World and U.S. History: Content Knowledge

Transcription

1 The Praxis Study Companion World and U.S. History: Content Knowledge

2 Welcome to the Praxis Study Companion Welcome to the Praxis Study Companion Prepare to Show What You Know You have been working to acquire the knowledge and skills you need for your teaching career. Now you are ready to demonstrate your abilities by taking a Praxis test. Using The Praxis Series Study Companion is a smart way to prepare for the test so you can do your best on test day. This guide can help keep you on track and make the most efficient use of your study time. The Study Companion contains practical information and helpful tools, including: An overview of the Praxis tests Specific information on the Praxis test you are taking A template study plan Study topics Practice questions and explanations of correct answers Test-taking tips and strategies Frequently asked questions Links to more detailed information So where should you start? Begin by reviewing this guide in its entirety and note those sections that you need to revisit. Then you can create your own personalized study plan and schedule based on your individual needs and how much time you have before test day. Keep in mind that study habits are individual. There are many different ways to successfully prepare for your test. Some people study better on their own, while others prefer a group dynamic. You may have more energy early in the day, but another test taker may concentrate better in the evening. So use this guide to develop the approach that works best for you. Your teaching career begins with preparation. Good luck! Know What to Expect Which tests should I take? Each state or agency that uses the Praxis tests sets its own requirements for which test or tests you must take for the teaching area you wish to pursue. Before you register for a test, confirm your state or agency s testing requirements at How are the Praxis tests given? Praxis tests are given on computer. Other formats are available for test takers approved for accommodations (see page 36). 2

3 Welcome to the Praxis Study Companion What should I expect when taking the test on computer? When taking the test on computer, you can expect to be asked to provide proper identification at the test center. Once admitted, you will be given the opportunity to learn how the computer interface works (how to answer questions, how to skip questions, how to go back to questions you skipped, etc.) before the testing time begins. Watch the What to Expect on Test Day video to see what the experience is like. Where and when are the Praxis tests offered? You can select the test center that is most convenient for you. The Praxis tests are administered through an international network of test centers, which includes Prometric Testing Centers, some universities, and other locations throughout the world. Testing schedules may differ, so see the Praxis Web site for more detailed test registration information at www. ets.org/praxis/register. 3

4 Table of Contents Table of Contents The Praxis Study Companion guides you through the 10 steps to success 1. Learn About Your Test...5 Learn about the specific test you will be taking 2. Familiarize Yourself with Test Questions Become comfortable with the types of questions you ll find on the Praxis tests 3. Practice with Sample Test Questions Answer practice questions and find explanations for correct answers 4. Determine Your Strategy for Success Set clear goals and deadlines so your test preparation is focused and efficient 5. Develop Your Study Plan Develop a personalized study plan and schedule 6. Review Smart Tips for Success Follow test-taking tips developed by experts 7. Check on Testing Accommodations See if you qualify for accommodations that may make it easier to take the Praxis test 8. Do Your Best on Test Day Get ready for test day so you will be calm and confident 9. Understand Your Scores Understand how tests are scored and how to interpret your test scores Appendix: Other Questions You May Have

5 Step 1: Learn About Your Test 1. Learn About Your Test Learn about the specific test you will be taking World and U.S. History: Content Knowledge (5941) Test Name Test Code 5941 Time Number of Questions 120 Format Test Delivery Test at a Glance World and U.S. History: Content Knowledge 2 hours Selected-response questions Computer delivered Approximate Approximate Content Categories Number of Percentage of Questions Examination IV III I II I. World History to 1450 C.E % II. World History: 1450 C.E. to the Present 30 25% III. United States History to % IV. United States History: 1877 to the Present 30 25% V. Historical Thinking Skills* 30* 25%* * Includes historical thinking skills questions in Categories I IV About This Test The World and U.S. History: Content Knowledge test is for prospective teachers of world and United States history in secondary schools. The 120 selected-response questions assess knowledge of historical facts and processes across the content areas of world and United States history. Approximately 50 percent of the questions deal with world history, and approximately 50 percent of the questions deal with United States history. Some questions will also assess understanding of historical thinking skills, such as knowing how to formulate historical questions, knowing how to evaluate primary and secondary sources, knowing how to construct and support historical arguments, knowing how to make connections across time and geography, knowing how to assess historical causation, and knowing how to place historical events and processes in a global context. Some questions are based on interpreting material such as written passages, maps, charts, graphs, tables, cartoons, diagrams, and/or photographs. The 120 questions are equally weighted. Questions are selected-response with four options and written according to ETS guidelines. This test may contain some questions that will not count toward your score. 5

