major conflicts between big business and labor? And what was the role of the
federal government in resolving such disputes?

e What was the influence of increased regulation on business?

e Who were the innovators? What major scientific and technological achievements and
developments influenced industrialization? Discuss the importance of Thomas Alva
Edison, the Wright brothers, and other inventors and pioneers of technology.

e How were American people’s work habits, living conditions, and attitudes shaped by
industrialization and urbanization?


1

4th Grade Content Outline

Period One: Beginnings to 1607

A. Theme 1: Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Events,
Key Figures, and Controversies!

Not to be tested at this grade level.

B. Theme 2: The Gathering and Interaction of Peoples, Cultures, and Ideas

e What were the family patterns, religious practices, political institutions, and artistic
traditions of Western Europeans, which principally influenced and shaped colonial
American settlements? How did Native American and West African traditions contribute
to creating a new and uniquely American culture in the 17" and 18" centuries?

« What was “the Columbian exchange”? How did it affect societies and cultures
worldwide?

« Why did Europeans explore and settle in the Western Hemisphere? Who were the
explorers? What were their motivations? How did geographical factors influence their
routes?

e What historical sources provide insights into the exchange?
Students can:

1. locate the best place for a settlement, given a map with clearly indicated physical
features.

2. identify Columbus.
3. explain the importance of Columbus' voyages in history.

4. recognize the correct sequence of events after examining a timeline showing dates
of important events in the exploration of the Western Hemisphere.

5. after reading a story about the people, describe the traditions and ways of life of
people living in Europe before explorers reached the Americas.

‘In the subsequent periods themes will be referenced simply by
number.


I.

Period Two: Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607 to 1763)
Theme 1

e How did various European colonists reshape their political, legal, and philosophical
traditions to fit their circumstances in North America? What new political traditions
evolved? In the English colonies, what practices of self-government and law developed?

e How did various Native American groups view and respond to European colonization?

e How did ideas about individual rights, popular sovereignty, and law develop in different
parts of the British, Spanish, Dutch, and French colonies?

e What conceptions of law, government, literacy, education, and human nature did English
colonists bring with them? What was the significance of the Mayflower Compact?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact,
the Petition of Right, the English Civil War, the Enlightenment, the
Pennsylvania Charter, the Maryland Toleration Act, the Fundamental Orders of
Connecticut, the Glorious Revolution, the English Bill of Rights, the New
England town meeting, Congregationalism, Quakers, and English Common Law
to the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. explain the contributions of the following people to the development of
American democracy: Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, Nathaniel Bacon,
William Penn, John Locke.

3. compare ideas about individual rights and law in the English; Spanish, Dutch,
and French colonial systems of government.

4. explain why conflict arose between Native Americans and colonists and
evaluate points of view on both sides.

5. use the political principles inherent in such documents as Magna Carta, the
Mayflower Compact, and the Maryland Toleration Act to develop and support
generalizations about the political traditions inherited by the people of the
revolutionary era.

A-68


EXERCISE SPECIFICATIONS

General Characteristics of Exercise Development

Exercises (items) should test content suggested by the theme-related questions and illustrative
objectives presented in Appendix A. However, because the specific content elements in the
objectives are illustrative rather than exhaustive, other trends, people, events, primary sources,
and so on may be used to assess students as long as the exercises relate to the theme-focused,
period-specific questions appropriately interpreted for a given grade level. The criteria for
determining specific historical content allowable for the assessment are whether it relates to one
of the theme-focused questions for the historical period being examined; whether it focuses on
key content for that period; and whether it avoids testing obscure or esoteric material. In
addition, exercises must be developed in such a way as to ensure that the item pool is congruent
with the framework and corresponds to the achievement level descriptions given below.

Achievement Level Descriptions

Achievement levels describe how well students should perform on the content and thinking
levels required by the assessment. They evaluate the quality of the outcomes of students'
education in U.S. history, at grades 4, 8, and 12, as measured by NAEP. Three achievement
levels--Basic, Proficient, and Advanced--will be established for each grade level.

e Basic: this level denotes partial mastery of prerequisite knowledge and _ skills that
are fundamental for proficient work at each grade.

e Proficient: This level represents solid academic performance for each grade assessed.
Students reaching this level have demonstrated competency over challenging subject
matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-
world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter.

e Advanced: this level signifies superior performance .

The assessment should be constructed to measure and report student performance according to
three levels of achievement — basic, proficient, and advanced — as required by NAGB policy.

The following are the Board-approved achievement levels for students participating in the 1994,
2001, and 2006 NAEP U.S. History Assessment in grades 4, 8, and 12. Within each grade, it is
assumed that every higher achievement level incorporates and builds upon the preceding levels.
Note that the levels suggested for the 4" grade are based on the assumption that most students will
not have had a formal course in U.S. History. Note: Depending on the nature of the Framework


e How did economic growth and industrialization affect the environment? What were the
goals of the early environmentalists?

e How was agriculture affected by technological development? How did it contribute to
industrialization and urbanization?

Students can:

1.

Theme 4

identify and relate sharecropping systems, the Great Plains, railroads, the
assembly line, the Gospel of Wealth, American Federation of Labor, J. P.
Morgan, Montgomery Ward, Thomas Edison, Samuel Gompers, Henry Ford,
the 16th Amendment, conservation movement, trusts, "trust busting," labor
legislation (child, wages, hours), the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Interstate
Commerce Act, the Haymarket Strike, and the Homestead Strike to the theme
"Economic and Technological Changes."

relate such leaders as J.P. Morgan, Thomas Edison, Andrew Carnegie, John D.
Rockefeller, and Samuel Gompers to the growth of big business and labor in
America.

describe/list some positive and negative results of industrialization.

interpret charts and graphs that show the growth of the American economy
between 1865 and 1920.

construct a chart showing the differences among capitalism, socialism, and
communism by analyzing definitions of the three theories with respect to
ownership of the means of production, decision making, and distribution of
goods and services.

list major technological breakthroughs of the era such as Bessemer steel, the
telephone, the typewriter, the streetcar, and electricity.

« What were the reasons the United States enlarged its role in world affairs in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries?

« Who were the champions and critics of expansion?

e In what ways did the United States expand its territory, its diplomatic importance, and its
military power?

e In what ways did other nations respond to the expanding American role in world affairs?

A-S1


Vo.

A.

6. identify the Russian Revolution and its influence on American politics and
society.

7. explain the Nazis’ rise to power and the role of Adolph Hitler in World War II.

8. use primary and secondary sources to develop a position on the influence of the
United States on the outcome of World War II.

Contemporary America (1945 to Present)

Theme 1

How have the ideas of the founding period about the nature of the government, liberty,
and sources of political power been maintained and changed? Why do the important core
civic ideas of individual rights, equal rights under law, and popular sovereignty continue
to be forces in American society?

How did the Second World War affect the movement for racial equality?

What political issues have been most significant in contemporary America (e.g.,
abortion; affirmative action; anti-war protests; civil liberties; civil rights for minorities,
women, and the disabled; environmentalism; national security; reducing government
regulation and taxes; terrorism)? How have issues and controversies been resolved in the
American democratic political system?

How did Harry Truman respond to Soviet military challenges in Europe and Greece?
How did Dwight Eisenhower respond to McCarthyism and the Brown decision? How did
John F. Kennedy respond to the Cuban missile crisis and to the civil rights movement?
How did Lyndon B. Johnson attempt to balance the “Great Society” domestic reforms
while expanding American involvement in the Vietnam War? How did Richard Nixon
change the nation’s relations with China but lose his presidency because of Watergate?
How did Ronald Reagan hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union? What caused George
H.W. Bush to initiate Operation Desert Storm? What was the impact of welfare reform
under the Clinton administration? What were the policies of George W. Bush following
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks?

How have landmark Supreme Court decisions affected constitutional rights, political
controversies, and the relationships of individuals and groups (e.g., Brown v. Board of
Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, Abington School District v. Schempp, Reynolds v.
Sims, Miranda v. Arizona, and Roe v. Wade)?

What is the role of political leadership in contemporary politics? What individuals or
groups have taken leadership roles? What strategies and political philosophies have they
pursued to achieve power and resolve political issues?

A-57


Historical study requires specialized ways of knowing and thinking and particular habits of mind
that typify an historian's approach to the past. These habits of mind require almost simultaneous
application of cognitive skills such as recall, analysis, judgment, application, and evaluation. The
cognitive areas to be examined in the 2006 assessment have been identified as historical
knowledge and perspective and historical analysis and interpretation. These two areas encompass
the cognitive processes that comprise historical knowing and thinking.

Historical knowledge and perspective involves not only knowing and understanding people,
events, concepts, themes, movements, contexts, and historical sources but also sequencing events
across time; recognizing multiple perspectives, that is, seeing specific events, movements, and so
on from the perspectives of different groups; and developing a general conceptualization of U.S.
history.

Historical analysis and interpretation includes the ability to explain issues; identify historical
patterns; establish cause-and-effect relationships; find value statements; establish significance;
apply historical knowledge and perspective; weigh evidence to draw sound conclusions; make
defensible generalizations; and render balanced, inclusive, and insightful accounts of the past.

Table 3 shows the recommended distribution of the exercise pool across the cognitive areas by
grade level.

Table 3
Distribution of Exercise Pool Across Cognitive Areas:
Grades 4, 8, & 12

Cognitive Areas
Historical Historical Analysis and Interpretation
Knowledge &
Grade Levels Perspective
Grade 4 40% 60%
Grade 8 35% 65% |
Grade 12 30% 70%

Allocation of Testing Time

The total examination time (length of test sitting) for each examinee will be 50 minutes.
Approximately 20 percent of the examinees will be given a block of items (exercises) devoted to an


VI.

2. develop generalizations about the reasons England and France never aligned
with either the North or South in the Civil War.

3. develop generalizations about the reasons France encouraged Maximillian's
venture into Mexico despite the Monroe Doctrine.

4. analyze Lincoln's reasoning in his pardon of most of the Dakotah prisoners in
the Minnesota-Sioux War.

5. discuss the major values in excerpts from speeches of British factory workers
who supported the union.

The Development of Modern America (1865 to 1920)

Theme 1

e How did the movements of Populism and Progressivism lead to changes in basic
assumptions about the practice of democracy? What led to the 16th Amendment?

e Who were the leaders in these reform efforts? How did they affect events?

e What gains and losses in individual rights resulted (e.g., suffrage)? How did these
changes relate to other reform efforts? Who was left out of these reform efforts?

e How did the role of government change in relation to business and labor? What were the
issues and how were they resolved?

e What groups came to the U.S. (Italians, Jews, Russians, Poles, etc.)? Why did they come?

«What was the debate over American ownership of colonies after the Spanish-American
War and what was the influence of this debate on the nature of American government?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Andrew Johnson, Plessy v. Ferguson, John Marshall Harlan's
dissent from Plessy v. Ferguson, Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, Populism,
Progressivism, William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow
Wilson, Jane Addams, Muller v. Oregon (Brandeis Brief), and the Sherman
Anti-Trust Law to the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. construct a timeline showing the sequence of the 13th and 19th Amendments,
the organization of the Populist party, the presidencies of
Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, the Spanish-American War, and the
Open Door Policy.

A-85


e What factors led to the growth of the American economy in the 1920s? To what extent
was growing prosperity a reality for Americans from various levels of society?

e What caused the Depression? How did Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt respond?
How did it alter ideas, values, and practices of the American economic system? What was
its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans?

e How did the Depression and the New Deal influence economic theory and practice and
the role of the government in the economy?

e How did workers and labor leaders shape the discussion of economic theory and
employer policies and practices?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the Dust Bowl, John L. Lewis, "Priming the Pump," FDR's
"First Inaugural Address," examples of technology developed due to war efforts,
such as atomic bombs, jet planes, and penicillin to the theme "Economic and

Technological Changes."
2. explain the role of the stock market in the American economy.
3. define the New Deal and explain some ways it attempted to reverse the effects

of the Depression.

4. discuss the successes and failures of the New Deal.
5. interpret graphs and charts comparing economic growth during World War I, the
1920s, 1930s, and World War II.
6. develop generalizations about how World War II influenced the American
economy.
7. give examples of how aircraft technology altered modern warfare.
D. Theme 4

« How did events in Europe and Asia, such as the outbreak of the First World War, the
Russian Revolution, the Nazis’ rise to power, the Axis alliance, the Nazi-Soviet pact, and
Japanese territorial expansion influence United States history?

e How was life in the United States affected by expansion and participation in the First
World War?

A-55


4. develop a generalization about why America sent a fleet to Japan and signed
treaties with China in this era.

5. analyze the causes and results of the war with Mexico from the points of view of
the United States, Mexico, and Texas.

6. compare/contrast the possible reasons for the peaceful settlement of a northem
border dispute (Oregon/Britain) with the unpeaceful one to the south
(Texas/Mexico).

7. identify on a map the land gained by the United States in the years 1840-1850.

8. evaluate an excerpt from Toqueville's Democracy in America and include
comments establishing a personal point of view on whether he was projecting
values on America or whether he was an accurate observer.

Crisis of the Union: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850 to 1877)
Theme 1

e What role did the process of compromise play in the disputes about slavery, the nature of
the union, individual rights, states’ rights, and the power of the federal government? What
caused the outbreak of the Civil War? What were the roles of Webster, Clay, Calhoun,
Douglas, Lincoln, and Seward? What were Abraham Lincoln’s positions on key issues
during this period?

e How did the major political parties and leaders deal with controversies about abolition of
slavery, constitutional rights, and economic development?

e What were the major events and turning points in the Civil War? What was the influence
of civilian and military leaders (e.g., Lincoln, Davis, Grant, and Lee)?

e What action did African Americans take before, during, and after the war to secure their
freedom and rights as citizens?

e How did the Civil War and Reconstruction change conceptions of the union and the
power of the federal government? What were the influences of Lincoln’s presidency?

e What primary sources exemplify the key ideas and issues of this period (e.g., Gettysburg
Address, Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, “Battle Hymn
of the Republic,” “Bonnie Blue Flag,” and “Dixie”)?

A-81


What ideas, values, and practices (e.g., individual entrepreneurship, private ownership of
property, laissez-faire economics, free enterprise, monopolies, and government
regulation) contributed to the development of the American economic system? What
types of labor systems developed and how did they influence society and the economy?
How has the economic system, including its ideas and values, adapted to changing
conditions and changing demands? What forms of prosperity and opportunity resulted?
How have the work lives and economic opportunities of various groups differed (e.g.,
men and women, racial groups, and people in different regions)?

How have geography and economic and technological developments influenced society?
How have these developments influenced how Americans make a living, where they live,
their quality of life, and their natural environment?

What have been major American achievements and developments in science and
technology? Who played key roles? What caused these developments? How have these
developments influenced the economy, the environment, and the rest of the world? What
have been the most important economic, scientific, and technological issues? What has
been the impact of scientific and technological developments elsewhere on the United
States?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the astrolabe, the lateen sail, the cross-staff, the caravel, trans-
Atlantic trade, and Caribbean sugar plantations to the theme "Economic and
Technological Changes."

2. evaluate the Columbian Exchange and the European search for resources in the
Western Hemisphere from the points of view of Europeans, West Africans, and
Native Americans.

3. develop and support generalizations about how the opening of trans-Atlantic

trade routes changed trading relationships among Europe, Africa, and Asia.

4. judge the accuracy of excerpts from Henry Hobhouse's Seeds of Change about
the impact of the Columbian exchange on the history of the Western
Hemisphere and other areas of the world.

5. evaluate Columbus' place in history by comparing excerpts from Samuel Elliot

Morison's view of him as an adventurous "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" and
Kenneth Sale's view of him as a cruel gold seeker.

A-66


Students can:

Theme 3

explain why settlers came and founded Jamestown, Santa Fe, Plymouth,
Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, and relate the founding to the
theme "Gathering and Interaction of People."

identify and relate John Smith, John Winthrop, Puritanism, Roger Williams,
Anne Hutchinson, James Oglethorp, Jonathan Edwards, The Great Awakening,
William Penn, and the Iroquois Confederacy to the theme "Gathering and
Interaction of Peoples."

explain why Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson left the Massachusetts Bay
Colony.

compare Roger Williams’ and Anne Hutchinson's reasons for leaving
Massachusetts Bay with the original reasons for establishing the colony.

describe why each of the following groups came to America during the colonial
period: the English, the Spanish, the Scots, the Scotch-Irish, the Swedes, the
Dutch, and the French.

summarize the hardships of the middle passage.

describe the major values presented in selections from Poor Richard's Almanac.

draw conclusions about the conditions of slave life from primary and secondary
accounts.

« What ideas, individuals, motives, practices, and values influenced economic development in the
different regions of colonial North America and the West Indies?

What were the roles of private property, communal landholding, the fur trade, the “Protestant
work ethic,” the plantation system, merchants, small farmers, indentured servants, and slaves in
the economies that arose in the European colonies?

e What roles did women play in colonial economies?

e How did indentured servitude differ from chattel slavery? Why did slavery come to mean racial
or black slavery?

¢ In what ways did slavery in the Americas differ from slavery in Africa, ancient Greece and
Rome, or in other places and times?


(on

creation of American culture? a common culture in the United States as well as to the
development of distinct ethnic cultures? What individuals and defining events contributed
to these developments? What roles have community and region played in these shared
and distinct cultures? What primary documents and historical sources—such as original
documents, speeches, cartoons, artifacts, photos, art, music, architecture, literature,
drama, dance, popular culture, biographies, journals, folklore, historic sites and places,
and oral histories—record are central in reflect the development of American culture?
What have been the changing patterns of social organization in American society (e.g.,
class structure, social mobility, social discrimination, family structure, neighborhood, and
community)? How have these patterns been reflected in the daily lives of Americans?

What have been the roles of men and women in American society? How and why have
these roles differed across racial, ethnic, regional, and class lines? How and why have
gender roles changed over time?

Students can:

1. identify Prince Henry the Navigator, Columbus, Vespucci, Cabot, Magellan, and
Coronado.

2. explain the influences of the Crusades, the Renaissance, and the Protestant
Reformation on the European exploration of the Western Hemisphere.

3. interpret artifacts from Western Europe, West Africa, and North America to draw
conclusions about either family relationships, religious practices, or artistic
traditions before 1492.

4. make inferences about the likely differences in the daily lives of various Indian
tribes from topographical and resource maps showing where groups lived in North
America.

5. explain how geographic conditions contributed to social, religious, and artistic
diversity among Native American cultures of North America.

Theme 3: Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Culture, Society,
Ideas, and the Environment


Content Specifications

The Content Specifications for the 2006 NAEP U.S. History Assessment indicate, for each grade
level, the material to be assessed in the four themes and eight periods of U.S. History. In addition
to the content description, definitions of the three cognitive areas, or skills, to be assessed are
presented.

Content Areas

Illustrative content is presented in a detailed outline for each grade level in Appendix A. These
content outlines are organized by historical period. Under each historical period are listed theme-
focused questions for each of the four themes, and following each group of theme questions are
sample objectives. The historical periods and theme-focused questions are identical for each grade,
while the specific objectives vary with grade level. As noted earlier, the specific content identified
in the objectives is illustrative, not exhaustive. Occasionally, the same content specifics will appear

under different themes or even in different periods. This is due to the integrative nature of history,
and it will be the responsibility of the test development contractor to ensure that the classification
labels that reference the items to the themes and periods are correct.

Figure 1 on the following two pages illustrates how specific educational objectives within a content
area vary across grade levels. All 4th grade objectives may be tested at 8th and 12th grades; all 8th
grade objectives may be tested at 12th grade. Any themes in a period not appropriate for testing at a
particular grade level are indicated by the words Not to be tested at this grade level.


What were the key events in the Second World War? (Pearl Harbor, Rise of
Nazism/Hitler, concentration camps/Holocaust, Atomic bomb, etc.) Who were the
leaders? (Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Mussolini, Churchill, Roosevelt, MacArthur, Eisenhower)
Why did the United States get involved in the Second World War?

How did landmark Supreme Court decisions reflect changes in the nature of federalism,
the rights of individuals, and the power and duties of government (e.g., Gitlow v. New
York, Near v. Minnesota, and NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin)? Why did Franklin Roosevelt
try to “pack” the Supreme Court?

Students can:

1. interpret a timeline showing the terms of the presidents between 1914 and 1945
and the endings of World Wars I and II.

2. recognize Franklin Roosevelt as president during the Depression and World War
I.

3. look at pictures of the activities of the WPA and CCC, read excerpts from
journals and letters about government programs to give people jobs, and answer
simple questions about how the government tried to help people during the
Depression.

4. answer questions about charts showing the states that allowed women the right
to vote in 1870 and 1919.

5. identify Woodrow Wilson and explain his importance in World War I.

Theme 2

What artistic and literary figures (e.g., Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, John
Steinbeck, Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald) contributed to national culture and to
distinct ethnic and regional cultures? How did World War I, the Depression, the Dust
Bowl, and World War II affect writers and artists?

Why were restrictive immigration policies enacted? What groups were restricted and
what groups were allowed? Why did large numbers of people continue to seek
opportunities to immigrate to the United States?

What were the social and cultural consequences of the immigration policies and internal
migration? What developments defined the “Roaring Twenties,” the “Harlem
Renaissance,” and the Depression era?

What was the controversy over scientific views of evolution? What was the Scopes trial?

A-21


10.

Theme 2

name the governor of their state.
explain what an individual can do if he/she thinks a law should be changed.

recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks as individuals who worked to
achieve equal rights for all Americans.

use their own words to explain the meaning of the "Pledge of Allegiance."

tell why many Americans celebrate the following national holidays: Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day; Presidents' Day; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor
Day; Columbus Day; Veterans Day; Thanksgiving Day; and Christmas Day.
identify the president and tell what political party he belongs to.

write the president a short letter addressing an important current issue.

e How has immigration policy changed in the contemporary United States? What groups
(Hispanics, Asians) are immigrating in large numbers? Why?

e How has cultural diversity affected education, media, and popular culture?

e How have the structures of families changed in contemporary American society?

e What has been the role of the media in contemporary America?

« What impact have civil rights movements and women’s movement had on individuals and
American society?

« What is the influence of literary figures in contemporary America (e.g., to be added)?

Students can:

1.

read brief descriptions of various traditional ethnic customs and develop
comments about their similarities and differences.

identify some of the ideas and values that Americans share in common.
compare and contrast life in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

compare pictures of schoolrooms prior to 1945 and since 1945 to point out
changes.

A-25


e What were the social and cultural consequences of the immigration policies and internal
migration? What developments defined the “Roaring Twenties,” the “Harlem
Renaissance,” and the Depression era?

e What was the controversy over scientific views of evolution? What was the Scopes trial?

e What is the importance of the New Deal in American social reform? What were the key
policies? Who developed the policies and who were the critics?

e How did technological innovations such as the radio, movies, and automobiles affect the
lives of ordinary Americans?

e What was the immediate and long-range impact on the homefront of World War II?

Students can:

1.

Cc. Theme 3

identify and relate John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, Langston Hughes, the 19th
Amendment, the Roaring Twenties, social gospel, "flappers," the Red Scare, the
Ku Klux Klan, the Depression, "Rosie the Riveter," Eleanor Roosevelt, and
Mary Bethune to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

identify and explain the significance of the Scopes Trial.

identify/recognize some of America's war songs: "Over There," "Praise the Lord
and Pass the Ammunition," and " God Bless America."

explain the significance to American culture of individuals such as F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill, John Steinbeck,
Langston Hughes, Grant Wood, Zora Neal Hurston, Mary Cassatt, Willa Cather,
Carl Sandburg, and Irving Berlin.

explain the Harlem Renaissance and its importance in American history.

describe the effects of the Depression on farm and/or urban life in America.

support the statement, "The automobile changed American life."

e What effect did wartime economies have on the composition of the American workforce
and on the shift from a rural society to an urban society?

« How did wartime economic innovation and technological developments change the
American economy and American society? Who were the innovators?

A-S4


Exercise Format Specifications

For the 2006 NAEP U.S. History Assessment, a combination of multiple-choice and constructed
response (open-ended) exercises requiring a variety of response formats will be used. It is
recommended that no more than 50 percent of total assessment time be devoted to machine-
scorable multiple-choice questions. The remaining test time will be spent on constructed response
items requiring hand scoring with trained raters using a priori scoring protocols.

To avoid an exercise-format effect, it is desirable to use all formats to test each of the dimensions
being measured. In order to prevent students from becoming confused when faced with multiple
item formats, clear directions must be given at the beginning of each test booklet. In addition, at the
beginning of the assessment, students should be guided through relevant sample item formats by the
test administrators using carefully scripted directions. Stipulations for types of stimulus materials
and response formats to be used in the 2006 assessment follow. Sample exercises illustrating
different types of stimulus materials and response formats are presented, for each grade level, in
Appendix B.

Stimulus Material

In the development of all types of test items, it is important to control the stimulus tightly. The
author must formulate clearly in his/her own mind the nature of the task to be performed by the
examinee (i.e., the kind of operation the examinee is intended to carry out); define the materials on
which the operation is to be carried out; and incorporate into the exercise a clear statement of the
task to be performed. This statement must include the situation or setting the examinees are being
given and what they are to do.

Stimulus material for exercises in the U.S. History Assessment must be varied and should include
primary documents and secondary interpretations, maps, charts, graphs, political cartoons, pictures,
photographs, timelines, and artifacts. Primary documents can include copies of such materials as
letters, diaries, logs, town records, legal documents, articles, books, speeches, and songs. Artifacts,
represented by photographs, drawings, or models of the actual objects, can include paintings and
other art objects, architecture, household utensils and tools for various types of work, clothing,
inventions, charts, historical maps, and so on. A variety of types of materials will be used for all
grades, but the complexity of the materials used should be appropriate for students at each grade
level. In addition, stimulus material should be developed to elicit a variety of graphic responses
such as maps, charts, graphs, and timelines, as well as written responses.


8th Grade Content Outline
(includes all 4th grade objectives)
Period One: Beginnings to 1607

A. Theme 1: Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Practices,
and Controversies

e What were some of the political ideas, institutions, and practices of Native Americans,
Western Europeans, and West Africans 1607? How did these ideas influence colonial
American settlements?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Greek democracy, Magna Carta, and the Renaissance to the
theme "Change and Continuity in American Democracy."

2. explain how, Isabella and Ferdinand, , and Elizabeth I reflect political

traditions of their cultures.