6 Step 1: Learn About Your Test Topics Covered Note: The outline below and the test use the chronological designations B.C.E. (before the common era) and C.E. (common era). These labels correspond to B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno Domini), which are used in some world history textbooks. PERCENTAGES REFER TO PERCENT OF WHOLE TEST I. World History to 1450 C.E. (25%) A. World geography and how global climatic and environmental factors shape human history (1 3%) 1. Identify the location of major historical events 2. Demonstrate knowledge of how global climatic and environmental factors shaped human history B. The characteristics and structures of hunting-and-gathering societies and the shift that occurred with the Neolithic Revolution, circa 8000 B.C.E. (1 5%) 1. Understand the major differences between hunting-and-gathering societies and agricultural societies 2. Identify the Neolithic Revolution and its consequences C. The formation, organization, and significance of early river valley civilizations in the period B.C.E., and in the Americas in the period 2000 B.C.E C.E. (1 8%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the formation, organization, and significance of early river valley civilizations in Afro-Eurasia in the period B.C.E. 2. Demonstrate understanding of the formation, organization, and significance of early civilizations in the Americas in the period 2000 B.C.E C.E. 3. Compare and contrast the early river valley civilizations in Afro-Eurasia in the period B.C.E. and early civilizations in the Americas in the period 2000 B.C.E C.E. D. The formation, organization, significance of, and interactions among the civilizations of Greece, Rome, Persia, India, and China in the period 1000 B.C.E. 500 C.E. (1 8%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the formation, organization and significance of the civilizations of Greece, Rome, Persia, India, and China in the period 1000 B.C.E. 500 C.E. 2. Demonstrate understanding of the interactions among the civilizations of Greece, Rome, Persia, India, and China in the period 1000 B.C.E. 500 C.E. 3. Compare and contrast the civilizations of Greece, Rome, Persia, India, and China in the period 1000 B.C.E. 500 C.E. E. The origin, tenets, development, significance, and spread of Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (1 8%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the main beliefs of Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam 2. Demonstrate understanding of where, how, and when Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam originated and developed 3. Demonstrate understanding of how and why major religions spread F. The reasons for the collapses of empires (e.g., Han China, Western Roman Empire, Gupta) in the period C.E. (1 5%) 1. Identify the reasons for the collapse of empires (e.g., Han China, Western Roman Empire, Gupta) in the period C.E. 2. Compare and contrast the reasons for the collapse of empires (e.g., Han China, Western Roman Empire, Gupta) in the period C.E. 6

7 Step 1: Learn About Your Test G. The formation of new empires and political systems in the period C.E. (1 5%) 1. Identify major factors in the formation of new empires and political systems in the period C.E. 2. Compare and contrast new empires and political systems in the period C.E. H. How the spread of Islam affected political, social, and economic systems in the period C.E. (1 5%) 1. Identify how the spread of Islam affected various political, social, and economic systems in the period C.E. 2. Compare and contrast the effects of the spread of Islam in various parts of the world in the period C.E. I. The economic, political, and cultural awakenings in medieval Europe in the period C.E. and their global impacts (1 8%) 1. Identify the major economic changes in Europe in the period C.E. and their global impact 2. Identify the political changes in Europe in the period C.E. and their global impact 3. Identify major examples of the cultural awakenings in Europe in the period C.E. and their global impact J. The emergence, function, and effects of interregional networks (e.g., the Silk Roads, Mediterranean Sea trade, trans- Saharan trade) in the period C.E. (1 5%) 1. Identify the new and existing interregional networks (e.g., the Silk Roads, Mediterranean Sea trade, trans-saharan trade) in the period C.E. 2. Understand the function and effects of the various interregional networks in the period C.E. II. World History 1450 C.E. to the Present (25%) A. European exploration and colonization in terms of global political competition, trade, technology, and interaction in the period C.E. (1 5%) 1. Understand political competition, trade, technology, and global interaction as factors in European exploration and colonization in the period C.E. 2. Compare and contrast strategies of European exploration and colonization in the period C.E. B. The development of major political entities in various parts of the world in the period C.E. (e.g., Spain, Russia, Manchu China) (1 5%) 1. Understand how, where, and when major political entities developed in the period C.E. (e.g., Spain, Russia, Manchu China) 2. Understand how major political entities interacted in the period C.E. C. The main characteristics and global economic, social, and cultural effects of the Atlantic, trans-saharan, and East African slave trade circa C.E. (1 5%) 1. Identify the main characteristics of the Atlantic, trans-saharan, and East African slave trade circa C.E. 2. Identify the global economic, social, and cultural effects of the Atlantic, trans-saharan, and East African slave trade circa C.E. D. The characteristics and significance of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution (1 5%) 1. Identify the main characteristics of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution 2. Understand the global significance of the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and Scientific Revolution 7