3.

4. give some examples of various approaches to political organization of Native
Americans .

B. Theme 2: The Gathering and Interaction of Peoples, Cultures, and Ideas

e What racial, ethnic, religious, and national groups formed this nation? Why have people
immigrated to the land that became the United States and why has the country continued
to attract so many immigrants? What have been the patterns and conditions of this
immigration (e.g., voluntarily in search of economic opportunity, religious freedom, and
political refuge; involuntarily in bondage as slaves, or in an “unfree” status such as
indentured servants and contract laborers)? How has the racial, ethnic, and religious
composition of the nation changed over time? What racial, ethnic, and religious tensions
arose? What issues have been resolved? And what issues remain? What were the patterns
of settlement? How and why have these settlement patterns changed?

e What common and diverse cultural traditions did Americans develop? How did Native
Americans and other racial, ethnic, religious, and national groups contribute to the

*In the subsequent periods themes will be referenced simply by
number.

A-29


ASSESSMENT SPECIFICATIONS

Assessment Construction

Dimensions of Assessment

The 2006 U.S. History Assessment will be constructed from three dimensions: two content
dimensions and one cognitive dimension. The content dimensions include four themes, which span
all of the periods of U.S. history, and eight major historical periods. The cognitive dimension
involves ways of knowing and thinking about U.S. history and has two skill areas to be assessed.
Brief descriptions of the dimensions and the recommended distribution of assessment exercises
across these dimensions are presented below. Detailed discussions of the themes, periods, and
cognitive areas appear in the Exercise Specifications.

The distribution of exercises across the dimensions will be described in terms of "proportion of the
exercise pool," but such proportions are not intended to refer simply to the proportions of the total
number of exercises in a given category. Simple proportions of exercises are problematic because
single exercises may vary widely in the amount of time they require to answer and in the amount of
information they yield (especially across, but also within, formats). Therefore, in this document,
specifications of "proportion of the exercise pool" correspond to proportion of total student time for
a particular grade level that would be required if the entire grade-level exercise pool could be
administered to a single individual, tempered by the understanding that the statistical efficiency of
different exercise formats may vary. It should not be taken to refer strictly to numbers of exercises
in different categories.

: Dimensions: T Historical Peri

Allowable content for the 2006 NAEP Assessment in U.S. History includes both perspectives and
chronologies, and will be examined two ways: by evaluating students’ understanding of four themes
that cut across time and by assessing their knowledge of the content of eight major historical
periods. The content and interpretive emphasis for each period will be established by a series of
questions directly related to the four historical themes. These period-specific, theme-focused
questions will be the basis for the assessment exercises and are presented in Appendix A of this
document, along with objectives that provide illustrative examples of appropriate content that can
be used in the assessment. Please note: These illustrations are not exhaustive.


8. describe the military strategies developed by the Union and the Confederacy to
achieve their goals and to defeat their adversary.

9. develop and support generalizations about the successes and failures of
Reconstruction.

10. explain the role of the abolitionists in the coming of the Civil War.

11. develop and support generalizations about the significance of Abraham Lincoln
in American history.

Theme 2

e How did the social and cultural traditions of the pre-war North and South differ?
e What was the role of religion in the debate over slavery?

e In what ways did the Civil War and Reconstruction challenge earlier ideas and alter
relations between races, classes, and genders?

e What individuals and groups played significant roles in the war and Reconstruction?

¢ How did postbellum black communities differ from slave and antebellum free black
communities?

Students can:
1. identify and relate Wendell Philips, Theodore Weld, Angelina and Sara Grimke,
Harriett Beecher Stowe, Sojourner Truth, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick

Douglass, Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, and Harriet Tubman to the theme
"Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

2. compare and contrast the life of a southern planter who owned many slaves, a
southern small farmer, a slave on a plantation, and a farmer in the North.

3. explain Harriet Tubman's role in the African American resistance to slavery.

4. use excerpts from soldiers’ journals and diaries to support conclusions about the
conditions of military life during the Civil War.

5. evaluate passages from Uncle Tom's Cabin with respect to historical facts or
events.

A-46


APPENDIX A
CONTENT OUTLINES


D. Theme 4

e How and why did the United States expand its boundaries? What was the Monroe
Doctrine? Who were the chief advocates of territorial expansion? What were the major
events in territorial expansion? What was the idea of Manifest Destiny? Who were its
supporters and opponents?

e How did the United States influence revolutionary movements in the Caribbean and Latin
America? How did those movements affect the United States?

e How did the United States attempt to prevent European nations from regaining control of
Latin America? Who were the leaders?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Henry Clay, the Monroe Doctrine, John Quincy Adams, the
Rush-Bagot Agreement, James K. Polk, Simon Bolivar, Matthew Perry, Sam
Houston, Santa Anna, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Winfield Scott, and
Zachary Taylor to the theme "Changing Role of America in the World."

2. describe the causes of the Texas Rebellion from Mexico.
3. analyze the results of the Texas Rebellion from the point of view of Mexico
and/or Texas.

4. define "Manifest Destiny."
5. explain reasons for United States’ efforts to begin trading with Japan and China.

6. interpret a map showing land gained by the United States in the years 1840-
1850.

Crisis of the Union: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850 to 1877)
A. Theme 1

e What role did the process of compromise play in the disputes about slavery, the nature of
the union, individual rights, states’ rights, and the power of the federal government? What
caused the outbreak of the Civil War? What were the roles of Webster, Clay, Calhoun,
Douglas, Lincoln, and Seward? What were Abraham Lincoln’s positions on key issues
during this period?

e How did the major political parties and leaders deal with controversies about abolition of
slavery, constitutional rights, and economic development?

A-44


e Why did political parties arise (e.g., Federalists and Democratic-Republicans)? How did
the party system influence the development of democracy? What was the role and
importance of George Washington? Why was the peaceful transfer of power following
Jefferson’s election such a landmark event in history?

e How did John Marshall establish as a principle of constitutional government the judicial
review by the Supreme Court of acts of state and federal governments? What does this
mean today?

Students can:

1.

10.

11.

identify and relate the Sons of Liberty, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, Patrick
Henry, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, George Mason,
Alexander Hamilton, Abigail Adams, the Federalist party, the Democratic-
Republican party, separation of powers, judicial review, checks and balances,
federalism, and the Anti Federalists to the theme "Continuity and Change in
American Democracy."

justify the revolution against Great Britain based on the Declaration of
Independence.

discuss the meaning and importance of ideas such as liberty, unalienable rights,
government by consent of the governed, and equality in creating the Revolution.

explain why the Americans won the Revolutionary War.
identify key passages from the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

generalize about the importance of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in
American history.

explain the three-fifths compromise and evaluate its impact on U.S. history.

create a timeline to show the sequence of the Declaration of Independence, the
Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

identify Shay's Rebellion and explain how it became an important reason for
calling the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.

explain some of the key issues that were debated at the Philadelphia Convention.

develop and support a generalization about the significance of the Philadelphia
Convention in American history.

A-37


12th grade students can

1, identify and relate the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Mayflower Compact, the Petition of Right, the English Civil War,
the Enlightenment, the Pennsylvania Charter, the Maryland Toleration Act, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the
Glorious Revolution, the English Bill of Rights, the New England Town Meeting, Congregationalism, Quakers, and English |
Common Law and connect them to the theme, "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. explain the contributions of the following people to the development of American democracy: Roger Williams, Anne
Hutchinson, Nathaniel Bacon, William Penn, John Locke.

3. compare ideas about individual rights and law in the English, Spanish, Dutch, and French colonial systems of government.
4. explain why conflict arose between Native Americans and colonists and evaluate points of view on both sides.

5. use the political principles inherent in such documents as Magna Carta, the Mayflower Compact, and the Maryland
Toleration Act to develop and support generalizations about the political traditions inherited by the people of the revolutionary

era. |

(Plus objectives at 4th and 8th grades)

Major Tt FUS Hi

Four major historical themes run through each of the periods and establish important emphases
within the periods. People and events in history are not isolated and discrete, but are linked and
interwoven across time and space. These four themes provide the basis for connecting the events
and people of history across time and space and will be the central focus of the assessment. Every
theme will not receive equal emphasis in each period or at each grade level, because the thematic
emphasis in any given period depends upon the major developments of that period. The four
themes to be emphasized in the assessment are defined below by key questions associated with each
theme. .

Theme 1. Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Events, Key
Figures, and Controversies

Defining Questions:

e What political, legal, philosophical, and religious traditions did Americans draw upon for
their conceptions of democracy? Who were the leaders, what were their contributions, and
what political and legal institutions developed? In what significant ways have these
institutions continued? In what ways have they changed? What individuals and groups
have been important in maintaining, testing, and changing these institutions? Which
democratic institutions and procedures made change possible? How does the Constitution
permit compromise, continuity, and change? What landmark documents reflect change and
continuity?

20


Iv.

2. explain why slavery was important to farmers in the southern United States.
3. describe common types of transportation used during this period.

4. describe how people learned a skill in colonial times (e.g., explain what they
would have to do if they wanted to become blacksmiths).

5. identify from a list of items about the American Revolution the ones that relate
to the Boston Tea Party.
6. identify from a list the occupations that were common ways to earn a living in

colonial times.
Theme 4

Not to be tested at this grade level.

Expansion and Reform (1801 to 1861)
Theme 1

e Why did the nation expand across the Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific Coast? What
ideas about democracy emerged? Why did the nation decide to add states and give them
equal standing instead of creating colonies? What controversies arose about organizing
territories and adding states to the union? How and to what extent were these
controversies resolved?

e How did the American political culture develop? What procedures emerged for managing
controversy and responding to changing political and social needs? Who played important
roles in this process?

e How did Jefferson and Jackson change the power and practices of the presidency? What
caused the rise of interest-group politics?

e How did the right to vote expand?

e How did reform movements challenge assumptions about slavery, women’s rights,
qualifications for citizenship and the right to vote, and the rights of Indians?

e How did reform movements change political practices, the rights of individuals, and the
meaning of American constitutional democracy?

e How did landmark Supreme Court decisions affect the development of the legal system
and constitutional government (e.g., Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland)?

A-11


How did the United States develop from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban,
industrialized superpower? What were the human and environmental benefits and costs of
this development? How and why has the standard of living for most Americans changed
over time? How have state and national governments responded to issues raised by
economic developments and how have they participated in the economy?

What ideas, values, and practices (e.g., individual entrepreneurship, private ownership of
property, laissez-faire economics, free enterprise, monopolies, and government
regulation) contributed to the development of the American economic system? What
types of labor systems developed and how did they influence society and the economy?
How has the economic system, including its ideas and values, adapted to changing
conditions and changing demands? What forms of prosperity and opportunity resulted?
How have the work lives and economic opportunities of various groups differed (e.g.,
men and women, racial groups, and people in different regions)?

How have geography and economic and technological developments influenced society?
How have these developments influenced how Americans make a living, where they live,
their quality of life, and their natural environment?

What have been major American achievements and developments in science and
technology? Who played key roles? What caused these developments? How have these
developments influenced the economy, the environment, and the rest of the world? What
have been the most important economic, scientific, and technological issues? What has
been the impact of scientific and technological developments elsewhere on the United
States?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the Columbian exchange to the theme "Economic and
Technological Changes."

2. explain the diverse motives of the Spanish, English, and French explorers and
settlers.

3. discuss the development of the Atlantic slave trade in relation to the growth of
Caribbean sugar plantations.

4. interpret artifacts and primary sources to draw conclusions about the economic
impact of the Columbian exchange on peoples of Europe, Africa, and the
Americas.

5. interpret artifacts and primary sources to draw conclusions about the
environmental impact of the Columbian exchange on peoples of Europe, Africa,
and the Americas.

A-31


e How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, power, and activities of other
nations affected the U.S.?

e How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, power, and activities of the
US. affected other nations?

e How has life inside the U.S. been affected by the nation’s role in the world?

Peri US Hi

Because history is concerned with the experiences of people over time, it is important to establish a
basic chronological structure for tracing, reconstructing, and connecting the stories of those
experiences. Eight periods provide the chronological structure for the 2006 U.S. History
Assessment, and the approach to each period is defined by key questions related to the four
historical themes described above. These period-specific, theme-focused questions establish the
general context for the people, events, ideas, movements, issues, and sources to be assessed in each
historical period and should be used to guide the development of assessment exercises. Every item
on the assessment must relate to one or more of the theme-focused questions identified for each
period. Because all themes are not of equal importance within each period, some themes are
addressed more intensively in some periods than in others. As explained above, the key questions
in each period related to each theme, as well as sample objectives for each grade level, are shown in
the content outlines in Appendix A.

Item writers should not be constrained to use stimulus materials uniquely identified with one
period, but can use events, figures, documents, and so on from more than one period for exercises
testing analysis, synthesis, drawing conclusions and other higher-order thinking skills. For
example, 12th graders might be given a short list of pieces of legislation from different presidential
administrations and instructed to write a paragraph or two explaining how a cause, such as civil
rights of some group, was furthered by the legislation listed.

For purposes of maintaining the defined proportions of the item pool with respect to periods,
exercises should be identified for a single period if possible, or, if not, counted fractionally relative
to the periods covered in the exercise.