8 Step 1: Learn About Your Test E. The causes, major events, and effects of the Industrial Revolution (1 5%) 1. Identify the causes and major events of the Industrial Revolution, Understand the global effects of the Industrial Revolution (e.g., effects on the environment, global trade, and labor) F. The causes, major events, and effects of political revolutions, unifications, and independence movements in the period (e.g., United States, Latin America, China) (1 5%) 1. Identify the causes, major events, and effects of political revolutions, unifications, and independence movements in the period Compare and contrast political revolutions, unifications, and independence movements worldwide in the period G. The causes, major events, and indigenous reactions to Western nationalism, imperialism, and colonization in the period (1 5%) 1. Identify causes and major events of nationalism, imperialism, and colonization in the period Identify indigenous reactions to imperialism and colonization in the period H. The nature, development, and policies of totalitarian states in the twentieth century (e.g., Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Communist China) (1 5%) 1. Understand the nature, development, and actions of totalitarian states in the twentieth century (e.g., Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Communist China) 2. Compare and contrast totalitarian states in the twentieth century I. The main causes, major events, and effects of the First and Second World Wars (1 9%) 1. Identify the major events of the First and Second World Wars 2. Understand the main causes and effects of the First and Second World Wars 3. Compare and contrast the First and Second World Wars J. The role of international organizations and the evolution of regional economic blocs in the twentieth century (e.g., United Nations, North American Free Trade Agreement, European Union) (1 3%) 1. Identify the origins and major features of international organizations and regional economic blocs in the twentieth century (e.g., United Nations, North American Free Trade Agreement, European Union) K. The main causes, major events, and effects of Asian and African decolonization and nationalist movements in the period 1890s 1990s (e.g., India, Algeria, South Africa) (1 5%) 1. Identify the major events of Asian and African decolonization and nationalist movements in the period 1890s 1990s (e.g., India, Algeria, South Africa) 2. Understand the main causes and effects of Asian and African decolonization and nationalist movements in the period 1890s 1990s (e.g., India, Algeria, South Africa) L. The political, economic, and cultural changes events in the Middle East in the twentieth century (1 5%) 1. Identify the political, economic, and cultural changes and major events in the Middle East in the twentieth century (e.g., fall of the Ottoman Empire, Arab-Israeli conflict, rise of OPEC) 2. Identify the global effects of political, economic, and cultural changes in the Middle East in the twentieth century M. The main causes, major events, and global effects of the Cold War (e.g., North Korea, Cuba, Congo) in the period (1 5%) 1. Identify the major events of the Cold War in the period Understand the main causes and global effects of the Cold War N. The changing economic, social, and political roles of women in various parts of the world since the nineteenth century (1 3%) 1. Identify women s changing economic, social, and political roles since the nineteenth century 8