Cognitive Domain

In the 2006 NAEP U.S. History Assessment, exercises will sample student abilities in two
cognitive areas: 1) historical knowledge and perspective and 2) historical analysis and
interpretation. These areas encompass the domain of conceptual and factual knowledge of history,
the analytical skills necessary for historical study, and the interpretative skills necessary for
evaluation and application of historical knowledge. Exercises will be developed in both of the
cognitive areas to ensure that the assessment examines the whole range of historical thinking.


B.

Students can:

1. compare ideas of kingship in Western Europe, , and the Americas.
2. explain why Hiawatha is considered a great political leader.
3. cite specific practices from such groups as the n , the Iroquois in the Northeast,

or the Creeks in the Southeast to support the generalization: Native American
groups in North America had many different forms of political organization.

4, identify Elizabeth I and relate her rule to the development of representative

government in England.

5. relate the following to the development of representative democracy in the
United States: Athenian democracy, Magna Carta, English Parliament, and the

Renaissance.

6. explain the difference between democracy and representative government and
relate these forms of government to the governmental system of the United

States.

7. recognize excerpts from Magna Carta and explain how they relate to the

development of representative government in England and America.

Theme 2: The Gathering and Interaction of Peoples, Cultures, and Ideas

e What racial, ethnic, religious, and national groups formed this nation? Why have people
immigrated to the land that became the United States and why has the country continued
to attract so many immigrants? What have been the patterns and conditions of this
immigration (e.g., voluntarily in search of economic opportunity, religious freedom, and
political refuge; involuntarily in bondage as slaves, or in an “unfree” status such as
indentured servants and contract laborers)? How has the racial, ethnic, and religious
composition of the nation changed over time? What racial, ethnic, and religious tensions
arose? What issues have been resolved? What issues remain? What were the patterns of

settlement? How and why have these settlement patterns changed?


e How did westward expansion and the 19th-century belief in progress affect American
ideas and society? Who advocated westward expansion? Who advocated social change
and what changes did they advocate’?

e What was the impact of westward expansion on Native American and Hispanic societies?
How did these groups respond?

«What was the influence of Mexican culture on the southwest?

e What factors influenced immigration? How did the image of America as a land of
opportunity develop? How did European immigration patterns change? What was the
experience of newly arriving groups such as the Swedes, Norwegians, Jews, Poles,
Russians, and Italians? What was the influence of European immigrants on the U.S.?

e Why did Asians immigrate to the United States? What were their experiences after their
arrival?

e How did forces of industrialization, immigration, technology, and urbanization change
popular culture, definitions of “What is American?” and family life?

e Why and how did public education develop and expand?

« How did women respond to the opportunities and problems produced by urbanization and
industrialization?

Students can:
1. recognize the Statue of Liberty.

2. explain the symbolism of the Statue of Liberty.

3. identify Native American heroes such as Sitting Bull and Geronimo.

4. describe the contributions of George Washington Carver.

5. use excerpts from journals and letters and pictures of immigrants coming into
the United States to develop statements about conditions faced by immigrants.

6. use the same sources to comment on why people wanted to come to the United
States.

7. use the same sources to predict what might have happened to the people after
they arrived.

8. describe some of the ways peoples’ lives changed when they moved from rural
areas to cities.

A-18


« What is the influence of literary figures in contemporary America (e.g., to be added)?

Students can:

1.

Cc. Theme 3

identify and relate Barbara Jordan, Toni Morrison, NOW, Billy Graham,
Norman Vincent Peale, William Faulkner, Walt Disney, Malcolm X, the Black
Panthers, Bob Dylan, Rock and Roll, Walter Cronkite, Leonard Bernstein, Frank
Lloyd Wright, Rap, Wounded Knee II, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, and Cesar
Chavez to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples" with emphasis on
the development of American culture. [Include more contemporary names]

develop and support generalizations about the values, ideas, and customs that
Americans of different ethnic and religious origins share.

compare and contrast schooling today from the points of view of a student living
in the suburbs and a student living in the city.

use a population chart of the United States to compare and contrast shifts in
population.

evaluate the usefulness of the generalizations, "America, a land of immigrants"
and "America, a land of opportunity" in describing the United States between
1945- 2006.

draw conclusions about the influence of the mass media on American culture
and support the conclusions with specific evidence from such areas as politics,
religion, mass culture, and the consumer society.

explain the meaning and significance of one of the religious holidays celebrated
by the different groups in the United States.

e What caused the general economic boom and growing prosperity in the post-Second
World War era?

« What have been key technological innovations (e.g., transistors, television, computers, jet
airplanes, penicillin, plastics, the hydrogen bomb, and space exploration)? Who were the
innovators? How have these innovations influenced society?

« What has been the influence of the labor movement on the economy and society?

e How has technological change influenced work habits, the composition of the workforce,
and economic productivity?

A-59


Til.

Period Three: The Revolution and the New Nation (1763 to 1815)
Theme 1

e What ideas about the nature of liberty, power, and “natural rights” contributed to the
colonists’ decision to declare their independence? What were the sources of these ideas?

« What British policies led to the revolt? What was the American response to these events?
What were the most important turning points in the Revolution? And why was it
successful?

e In what ways have the ideas embodied in the Declaration of Independence served as
fundamental and enduring ideas of American political life?

e What were the political debates regarding independence and the creation of new state
governments and a national government? Who supported what positions?

e Who were the leaders of the American Revolution? What was the role and importance of
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others in the
revolutionary generation? What ideas about government, sources of political power,
rights of individuals, and political participation are specified in the Declaration of
Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution,
and the Bill of Rights? How did ideas in these documents contribute to a common civic
culture?

e What factors and events, such as problems of the Articles of Confederation and Shays’
Rebellion led to the Constitutional Convention? Who were the participants? What key
issues did they debate? What major compromises did they make to create the Constitution
of 1787?

e What are the most important features of the Constitution? How did it differ from the
Articles of Confederation? How have its core civic ideas of individual rights, equal
justice under law, and popular sovereignty become the basis for the nation’s common
political culture? Why did it become recognized as a model political framework? How
has it sustained aspirations for individual freedom and dignity, here and in other nations,
for more than 200 years?

e How does the ratification of the Bill of Rights illustrate the idea of compromise and
change that has been a basic principle of American Constitutional government?

e What political and legal institutions were created by the Constitution? How was power
distributed among the branches of the federal government and between federal and state
governments?

e How and why did issues such as slavery, the rights of individuals, the power of the states,
and the nature of federalism and republicanism divide Americans? How did the
Constitution provide avenues for addressing these issues?


e How have mass production, the consumer economy, entrepreneurship, and changing
economic conditions affected American society?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Apollo Il, Rachel Carson, the New Frontier, the Great
Society, the New Federalism, the Reagan Revolution, deficit financing, balance
of trade, supply-side economics, and global economics to the theme "Economic
and Technological Changes." [Add more contemporary people and issues]

2. explain the impact of a key technological innovation such as transistors,

television, computers, jet airplanes, penicillin, plastics, the hydrogen bomb,
space exploration , or the internet.

3. identify and give the significance of the quote, "The Eagle has landed."

4. give examples of the influence of the computer, transistor, and micro-chip on
the workplace and on everyday life in America.

5. compare the work of Ralph Nader to that of the muckrakers.

6. interpret charts showing the growth of the American economy since 1945.
7. evaluate the generalization: "The American economy is a global economy."
D. Theme 4

e How and why did the United States become the pre-eminent economic and military
power in the world? How did U.S. participation in the First and Second World Wars
influence the rest of the world? How and why did the Soviet Union collapse?

e What combination of ideology, economics, historical circumstances, individual
viewpoints, and other factors shaped the history of the Cold War? What factors led to its
end?

e What were the foreign policy objectives of the major world powers after the Second
World War? What were the major events and conflicts? (Hungarian Revolution of 1956,
Berlin Airlift, Marshall Plan, Suez Crisis, Collapse of USSR, etc.) What led to these
policies? What influence did domestic and foreign leaders have on these policies (¢.g.,
Harry Truman, John Foster Dulles, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Dwight Eisenhower, John
Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, Richard Nixon, J immy Carter, Golda Meir,
Anwar Sadat, Margaret Thatcher, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev,
and George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Colin Powell, George W. Bush)?

A-60


e Why did some Americans oppose involvement in the First and Second World Wars?

e How did U.S. policy and activities in the peacemaking process compare after each war?
Why did the failure to solve problems after the First World War lay the groundwork for
another war? How did U.S. policy after the Second World War differ from its policy after
the First World War?

e What international alliances and agreements resulted from the wars? What were the goals
of the League of Nations and the United Nations? Why did the League of Nations fail?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations, Allies and
Axis powers, the United Nations, the Atlantic Charter, Henry Cabot Lodge,
Kaiser Wilhelm II], Woodrow Wilson, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito
Mussolini, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry
Truman, Good Neighbor Policy, George Marshall, and Lend Lease to the theme
"Changing Role of America in the World."

construct a timeline showing the correct sequence of events such as the signing
of the Treaty of Versailles, Japan invades Manchuria, Germany invades of
Poland, England and France declare war on the Axis, Japanese bomb Pearl
Harbor, the United States enters World War II, atomic bomb dropped on Japan,
World War II ends, and United Nations formed.

apply the historical concept of multiple causation to the outbreak of World War
1

develop generalizations about why the United States played such a decisive role
in World War II.

compare and contrast America's response to world leadership after World War I
and World War Il.

recognize excerpts from the Japanese Relocation Order, February 19, 1942.

compare passages in A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls to
illustrate shifts in American views toward neutrality.

provide an explanation for the United States focusing its initial military effort in

World War II on defeating Hitler first even though Japan, in bombing Pearl ~
Harbor, had been a direct aggressor against the United States.

A-95


Theme 2

e How has immigration policy changed in the contemporary United States? What groups
(Hispanics, Asians) are immigrating in large numbers? Why?

e How has cultural diversity affected education, media, and popular culture?

e How have the structures of families changed in contemporary American society?

e What has been the role of the media in contemporary America?

e What impact have civil rights movements and women’s movement had on individuals
and American society?

e What is the influence of literary figures in contemporary America?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate Barbara Jordan, Ayn Rand, Toni Morrison, NOW, Ralph
Ellison, Eudora Welty, Billy Graham, Norman Vincent Peale, William Faulkner,
Walt Disney, M. Scott Momaday, Malcolm X, Black Panthers, Bob Dylan, Tom
Wolfe, Rock and Roll, Walter | Cronkite, Leonard Bernstein, Tennessee
Williams, Aaron Copeland, Frank Lloyd Wright, ILM. Pei, Alexander Calder,
Jackson Pollack, J.D. Salinger, John Updike, Rap, Wounded Knee II, Betty
Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Cesar Chavez, and William F. Buckley, Jr. to the
theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples" with emphasis on the
development of American culture.

develop and support generalizations about the values, ideas, and customs that
Americans of different ethnic and religious origins share.

develop and support generalizations about the effect of suburbanization on racial
and class differences.

evaluate the usefulness of the generalizations, "America, a land of immigrants"
and "America, a land of opportunity" in describing the United States between
1945-1994,

explain how the immigration policies of the 1960s changed the immigration
patterns set by the Immigration Act of 1924.

[add 21" century issues.]

A-98


Theme 1

e How did various European colonists reshape their political, legal, and philosophical
traditions to fit their circumstances in North America? What new political traditions
evolved? In the English colonies, what practices of self-government and law developed?

e How did various Native American groups view and respond to European colonization?

e How did ideas about individual rights, popular sovereignty, and law develop in different
parts of the British, Spanish, Dutch, and French colonies?

e What conceptions of law, government, literacy, education, and human nature did English
colonists bring with them? What was the significance of the Mayflower Compact?

Students can:
1. define the term "colony."
2. explain why colonies were formed.
3. explain the term "Mother Country" in relation to colonial settlement.
4. use what they know about setting up classroom rules to describe how a group of
people might make rules for a new colony.
5. describe the cooperation between the colonists and the Native Americans.
6. describe the conflicts between the colonists and the Native Americans.
Theme 2

e Who were the colonists? What were the reasons they came? Where did they settle? What
social and cultural organizations did they create? What were the conflicts and cooperative
efforts between and within these groups? What was the impact on Native Americans?

« What motives did the colonists’ financial backers have in settling North America? How
did the English, French, Dutch, and Spanish colonies differ?

e What was daily life like in colonial America for the yeoman farmers, merchants, artisans,
planters, indentured servants, slaves, and Native Americans? How was life different
and how was it similar in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the South, the West, the
Spanish Southwest, and French Louisiana?


Exercises will be reviewed again after field-testing as part of the process of selecting the exercises
that will appear in the operational assessment. Any items that statistical evaluation reveals to be
technically flawed will be eliminated. However, items (exercises) will not be eliminated solely
because they are too easy or too hard; rather, a comprehensive range of item difficulties will be
maintained.

Bias Review

All items will be screened for evidence of cultural bias or lack of ethnic and gender sensitivity, and
will be subjected to Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis following accepted practices of
major test developers and publishers. If, after close scrutiny, an item appears to be a valid measure
of appropriate content, and if no plausible explanation for the DIF is apparent, the item will be
retained. The National Assessment Governing Board will review all items for bias and
appropriateness prior to field testing and prior to operational assessment.

Scoring
General Criteria

The assessment will be designed to facilitate reporting using both quantitative scales and narrative
descriptions of typical exercise solutions by students.

Quantitative scales will be defined within, not across, age/grade levels. An overall posterior score
distribution will be estimated for each student, and the distribution of plausible values drawn from
these individual-level distributions will be reported for each age/grade level and for demographic
subgroups, in accordance with standard NAEP procedures. In addition, sufficient exercises will be
included in the assessment to permit results to be reported on four separate theme subscales at each
age/grade level for the nation as a whole. It is permissible to use a limited number of exercises at
more than one age/grade level, if appropriate.

For reporting of subgroup performance, it may be necessary to form weighted composites of these
subscales in order to attain sufficient precision. If such a combination of scale scores is used,
reports of overall score distributions should make it clear that they are a composite of separate
subscales.


VII.

2. link Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and George Washington Carver
to their inventions.

3. identify the transcontinental railroad.
4, explain how trains and steam engines made the frontier more accessible.
5. explain how inventions such as the electric light bulb, telephone, and elevator
changed American life.
6. answer questions about a chart of important crops grown in each state in 1900.
Theme 4

Not to be tested at this grade level.

Modern America and the World Wars (1914 to 1945)
Theme 1

e Why did the U.S. decide to enter First World War? What were the major turning points in
this war? Who were the leaders? (Woodrow Wilson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, etc.) What
happened in the First World War?

e How did politics in the 1920s reflect both the advancement and the retreat of important
democratic practices?

e Why was the Constitution amended to ban the sale/consumption of alcohol? Who
supported Prohibition? Why was the amendment repealed?

e How did women’s suffrage get enacted as an amendment to the Constitution? Who were
leaders of the women’s suffrage movement (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Carrie Chapman Catt)? Why did some people oppose women’s suffrage?

e How did the Depression affect American politics? How did the Depression change
assumptions about the nature of federalism and the role of government?

« How did Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation change the role of the federal
government in relation to social welfare and individual rights? Which new agencies were
created and which became a lasting part of American government?

A-20


in-depth examination of a single topic or theme. These in-depth exercises will consist of several
questions addressed to the same topic or theme, for example, a few multiple-choice questions and a
few constructed response questions requiring various response formats, all contained within one
block of exercises. However, there must be no interdependency of these questions in the sense that
being able to answer a question correctly depends on already having answered some other question
correctly. In other words, in order to avoid compounding errors, a new question must not require
using an answer from a previous item to obtain the correct answer. These blocks of exercises
examining a topic in depth must remain intact.

Achievement Levels

Preliminary descriptions of the NAEP achievement levels in the History Assessment were
conceptualized by the Planning Committee prior to the development of test items. The Committee
defined what constitutes Basic, Proficient, and Advanced levels of achievement in history at each
grade level in terms of student knowledge and behavior. These preliminary content-based,
behavioral descriptions encompass the content and the cognitive domains of the assessment and
were used as input into the achievement level-setting process in 1994. Descriptions of the final
achievement levels can be found in the Exercise Specifications.

Review Process and Criteria
History Expert Review

In order to ensure the development of exercises that adequately represent current theory in history
education and exhibit proper psychometric characteristics, as well as to construct an item pool that
will facilitate the establishment of achievement levels, it is important that review by historians,
teachers, and history educators be incorporated at several points during the test development
process. Therefore, the development, field-testing, and selection of the assessment items will be
monitored by an item development panel composed of members of the U.S. History Framework
Planning and Steering Committees and other subject area experts.

A minimum of 20 percent of the membership of the Framework Committee will serve on the item
development panel. After the test items have been developed, the panel will review the item pool at
each grade level and judge the items for congruence with the Specifications document. The items
will be judged on criteria such as grade-level appropriateness, historical accuracy, content validity,
variety of item format, and appropriateness of reporting labels that reference the items to the
assessment dimensions they purport to measure. In addition, the reviewers will ensure that the item
pool is balanced with respect to the content (themes and periods) and the cognitive dimensions, and
that it incorporates sufficient exercises at the various achievement levels for each grade.


¢ How did government subsidies, growth of a national transportation system, tariffs,
immigrant labor, and foreign investments influence economic development?

Students can:
1. describe the California Gold Rush.

2. identify the inventions of Eli Whitney, Robert Fulton, and Samuel Morse and
tell what problems were solved by their inventions.

3. describe the purpose of the canal system.
4, explain how trains improved travel.

5. examine pictures of daily life, artifacts, and journal entries from a 19th century
historic site such as Old Sturbridge Village or Santa Fe, explain how people
made a living and compare the old ways to contemporary ways.

Theme 4

Not to be tested at this grade level.

Crisis of the Union: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850 to 1877)
Theme 1

e What role did the process of compromise play in the disputes about slavery, the nature of
the union, individual rights, states’ rights, and the power of the federal government? What
caused the outbreak of the Civil War? What were the roles of Webster, Clay, Calhoun,
Douglas, Lincoln, and Seward? What were Abraham Lincoln’s positions on key issues
during this period?

e How did the major political parties and leaders deal with controversies about abolition of
slavery, constitutional rights, and economic development?

e What were the major events and turning points in the Civil War? What was the influence
of civilian and military leaders (e.g., Lincoln, Davis, Grant, and Lee)?

e What action did African Americans take before, during, and after the war to secure their
freedom and rights as citizens?

e How did the Civil War and Reconstruction change conceptions of the union and the
power of the federal government? What were the influences of Lincoln’s presidency?


.

How did workers and labor leaders shape the discussion of economic theory and
employer policies and practices?

Students can:

1. identify and relate The Dust Bowl, John Maynard Keynes, John L. Lewis,
"Priming the Pump," John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, FDR's "First Inaugural
Address," examples of technology developed due to war efforts, such as atomic
bombs, jet planes, and penicillin to the theme "Economic and Technological

Changes."

2. list the causes of the Depression.

3. justify the statement, "The Model T was significant to America’s economic
history."

4. support the statement, "The development of unions altered the workplace."

5. explain the theory of Keynesian economics by using examples from the New
Deal.

6. compare charts showing the changes in the number, marital status, and age of

working women in the era 1920-1945.

Theme 4

How did events in Europe and Asia, such as the outbreak of the First World War, the
Russian Revolution, the Nazis’ rise to power, the Axis alliance, the Nazi-Soviet pact, and
Japanese territorial expansion influence United States history?

How was life in the United States affected by expansion and participation in the First
World War?

What was the role of American democratic ideals in the nation’s entry into the First
World War?

What was the role of American democratic ideals in the nation’s entry into the Second
World War? What was the relationship between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. during the
war? Why did this relationship end after the war?

How did isolationism influence American foreign policy between 1914 and 1945?

What roles did national leaders (e.g., Kaiser Wilhelm II, Woodrow Wilson, Joseph
Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlin, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight
Eisenhower, and Tojo) play in shaping military and foreign policy?

A-94


Figure 1: Example of One Content Outline Across Grade Levels

1. Period Two: Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607 to 1763)

A. Theme 1: Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Practices, and
Controversies

e How did various European colonists reshape their political, legal, and philosophical traditions to fit their
circumstances in North America? What new political traditions evolved? In the English colonies, what
practices of self-government and law developed?

How did various Native American groups view and respond to European colonization?
How did ideas about individual rights, popular sovereignty, and law develop in different parts of the British,
Spanish, Dutch, and French colonies?

What conceptions of law, government, literacy, education, and human nature did English colonies bring with
them? What ws the significance of the Mayflower Compact?

4th grade students can

1. define the term "colony".

2. explain why colonies were formed.

3. explain the term "Mother Country" in relation to colonial settlement.

4. use what they know about setting up classroom rules to describe how a group of people could make rules for a new colony.
5. describe the cooperation between the colonists and the Native Americans.

6. describe the conflicts between the colonists and the Native Americans.

8th grade students can

1. identify and relate the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Maryland Toleration Act, the New England town meeting, the
Mayflower Compact, and the Enlightenment to the theme, "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. explain the purposes of representative assemblies established in the colonies.
3. predict why representative assemblies would acquire increasing local political power.
4. compare the political and legal rights of the English colonists and the Native Americans.

5. interpret a chart showing the different kinds of government that were used in the British, Spanish, Dutch, and French
colonies.

(Plus objectives at 4th grade) continued on next page

L —_]



For development of stimulus materials, authors can utilize childrens’ magazines such as
Cobblestone, Faces; activity books; news magazines and newspapers; tradebooks; adult periodicals
such as American Heritage, Civil War Times Illustrated, Magazine of History, and Americana;
various professional journals; literature from the National Park Service, the National Trust for
Historic Preservation, the National Archives, the Old Sturbridge Village, and other appropriate
organizations; encyclopedias; historical atlases; almanacs; or any other relevant material commonly
found in schools.

Response Formats

The response formats to be used include both multiple-choice and constructed response exercises.
Multiple-choice exercises will be of the conventional single correct option format with four options.

The constructed response exercises will require the students to respond in a variety of ways: 1)
short answers, which require the examinee to write one or two phrases or sentences or to respond
with a short nontextual response; 2) extended written responses, which require the examinee to
write a paragraph or more; 3) extended graphic responses, which require the examinee to create
nontextual responses such as maps, graphs, charts or timelines; and 4) combination responses,
which require both a graphic and some written response. All response formats should be used for
all three grades.

Good multiple-choice items will be constructed to test students’ abilities to think historically; to use
primary documents; to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate historical data; as well as to probe recall
and comprehension of historical facts. Multiple-choice items have the following requirements for
item options:

e There must be only one clearly identifiable correct option for each question; if
plausible arguments can be made for more than one option, the item is unacceptable.

e The correct option must be a concise answer that will satisfy any qualified judge as
being an adequate short answer to the question. The response must not answer more
than the stem question asks.

e Distractors (incorrect responses) should appeal to some kind of misinterpretation,
predisposition, unsound reasoning, or casual reading.


Major Historical Themes. Four themes have been identified that link people and events across the
eight historical periods:

1. Change and Continuity in American Democracy: Ideas, Institutions, Events, Key figures, and
Controversies

2. The Gathering and Interaction of Peoples, Cultures, and-Ideas

3. Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Society, Ideas, and the
Environment

4. The Changing Role of America in the World

These themes establish important emphases within the periods and ensure a general context for the
specific content that will be assessed in each period. However, not all themes will necessarily be
examined in all periods; rather, the emphasis will vary with the major developments of the periods.
The recommended distribution of the exercise pool across the themes is shown in Table 1.

Table 1
Distribution of Exercise Pool across Historical Themes:
Grades Four, Eight, and Twelve

Themes
Change & Gathering & Economic & Changing
Continuity in Interactions of Technological Role of
American Peoples, Cultures, | Changes & Their America in
Democracy & Ideas Relation to Society, | the World
Ideas, & the
Environment
Grade Levels
4th Grade 25% 35% 25% 15%
8th Grade 30% 30% 20% 20%
12th Grade 25% 25% 25% 25%

Periods of History. Eight historical periods have been identified to provide chronological structure
and organize the content--the people, places, events, ideas, movements, issues, and sources--for the
assessment:

1. Beginnings to 1607

2. Colonization, Settlement, and Communities (1607 to 1763)


e What scientific and technological developments affected the economy, the Civil War, and
Reconstruction?

e How did Reconstruction change the economic life of the South?

Students can:

1.

Theme 4

identify and relate "King Cotton," the Homestead Act, and the new technologies
of the War (medical advances, photography, the railroads, the rifle) to the theme
"Economic and Technological Changes."

explain why "King Cotton" was important to both northern and southern
economies.

use a map of railroad networks in the United States to explain some of the
advantages the Union had over the Confederacy in the Civil War.

compare the economic strengths and weaknesses of the North and the South.
develop several generalizations about the economy of America in this period by
using examples such as the Homestead Act, the immigration from Europe, the

end of the system of slavery, the depletion of southern land, and so on.

evaluate the view that a "New South" was created economically after the Civil
War.

explain how the clipper ship made it possible to expand the Pacific trade.

e How did Union and Confederate diplomacy affect the Civil War?

e In what ways did other nations influence the course and outcome of the Civil War?

e How did the Civil War affect Europe, Latin America, and Native American nations?

e How did the Civil War and Reconstruction influence the nation’s image in other

countries?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate the Alabama, the "Trent Affair," Charles Francis Adams,
William Seward, and the Purchase of Alaska to the theme "Changing Role of
America in the World."

A-84


(on

Theme 3

e How did geographical factors, technological innovations, individual inventors, and
entrepreneurism contribute to rapid economic growth and important economic
developments such as the specialization and division of labor, the manufacturing system,
the west-ward movement, “King Cotton,” and the expansion of slavery? What were
benefits and costs of these economic developments?

e Why was there growing prosperity for many? What was the influence of their prosperity

on society?

e How did the growth of the factory system affect living conditions, working conditions,
and where people lived?

« How did government subsidies, growth of a national transportation system, tariffs,
immigrant labor, and foreign investments influence economic development?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate Samuel Slater, DeWitt Clinton, Robert Fulton, Oliver Evans,
Samuel F.B. Morse, Francis Cabot Lowell, and Eli Whitney (the cotton gin and
interchangeable parts), the "factory system," Erie Canal, "Lowell's Girls,"
steamboats, Gibbons v. Ogden, and Robert Fulton to the theme "Economic and
Technological Changes."

define " King Cotton."
define "corporation."
explain the effect of the discovery of gold in California on westward expansion.

describe early factory life in historical perspective using a document from the
period, such as the Lowell Offering.

develop generalizations about the reasons for economic development of the
United States by using several examples such as private ownership, government
subsidies, growth of a national transportation system, tariffs, immigrant labor,
and foreign investments.

A-43,


Historical Knowl iP .
Exercises examining students’ historical knowledge and perspective will assess the ability to
identify and define specific factual information, themes, movements, and general principles

operating in U.S. history; to deduce meaning; and to comprehend patterns. These exercises should
test the ability to:

e Name, recognize, list, identify, and give examples of people, places, events, concepts, and
movements,

e Place specifics in a chronological framework and construct and label historical periods.

e Define historical themes and give examples of the ways themes relate to specific factual
information.

e Describe the past from the perspectives of a variety of men and women of the time.

e Summarize the contributions of individuals and groups to U.S. history; summarize the
meaning of historical sources, such as original documents, speeches, cartoons, artifacts,
photos, art, music, architecture, literature, drama, dance, popular culture, biographies,

journals, folklore, historic sites and places, and oral history narratives; and link these people
and sources to general themes.

Histori ic and | .

Exercises testing historical analysis and interpretation will examine the ability to distinguish value
judgments in historical information, to weigh evidence, to synthesize information, to apply knowledge,
to make judgments, to formulate generalizations, and to draw conclusions. Exercises probing this
domain should test students’ ability to:

e Specify and explain cause-and-effect relationships and connect contemporary events to
their origins in the past.

e Categorize information and develop strategies for organizing a large body of facts.
e Examine multiple causes of historical developments.
e Explain points of view, biases, and value statements in historical sources.

e Determine the significance of people, events, and historical sources.

24


changes, we will review the achievement levels descriptions. However, the specific changes to the
FW should not affect the more general Ach. Levels descriptions.

Grade 4

Basic—Fourth-grade students performing at the Basic level should be able to identify and describe a few
of the most familiar people, places, events, ideas, and documents in American history. They should be
able to explain the reasons for celebrating most national holidays, have some familiarity with the
geography of their own state and the United States, and be able to express in writing a few ideas about a
familiar theme in American history.

Proficient—Fourth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should be able to identify, describe
and comment on the significance of many historical people, places, ideas, events, and documents. They
should interpret information from a variety of sources, including texts, maps, pictures, and timelines.
They should be able to construct a simple timeline from data. These students should recognize the role of
invention and technological change in history. They should also recognize the ways in which geographic
and environmental factors have influenced life and work.

Advanced—Fourth-grade students performing at the Advanced level should have a beginning
understanding of the relationships between people, places, ideas, events and documents. They should
know where to look for information, including reference books, maps, local museums, interviews with
family and neighbors, and other sources. They should be able to use historical themes to organize and
interpret historical topics, and to incorporate insights from beyond the classroom into their understanding
of history. These students should understand and explain the role of invention and technological change
in history. They should also understand and explain the ways in which geographic and environmental
factors have influenced life and work.


Theme 3: Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Culture, Society,
Ideas, and the Environment

e How did Europeans, Native Americans, and West Africans live and make a living on the
eve of Columbus’ voyage?

e What were the economic and trading relationships among Europe, Asia, and Africa
before Columbus’ voyage? How did these relationships change with the beginning of
transatlantic trade?

e How did European inventions and technological developments (particularly in navigation
and armament) lead to exploration and early conquest? What role did education and
literacy play in spreading these technological developments? What individuals and groups
contributed to these developments?

e ‘What was the role of economic factors in exploration and the search for resources in the
Western Hemisphere? What impact did exploration have on the economies of Europe,
West Africa, and North America?

e What labor systems emerged? Why did the practice of slavery develop in the Western
Hemisphere? How did it compare to other forms of slavery, which had existed
historically in Africa and other parts of the world?

Students can:

1. demonstrate a very basic understanding of economic activities by selecting from
a list of varied activities the ones that relate to how people made a living.

2. after looking at pictures and reading stories, explain how Native Americans,
and Europeans met basic needs before explorers reached the Americas.

3. recognize causes of European exploration of the Western Hemisphere from a list
of possibilities.

4, use pictures and physical maps to infer the kinds of conditions met by early
settlers in North America.

5. explain why Columbus wanted to find a route to the Indies and develop an
hypothesis about why he did not get where he thought he was going.

6. describe how technology gave Europeans a military advantage over Native
American and African warriors.

7. write a letter to their families that describes the difficulties and hardships of a


e What factors and events, such as problems of the Articles of Confederation and Shays’
Rebellion led to the Constitutional Convention? Who were the participants? What key
issues did they debate? What major compromises did they make to create the Constitution
of 1787?

e What are the most important features of the Constitution? How did it differ from the
Articles of Confederation? How have its core civic ideas of individual rights, equal
justice under law, and popular sovereignty become the basis for the nation’s common
political culture? Why did it become recognized as a model political framework? How
has it sustained aspirations for individual freedom and dignity, here and in other nations,
for more than 200 years?

e How does the ratification of the Bill of Rights illustrate the idea of compromise and
change that has been a basic principle of American Constitutional government?

e What political and legal institutions were created by the Constitution? How was power
distributed among the branches of the federal government and between federal and state
governments?

e How and why did issues such as slavery, the rights of individuals, the power of the states,
and the nature of federalism and republicanism divide Americans? How did the
Constitution provide avenues for addressing these issues?

e Why did political parties arise (e.g., Federalists and Democratic-Republicans)? How did
the party system influence the development of democracy? What was the role and
importance of George Washington? Why was the peaceful transfer of power following
Jefferson’s election such a landmark event in history?

e How did John Marshall establish as a principle of constitutional government the judicial
review by the Supreme Court of acts of state and federal governments? What does this
mean today?

Students can:

1 identify and relate the Sons of Liberty, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, Patrick
Henry, George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, George Mason,
Alexander Hamilton, Abigail Adams, the Federalist party, the Democratic-
Republican party, separation of powers, judicial review, checks and balances,
federalism, the Anti Federalists, and the Alien and Sedition Acts to the theme
"Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. construct a timeline showing the sequence of the writing of the Constitution, the
Declaration of Independence, Common Sense, and the Stamp Act.

3. analyze the European and American roots of Jefferson's thinking as expressed in
the Declaration of Independence.

A-72


e What common and diverse cultural traditions did Americans develop? How did racial,
ethnic, religious, and national groups contribute to the creation of American culture?
What individuals and defining events contributed to these developments? What primary
documents and historical sources—such as original documents, speeches, cartoons,
artifacts, photos, art, music, architecture, literature, drama, dance, popular culture,
biographies, journals, folklore, historic sites and places, and oral histories—reflect the
development of American culture?

e What have been the roles of men and women in American society? How and why have
gender roles changed over time?

Students can:

1. identify and relate the Age of Exploration, the Columbian Exchange, the
Protestant Reformation, Atlantic slave trade, Native American culture, and
European colonization to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

2. compare the motivations of the Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese
explorers.

3. interpret excerpts from selections of Native American literature and examples of
Native American art to explain religious and artistic practices.

4.
5. illustrate how the Atlantic slave trade altered West African culture.
6. explain the role of Spanish missionaries in the settlement of North America.
7. analyze how excerpts from the journals and letters of Columbus and Bartolome
de las Casas reflect their values and reasons for exploring the Western
Hemisphere.
(on Theme 3: Economic and Technological Changes and Their Relation to Culture, Society,

Ideas, and the Environment

e How did the United States develop from a rural, agricultural economy to an urban,
industrialized superpower? What were the human and environmental benefits and costs
of this development? How and why has the standard of living for most Americans
changed over time? How have state and national governments responded to issues raised
by economic developments and how have they participated in the economy?

A-65


Grade 8

Basic—Eighth-grade students performing at the Basic level should be able to identify and place in
context a range of historical people, places, events, ideas, and documents. They should be able to
distinguish between primary and secondary sources. They should have a beginning understanding of the
diversity of the American people and the ways in which people from a wide variety of national and
cultural heritages have become part of a single nation. Eighth-grade students at the basic level should
also have a beginning understanding of the fundamental political ideas and institutions of American life
and their historical origins. They should be able to explain the significance of some major historical
events.

Proficient—Eighth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should be able to explain the
significance of people, places, events, ideas, and documents, and to recognize the connection between
people and events within historical contexts. They should understand and be able to explain the
opportunities, perspectives, and challenges associated with a diverse cultural population. They should
incorporate geographic, technological, and other considerations in their understanding of events and
should have knowledge of significant political ideas and institutions. They should be able to
communicate ideas about historical themes while citing evidence from primary and secondary sources to
support their conclusions.

Advanced—Eighth-grade students performing at the Advanced level should recognize significant themes
and movements in history and begin to understand particular events in light of these themes and
movements. They should have an awareness of continuity and change over time and be able to draw
relevant analogies between past events and present-day situations. They should be able to frame
questions about historical topics and use multiple sources to develop historical generalizations and
interpretations. They should be able to explain the importance of historical themes, including some
awareness of their political, social, and economic dimensions.

Grade 12

Basic—Twelfth-grade students performing at the Basic level should be able to identify the significance
of many people, places, events, dates, ideas, and documents in U.S. history. They should also recognize
the importance of unity and diversity in the social and cultural history of the United States, and an
awareness of America’s changing relationships with the rest of the world. They should have a sense of
continuity and change in history and be able to relate relevant experience from the past to their *
understanding of contemporary issues. They should recognize that history is subject to interpretation and
should understand the role of evidence in making an historical argument.

Proficient—Twelfth-grade students performing at the Proficient level should understand particular
people, places, events, ideas, and documents in historical context, with some awareness of the political,
economic, geographic, social, religious, technological, and ideological factors that shape historical
settings. They should be able to communicate reasoned interpretations of past events, using historical
evidence effectively to support their positions. Their written arguments should reflect some in-depth
grasp of issues and refer to both primary and secondary sources.

Advanced—Twelfth-grade students achieving at the Advanced level should demonstrate a
comprehensive understanding of events and sources of U.S. history. Recognizing that history is subject to
interpretation, they should be able to evaluate historical claims critically in light of the evidence. They
should understand that important issues and themes have been addressed differently at different times
and that America’s political, social, and cultural traditions have changed over time. They should be able


WI.

e What kinds of relationships, alliances, and conflicts developed among Native American
societies, European countries, and settlers?

e What were the causes and results of the French and Indian War of 1754-17632 What was
its counterpart in Europe?

e Why did English language, culture, ideas, and institutions become dominant in the
colonies?

Students can:

1. discuss the causes and results of the French and Indian Wars and their
counterparts in Europe.

2. identify on a map English territory in North America before and after the French
and Indian War.

3. develop a thesis about the impact and results of the Proclamation of 1763 that
limited expansion by English colonists into the areas west of the Appalachian
Mountains that were designated as Indian reserve territory.

Period Three: The Revolution and the New Nation (1763 to 1815)
Theme 1

e What ideas about the nature of liberty, power, and “natural rights” contributed to the
colonists’ decision to declare their independence? What were the sources of these ideas?

e What British policies led to the revolt? What was the American response to these events?
What were the most important turning points in the Revolution? And why was it
successful?

e In what ways have the ideas embodied in the Declaration of Independence served as
fundamental and enduring ideas of American political life?

e What were the political debates regarding independence and the creation of new state
governments and a national government? Who supported what positions?

« Who were the leaders of the American Revolution? What was the role and importance of
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and others in the
revolutionary generation? What ideas about government, sources of political power,
rights of individuals, and political participation are specified in the Declaration of
Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance, the Constitution,
and the Bill of Rights? How did ideas in these documents contribute to a common civic
culture?

A-71


Iv.

3. discuss the impact of the French Revolution on American internal political
activities.

4. analyze the results of the War of 1812 as they affected the United States.

5. support the statement that the shots fired at Concord and Lexington were "heard
around the world."
6. explain how the Louisiana Purchase led to broadening U. S. interests from the

east coast to the continent as a whole and outward to the Pacific Ocean.

7. outline major reasons for Edmund Burke's support for the American Revolution
as explained in an excerpt from his speech on the subject.

8. explain Washington's setting of precedents for the presidency’s role in foreign
policy.

Expansion and Reform (1801 to 1861)
Theme 1

e Why did the nation expand across the Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific Coast? What
ideas about democracy emerged? Why did the nation decide to add states and give them
equal standing instead of creating colonies? What controversies arose about organizing
territories and adding states to the union? How and to what extent were these
controversies resolved?

e How did the American political culture develop? What procedures emerged for managing
controversy and responding to changing political and social needs? Who played important
roles in this process?

e How did Jefferson and Jackson change the power and practices of the presidency? What
caused the rise of interest-group politics?

e How did the right to vote expand?

e How did reform movements challenge assumptions about slavery, women’s rights,
qualifications for citizenship and the right to vote, and the rights of Indians?

e How did reform movements change political practices, the rights of individuals, and the
meaning of American constitutional democracy?

e How did landmark Supreme Court decisions affect the development of the legal system
and constitutional government (e.g., Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Maryland)?

A-76


Theme 2

e What artistic and literary figures (e.g., Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, John
Steinbeck, Langston Hughes, F. Scott Fitzgerald) contributed to national culture and to
distinct ethnic and regional cultures? How did World War I, the Depression, the Dust
Bowl, and World War II affect writers and artists?

e Why were restrictive immigration policies enacted? What groups were restricted and
what groups were allowed? Why did large numbers of people continue to seek
opportunities to immigrate to the United States?

e What were the social and cultural consequences of the immigration policies and internal
migration? What developments defined the “Roaring Twenties,” the “Harlem
Renaissance,” and the Depression era?

e What was the controversy over scientific views of evolution? What was the Scopes trial?

e What is the importance of the New Deal in American social reform? What were the key
policies? Who developed the policies and who were the critics?

e How did technological innovations such as the radio, movies, and automobiles affect the
lives of ordinary Americans?

« What was the immediate and long-range impact on the homefront of World War II?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Richard Wright, John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, James
Agee, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey, the 19th Amendment, the Roaring
Twenties, "flappers," social gospel, the Depression, the Immigration Act of
1924, "Rosie the Riveter," Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mary Bethune to the theme
"Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

2. construct a timeline showing the correct sequence of the end of World War I,
19th Amendment, Harlem Renaissance, and beginning of World War II.

3. identify the following and describe their commonality: Red Scare, Sacco and
Vanzetti, "One hundred percent American," immigration quotas, the Ku Klux
Klan, and the internment of Japanese during World War II.

4. describe the Harlem Renaissance.

A-92


Theme 3

e How did colonial economic growth interact with the British mercantile and Native
American economic systems?

e What economic factors contributed to the colonists’ decision to declare their
independence?

« What were the effects of the Revolution on economic development and institutions?

e What ideas, values, and practices caused the Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian debate over the
formation and direction of the nation’s economy and what were the results?

Students can:
1. identify and relate the Navigation Acts, "salutary neglect," triangular trade, the
Sugar Act, protective tariff, and embargo to the theme "Economic and
Technological Changes."
2. explain the economic effects of the Townshend Acts.
3. explain the economic causes of the Revolutionary War.
4, interpret charts and graphs showing economic growth of the new nation between
1776 and 1815.
Theme 4

e What were the contributions of other nations to the American victory in the Revolution?

e In what ways did the American Revolution and the establishment of the United States
influence people in other nations? How did these events reshape the image of America in
other countries? What was the significance of George Washington’s Farewell Address?

« How did the French Revolution affect American domestic and foreign policy?
Students can:
1. identify and relate the Peace of Paris of 1763, the War of 1812, Lafayette,
Saratoga, Yorktown, the XYZ Affair, Louisiana Purchase, Barbary Pirates

(Tripoli War), Benjamin Franklin, and Washington's Farewell Address to the
theme "Changing Role of America in the World."

A239


e What were the major events and turning points in the Civil War? What was the influence
of civilian and military leaders (e.g., Lincoln, Davis, Grant, and Lee)?

e What action did African Americans take before, during, and after the war to secure their
freedom and rights as citizens?

e How did the Civil War and Reconstruction change conceptions of the union and the
power of the federal government? What were the influences of Lincoln’s presidency?

e What primary sources exemplify the key ideas and issues of this period (e.g., Gettysburg
Address, Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, “Battle Hymn
of the Republic,” “Bonnie Blue Flag,” and “Dixie”)?

e How was the U.S. Constitution changed after the Civil War (e.g., 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments)? How did the changes affect democratic ideas and practices and contribute
to achieving democratic ideals? How did decisions by the Supreme Court undermine the
effectiveness of these amendments?

e What were the goals of radical and moderate reconstructionists? How and why did they
succeed and fail?

Students can:

1. identify and relate "The Liberator," William Lloyd Garrison, Daniel Webster,
Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, the Dred Scott v. Sanford case, the Compromise
of 1850, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, the "free soil party," the Kansas-
Nebraska Act, "Bleeding Kansas," the Lincoln-Douglas debates, William
Seward, Jefferson Davis, John Brown, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, the
Battle of Gettysburg, Appomattox, "radical reconstruction," and the Black
Codes to the theme "Continuity and Change in American Democracy."

2. place in correct chronological order: the 13th Amendment, the Emancipation
Proclamation, the first shot of war at Ft. Sumter, the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

3. summarize the effect of the Dred Scott decision on the impending Civil War.

4. explain the provisions and significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

5. discuss the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

6. use words from Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" to illustrate his view of the
Union.

7. describe the role of African Americans in the Union army and in politics after
the war.

A-45


The remaining student time designated for constructed response exercises should be spent on
those questions requiring extended responses. Extended-response exercises requiring written
responses will ask students to write paragraph-length or longer responses that demonstrate
developed arguments, analyses, or explanations. Extended-response items requiring graphic
responses will ask students to construct a graph, map, or timeline; to chart some historical data;
or to accompany a short graphic response with some written explanation. (For Grade 4, the
requirement for "long" responses may be relaxed to mean two or three short sentences or some
short graphical response and a sentence or two.)

Care must be taken on all exercises to identify the response elements that should be present to
constitute a satisfactory answer; that is, the stimulus should be defined (scaffolded) to indicate to
the student how the exercise will be scored. Directions to the student must be complete, containing
enough information to ensure that all students understand the task in the same way. This
information will also explain to the student how the exercise will be evaluated, aid in the scoring
process, and ensure correct interpretation of the answer. All types of stimulus materials should be
used to generate items requiring all response formats. Table 4 demonstrates this requirement
graphically.


4. list the problems created by the Articles of Confederation and describe how the
Constitution addressed these problems.

5. explain how the founders tried to reach a balance between the rights of the
individual and the authority of the state.

6. hypothesize about why many people including women, blacks, Native
Americans, and non-property holders, were not given the right to vote by the
Constitution.

7. identify the Marbury v. Madison case and explain its significance in the
American legal system.

8. analyze the importance of Jefferson's election in 1800 and the peaceful transfer
of power from one political group to another.

9. evaluate how an excerpt from Federalist #10 on factions might have reflected
the political developments of the period.

10. list key advantages and disadvantages facing George Washington as a military
leader in 1776.

Theme 2

e What were the various roles of Native Americans, African Americans, and men and
women from different social and economic levels in the Revolution? What role did
Loyalists play in the Revolution?

e How did revolutionary rhetoric about equality and civic virtue produce rising
expectations for women, slaves, free blacks, and non-property owning men?

e What ideas, beliefs, and values emerged to create a national culture? How did that culture
compare and contrast to regional cultures in the United States and to the cultural
traditions of the Spanish borderlands (Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, California, and
Florida)?

e What reforms and improvements were sought for women, African Americans, and Native
Americans in the new nation in response to new concepts of liberty, as they emerged
during the American Revolution? How did their lack of political power influence the
strategies and successes of reformers?

A-73,


What are the basic principles and critical assumptions of American constitutional
government about the sources of political power and the rights of individuals? What core
civic ideas (e.g., individual rights and popular sovereignty) have influenced American
society? What individuals and groups have maintained, tested, and influenced the evolution
of these ideas? What primary documents include these commonly held civic ideas (e.g.,
Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, The Federalist Papers, Constitution,
Bill of Rights, Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments, and “I Have A Dream” speech)?
What landmark Supreme Court cases have had an importance influence on our nation
(e.g., Brown v. Board of Education, Plessy v. Ferguson, Marbury v. Madison)? Why has
the Constitution survived, and why has it become a model political framework? How have
Americans responded to inherent tensions and conflicts of constitutional democracy, such
as reconciling the desire for liberty with the need for order, majority rule with minority
rights, and liberty with equality?

How has the cultural diversity of American society shaped the nation’s civic culture,
political institutions, and political practices? What individuals and groups played important
roles in raising and responding to issues about diversity and unity in the American body
politic? What major political controversies arose about the issues? Which controversies
have been resolved? And which have remained or re-emerged under other circumstances?

Theme 2. The Gathering and Interactions of Peoples, Cultures, and Ideas

Defining Questions:

What racial, ethnic, religious, and national groups formed this nation? Why have people
immigrated to the land that became the United States and why has the country continued to
attract so many immigrants? What have been the patterns and conditions of this
immigration (e.g., voluntarily in search of economic opportunity, religious freedom, and
political refuge; involuntarily in bondage as slaves, or in an “unfree” status such as
indentured servants and contract laborers)? How has the racial, ethnic, and religious
composition of the nation changed over time? What racial, ethnic, and religious tensions
arose? What issues have been resolved? What issues remain? What were the patterns of
settlement? How and why have these settlement patterns changed?

What common and diverse cultural traditions did Americans develop? How did racial,
ethnic, religious, and national groups contribute to the creation of American culture?
What individuals and defining events contributed to these developments? What primary
documents and historical sources—such as original documents, speeches, cartoons,
artifacts, photos, art, music, architecture, literature, drama, dance, popular culture,
biographies, journals, folklore, historic sites and places, and oral histories—reflect the
development of American culture?

What have been the roles of men and women in American society? How and why have
gender roles changed over time?

21


Vit.

Contemporary America (1945 to Present)

Theme 1

How have the ideas of the founding period about the nature of the government, liberty,
and sources of political power been maintained and changed? Why do the important core
civic ideas of individual rights, equal rights under law, and popular sovereignty continue
to be forces in American society?

How did the Second World War affect the movement for racial equality?

What political issues have been most significant in contemporary America (e.g.,
abortion; affirmative action; anti-war protests; civil liberties; civil rights for minorities,
women, and the disabled; environmentalism; national security; reducing government
regulation and taxes; terrorism)? How have issues and controversies been resolved in the
American democratic political system?

How did Harry Truman respond to Soviet military challenges in Europe and Greece?
How did Dwight Eisenhower respond to McCarthyism and the Brown decision? How did
John F. Kennedy respond to the Cuban missile crisis and to the civil rights movement?
How did Lyndon B. Johnson attempt to balance the “Great Society” domestic reforms
while expanding American involvement in the Vietnam War? How did Richard Nixon
change the nation’s relations with China but lose his presidency because of Watergate?
How did Ronald Reagan hasten the collapse of the Soviet Union? What caused George
H.W. Bush to initiate Operation Desert Storm? What was the impact of welfare reform
under the Clinton administration? What were the policies of George W. Bush following
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks? :

How have landmark Supreme Court decisions affected constitutional rights, political
controversies, and the relationships of individuals and groups (e.g., Brown v. Board of
Education, Gideon v. Wainwright, Abington School District v. Schempp, Reynolds v.
Sims, Miranda v. Arizona, and Roe v. Wade)?

What is the role of political leadership in contemporary politics? What individuals or
groups have taken leadership roles? What strategies and political philosophies have they
pursued to achieve power and resolve political issues?

Students can:
1. name their state capital and the nation's capital.
2. relate the words mayor, governor, and president to town, state, and country.
3. categorize a list of possible jobs or activities as jobs for a governor or the

president.

A-24


Theme 2

e Who were the colonists? What were the reasons they came? Where did they settle? What
social and cultural organizations did they create? What were the conflicts and cooperative
efforts between and within these groups? What was the impact on Native Americans?

e What motives did the colonists’ financial backers have in settling North America? How
did the English, French, Dutch, and Spanish colonies differ?

e What was daily life like in colonial America for the yeoman farmers, merchants, artisans,
planters, indentured servants, slaves, and Native Americans? How was life different
and how was it similar in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the South, the West, the
Spanish Southwest, and French Louisiana?

e How did diverse religious beliefs and practices affect life in the English colonies and lead
to denominationalism and religious freedom?

Students can:

1. identify and relate John Smith, John Winthrop, Puritanism, Roger Williams,
Anne Hutchinson, James Oglethorp, Jonathan Edwards, The Great Awakening,
William Penn, and the Iroquois Confederacy to the theme "Gathering and
Interaction of Peoples."

2. describe why each of the following groups came to America during the colonial
period: the English, the Spanish, the Scots, the Scotch-Irish, the Swedes, the
Dutch, and the French.

3. compare the daily lives of merchants, Native Americans, indentured servants,
slaves, and yeoman farmers in one section of the colonies.

4, evaluate the influence of the Great Awakening on the English colonies and the
development of American culture during and after the Revolution.

5. describe the major values presented in selections from Poor Richard's Almanac.

6. draw conclusions from primary and secondary source materials about the
influence of Puritanism on developing social and religious life in the colonies.

7. draw conclusions about the conditions of slave life from primary and secondary

accounts.

A-69


i.

2. interpret a map showing the location of European colonies in North America.

3. identify the types of work that women usually did in colonial settlements.
4. identify work that slaves usually did in colonial settlements.
5. compare and contrast plantation life and subsistence farming.

Theme 4

« Why did European nations contend for control of North America? What were the trade routes?
And what was the extent of each nation’s empire by 1763?

e What kinds of relationships, alliances, and conflicts developed among Native American societies,
European countries, and settlers?

e What were the causes and results of the French and Indian War of 1754-1763? What was its
counterpart in Europe?

e Why did English language, culture, ideas, and institutions become dominant in the colonies?

Students can:
1. identify from a list of possibilities the items that explain why a European
country or group would want to start a colony in the Western Hemisphere.
2. write a short story about how Native Americans might feel toward the colonists.
3. answer questions about a map that depicts the European origins of colonies in

North America, circa 1700.

Period Three: The Revolution and the New Nation (1763 to 1815)

Theme 1
e What ideas about the nature of liberty, power, and “natural rights” contributed to the
colonists’ decision to declare their independence? What were the sources of these ideas?

e What British policies led to the revolt? What was the American response to these events?
What were the most important turning points in the Revolution? And why was it
successful?

A-T


Table 4

Application of Stimulus Materials to Response Formats

RESPONSE FORMATS

STIMULUS MATERIALS
Nontextual: Graphic/ Text: Combination:
Pictorial/Models
Photographs, drawings, Documents, | Text plus graphics

letters, diaries,
speeches, and
so on.

charts, maps, graphs,
timelines, cartoons, and
so on.

Multiple-choice (50%)

Conventional single correct option format with four options; options
can be words, phrases, sentences, graphs, diagrams, pictures, and so
on. Can use any type of stimulus material.

Constructed Response
(50%):
Short Answer

Extended Response

written

graphic

combination

Can be lists, phrases, sentences, or short graphic responses. Can use
any type of stimulus material.

Can be paragraph-length or longer responses demonstrating more
developed arguments, analyses, or explanations. Can use any type
of stimulus material.

Can include figure drawing; map, chart, timeline, or graph
construction. Can use any type of stimulus material.

Includes a graphic response accompanied by some written
explanation. Can use any type of stimulus material.



Students can:

1.

D. Theme 4

identify and relate the concept of private property, the fur trade, the "Protestant
work ethic," the plantation system, merchant, yeoman farmer, indentured
servant, slaves, Native Americans, and triangular trade to the theme "Economic
and Technological Changes."

give reasons for the growth of trade among the colonies.
develop and support a generalization about the economy of each region of
colonial America--North East, Middle region, South, and South West--using

crops, trading and shipping conditions, labor systems, and geography.

compare the economic rights and roles of women in the English colonies, the
Spanish colonies, and Native American cultures.

e Why did European nations contend for control of North America? What were the trade
routes? And what was the extent of each nation’s empire by 1763?

e What kinds of relationships, alliances, and conflicts developed among Native American
societies, European countries, and settlers?

e What were the causes and results of the French and Indian War of 1754-1763? What was
its counterpart in Europe?

e Why did English language, culture, ideas, and institutions become dominant in the

colonies?

Students can:

explain the causes of rivalry between the Spanish, English, and French for
control of land in North America.

identify Generals Louis de Montcalm and James Wolfe.

state the results of the Peace of Paris that ended the French and Indian War in
1763.

A-35


Theme 3

e What accounts for the surging growth of the American economy in this era? What were
the main features of industrialization, and what were the benefits and costs of this
economic development?

« What basic assumptions define socialism and communism? What were their followers’
critiques of the industrial economy? What was the economic critique of these approaches
to economic organization? What influence did these philosophies have on the American
economy?

e Who were the leaders of industrialization? What were their roles? What was their impact
on society?

e How did American industrial achievements and developments influence the rest of the
world? How did industrialization in other countries affect the United States?

e How did the American labor movement develop? Who were its leaders? What were its
goals?

e What were major conflicts between big business and labor? And what was the role of the
federal government in resolving such disputes?

e What was the influence of increased regulation on business?

e Who were the innovators? What major scientific and technological achievements and
developments influenced industrialization? Discuss the importance of Thomas Alva
Edison, the Wright brothers, and other inventors and pioneers of technology.

e How were American people’s work habits, living conditions, and attitudes shaped by
industrialization and urbanization?

e How did economic growth and industrialization affect the environment? What were the
goals of the early environmentalists?

e How was agriculture affected by technological development? How did it contribute to
industrialization and urbanization?

Students can:

1, identify and relate sharecropping systems, the Great Plains, railroads, the
assembly line, the Gospel of Wealth, American Federation of Labor, J. P.
Morgan, Montgomery Ward, Thomas Edison, Samuel Gompers, Henry Ford,
the 16th Amendment, the conservation movement, trusts and "trust busting,"
labor legislation (child, wages, hours), the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Interstate
Commerce Act, the Haymarket Strike, and the Homestead Strike to the theme
“Economic and Technological Changes."


VIL.

2. link America's colonial expansion to the colonial expansion of other countries,
such as Great Britain and Japan.

3. evaluate the roles that jingoism and "yellow journalism" played in the Spanish-
American War.
4. debate Theodore Roosevelt's approach to foreign policy as embodied in the

phrase, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

5. explain why America's image in world affairs changed so radically between the
years 1880 and 1910.

6. relate excerpts from Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power in history to a map of
USS. coaling stations in 1900.

Modern America and the World Wars (1914 to 1945)

Theme 1

Why did the U.S. decide to enter First World War? What were the major turning points in
this war? Who were the leaders? (Woodrow Wilson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, etc.) What
happened in the First World War?

How did politics in the 1920s reflect both the advancement and the retreat of important
democratic practices?

Why was the Constitution amended to ban the sale/consumption of alcohol? Who
supported Prohibition? Why was the amendment repealed?

How did women’s suffrage get enacted as an amendment to the Constitution? Who were
leaders of the women’s suffrage movement (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Carrie Chapman Catt)? Why did some people oppose women’s suffrage?

How did the Depression affect American politics? How did the Depression change
assumptions about the nature of federalism and the role of government?

How did Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation change the role of the federal
government in relation to social welfare and individual rights? Which new agencies were
created and which became a lasting part of American government?

What were the key events in the Second World War? (Pearl Harbor, Rise of
Nazism/Hitler, concentration camps/Holocaust, Atomic bomb, etc.) Who were the
leaders? (Hitler, Stalin, Tojo, Mussolini, Churchill, Roosevelt, MacArthur, Eisenhower)
Why did the United States get involved in the Second World War?

A-90


3. The Revolution and the New Nation (1763 to 1815)

4. Expansion and Reform (1801 to 1861)

5. Crisis of the Union: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850 to 1877)

6. The Development of Modern America (1865 to 1920)

7. Modern America and the World Wars (1914 to 1945)

8. Contemporary America (1945 to Present)

The desired distribution of the exercise pool across these historical periods is presented in Table 2.

Table 2
Distribution of Exercise Pool Across Historical Periods:
Grades Four, Eight, and Twelve

Periods
[ Begin. 1607 1763 1801 1850 1865 1914 1945 to
nings to to to to to to to present
Grade Levels 1607 1763 1815 1861 1877 1920 1945
4th Grade 20% 15% 15% 15% 10% 5% 5% 15%
8th Grade 5% 10% 20% 15% 20% 10% 10% 10%
L 12th Grade 5% 10% 15% 10% 10% 15% 15% 20%



Theme 4: The Changing Role of America in the World

e What were the causes and consequences of key events that marked American
involvement in world affairs? Spanish-American War? World War I? World War II?
Marshall Plan? The Cold War? Globalization?

e How have the geographical location and resources of the United States, its ideals, its
interests, and its power influenced its role in the world? How and why has that role
changed? Who played significant roles in international affairs at critical moments in
American history? What is the role of public opinion in shaping foreign policy ina
democracy? What primary documents and historical sources record the key
developments?

e How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, power, and activities of other
nations affected the U.S.?

e How have the interests, institutions, ideologies, individuals, power, and activities of the
USS. affected other nations?

« How has life inside the U.S. been affected by the nation’s role in the world?

Students can:

1.

identify and relate , the Iroquois, the Creeks, the West Africans, Anasazi,
Columbus, Magellan, Cartier, Cabot, Cortes, and de Soto to the theme
"Changing Role of America in the World."

identify and explain the significance of the rise of the nation state in Europe.

draw conclusions about how the English "sea dogs" illustrate the economic
rivalries and political power relations in Europe.

identify on a map the major routes and regions of explorations of the English,
French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

develop and support with convincing evidence interpretations about the political
and economic conditions in specific European countries or regions that explain

some of the reasons for exploration and settlement.

recognize the correct sequence of important events in the exploration and
settlement of the Western Hemisphere.

A-67


e What were the positions of the political parties and their leaders on economic
development, territorial expansion, political participation, individual rights, states’ rights,
slavery, and social reforms? What was the significance of the Lincoln-Douglas debates?

Students can:

1. identify Thomas Jefferson, Daniel Boone, Andrew Jackson, Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, and Frederick Douglass, matching the person to his/her contributions.

2. identify Congress and the Supreme Court.
3. comment on why political parties are important in the United States.
4. explain how [name of student's state] became a state.

5. develop a chart from data comparing the population in 1800 and 1850 of the
states and territories formed from the Louisiana Purchase.

6. identify an important person in [name of student's state] and describe why this
person is important in [name of student's state] history.

Theme 2

e What was distinctive about the new American culture? Who were the principal artistic
and intellectual figures? (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David
Thoreau, Edgar Allan Poe) What were their contributions? How did the new culture draw
on, reject, and compare to European and British culture?

e What ideas, traditions, and traits such as individualism and the belief in the human
capacity to solve problems came to define the American character?

e What were the characteristics of Native American and Southwest-Hispanic cultures? How
did African Americans develop unique cultures in response to slavery? How did free
African Americans, especially in the North, develop their own institutions and actively
seek the abolition of slavery? How did the cultures of Native Americans, Hispanics, and
African Americans adapt and survive?

e What groups (such as the Germans and Irish) immigrated to the United States during this
period? Why did they come? Where did they settle? What impact did they have on the
national culture as they adapted and became Americans?

¢ How did religious revivalism and the idea of human perfectibility contribute to many
reform movements? What was the role of women in revivalism and reform?

A-12


Theme 3

e What caused the general economic boom and growing prosperity in the post-Second
World War era?

e What have been key technological innovations (e.g., transistors, television, computers, jet
airplanes, penicillin, plastics, the hydrogen bomb, and space exploration)? Who were the
innovators? How have these innovations influenced society?

e What has been the influence of the labor movement on the economy and society?

e How has technological change influenced work habits, the composition of the workforce,
and economic productivity?

e How have mass production, the consumer economy, entrepreneurship, and changing
economic conditions affected American society?

Students can:

1. identify and relate Apollo II, Rachel Carson, John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton
Friedman, the New Frontier, the Great Society, the New Federalism, the Reagan
Revolution, the Rust Belt, the Sun Belt, deficit financing, balance of trade,
deregulation, supply-side economics, and global economics to the theme
"Economic and Technological Changes."

2. explain the significance of the military-industrial complex in the post-World
War II economy.

3. use excerpts from several federal laws regulating business to develop a chart
showing the growth of government regulation on American business.

4, use charts comparing membership in labor unions, circa 1945, circa 1970, circa
1990, and circa 2000 as the basis for evaluating the changing role of organized
labor in contemporary society.

5. use examples from the domestic economic programs of presidents Truman
through George W. Bush to make generalizations about the success or failure of
efforts to address the country's economic needs.

6. develop generalizations about the changes brought to American society by such
developments as mass production, the consumer society, geographic shifts of
economic development, key technological developments, and changes in the
workforce.

A-99


Students can:

1.

Theme 3

identify and relate Charles Bullfinch, Phyllis Wheatly, Noah Webster, John
Trumbull, Gilbert Stuart, Patience Wright, Charles Wilson Peale, and
Washington Irving to the theme "Gathering and Interaction of Peoples."

develop a generalization about efforts to establish a national culture during the
early republic and support it with specifics from the works of artists and writers
cited in #1 above.

describe the changes in attitude toward manumission of slaves after the
Revolution; explain the effect on African Americans; and comment on how they
responded.

generalize about the influence of the mission system on life in the southwest
and/or west.

describe the roles of women in the early republic.

interpret a graph of the various ethnic groups represented in the colonial
population, circa 1775.

explain the provisions and importance of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.
identify the reasons for the 1807 removal of the right of women and free African

Americans to vote in New Jersey after reading an excerpt from an editorial of
the time in a Democratic-Republican newspaper.

e How did colonial economic growth interact with the British mercantile and Native
American economic systems?

e What economic factors contributed to the colonists’ decision to declare their
independence?

e What were the effects of the Revolution on economic development and institutions?

e What ideas, values, and practices caused the Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian debate over the
formation and direction of the nation’s economy and what were the results?

A-74


e What primary sources exemplify the key ideas and issues of this period (e.g., Gettysburg
Address, Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, “Battle Hymn
of the Republic,” “Bonnie Blue Flag,” and “Dixie”)?

e How was the U.S. Constitution changed after the Civil War (e.g., 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments)? How did the changes affect democratic ideas and practices and contribute
to achieving democratic ideals? How did decisions by the Supreme Court undermine the
effectiveness of these amendments?

« What were the goals of radical and moderate reconstructionists? How and why did they
succeed and fail?

Students can:
1. define the terms, "Union" and "Confederacy" in relation to the Civil War.

2. identify and explain the importance of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses
S. Grant, and Clara Barton.

3. identify the President that freed the slaves.
4. identify major causes of the Civil War.

5. identify which side won the Civil War.

6. explain the role or lack of role of [name of student's state] in the Civil War.
7. name at least three Union states.
8. name at least three Confederate states.

Theme 2

e How did the social and cultural traditions of the pre-war North and South differ?
e What was the role of religion in the debate over slavery?

e In what ways did the Civil War and Reconstruction challenge earlier ideas and alter
relations between races, classes, and genders?

« What individuals and groups played significant roles in the war and Reconstruction?

e How did postbellum black communities differ from slave and antebellum free black
communities?

A-15