9 Step 1: Learn About Your Test O. The causes and global effects of the collapse of communism in Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union (1 5%) 1. Identify the causes of the collapse of communism in Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union 2. Understand the global effects of the collapse of communism in Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union P. The emergence of new types of political and human rights movements in various parts of the world in the period from 1945 to the present (1 3%) 1. Identify new political and human rights movements that emerged from 1945 to the present (e.g., environmentalism, antiapartheid) Q. The global economic and technological changes in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries (e.g., new patterns of migration, transnational corporations, global popular culture) (1 3%) 1. Identify global technological and economic changes in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries R. Major genocides of the twentieth century (e.g., the Holocaust, Soviet mass murders, Rwanda) (1 5%) 1. Identify genocides in the twentieth century (e.g., the Holocaust, Soviet mass murders, Rwanda) 2. Understand the causes and effects of genocides in the twentieth century III. United States History to 1877 (25%) A. North American geography, peoples, and cultures prior to European colonization (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate knowledge of North America s location in the world and its major rivers, lakes, and land features 2. Demonstrate knowledge of the political, economic, social, and cultural life of Native American peoples prior to European contact B. The interactions between humans and the environment throughout North American history (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the ways in which groups and individuals have interacted with the environment throughout North American history 2. Compare and contrast land use and resource allocation by different groups throughout North American history C. The reasons European colonies in North America were founded and how they developed (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the reasons European powers (e.g., Spain, France, the Netherlands) founded colonies in North America 2. Demonstrate understanding of how European colonies in North America developed D. How European imperial and political conflicts and indigenous interests shaped the development of the North American colonies (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the patterns of interaction between European powers and Native American peoples (e.g., fur trade, Metacom s War) 2. Demonstrate understanding of how European imperial and political conflicts (e.g., the English Revolution, the Seven Years War) shaped the development of the North American colonies E. The political, social, economic, and cultural relationships between Europeans, Africans, and American Indians in North America during the colonial period (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the political, social, economic, and cultural relationships between Europeans, Africans, and American Indians in North America during the colonial period 9

10 Step 1: Learn About Your Test F. Regional differences in social structures (e.g., gender roles, family structure, migration patterns) and economic developments (e.g., labor systems, mercantilism) in colonial America (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of social structures (e.g., gender roles, family structure, migration patterns) and economic developments (e.g., labor systems, mercantilism) in colonial America 2. Compare and contrast regional differences in social structures and economic developments in colonial America G. The economic, social, and cultural effects of slavery in the British American colonies and in the United States (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the economic, social, and cultural effects of slavery in the British American colonies and in the United States 2. Demonstrate knowledge of the experiences of free and enslaved people of African origin in the North American colonies and the United States H. The major causes and events of the American Revolution (1 4%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the major causes, events, and results of the American Revolution I. The successes and failures of the Articles of Confederation and the context that led to the writing and adoption of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights (1 10%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the successes and failures of the Articles of Confederation 2. Demonstrate understanding of the events leading to the adoption of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights 3. Demonstrate knowledge of the contents of the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights 4. Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution J. Major political developments in the United States from the 1790s until the Civil War (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the political development of the United States from the 1790s until the Civil War (e.g., inception and growth of political parties, decisions of the Marshall Court, Jacksonian democracy) 2. Demonstrate understanding of foreign policy issues in the United States from the 1790s until the Civil War (e.g., the War of 1812, Monroe Doctrine, Mexican-American War) K. The causes and effects of the territorial expansion of the United States in the nineteenth century (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes and effects of the territorial expansion of the United States in the nineteenth century (e.g., the Louisiana Purchase, Manifest Destiny) L. The market economy s emergence, development, and effects in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the market economy s emergence, development, and effects in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century 2. Demonstrate knowledge of the innovations that contributed to the development of commerce and manufacturing in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century (e.g., cotton gin, steamboat) M. The causes and effects of reform movements and religious movements in the antebellum United States (e.g., women s rights, abolition of slavery, temperance) (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes and effects of religious and reform movements in the antebellum United States (e.g., the Second Great Awakening, abolition of slavery, women s rights) 10

11 Step 1: Learn About Your Test N. The growth of nineteenth-century sectionalism, the origins of the Civil War, and the history of the Civil War and Reconstruction (1 8%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the growth of nineteenth-century sectionalism 2. Demonstrate understanding of the major causes, events, and results of the Civil War 3. Demonstrate understanding of the political, social, and economic history of Reconstruction IV. United States History 1877 to the Present (25%) A. How and why industrialization, urbanization, and immigration shaped the development of the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of how and why industrialization and urbanization shaped the development of the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (e.g., the transcontinental railroads, growth of big business, the labor movement) 2. Demonstrate understanding of how and why immigration shaped the development of the United States, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries B. Contrasting urban development and rural development in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1 3%) 1. Identify distinctive features of urban development and rural development in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries C. The global patterns and effects of United States imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the global patterns and effects of United States imperialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (e.g., the Open Door policy, the Spanish-American War) D. Regional developments in the United States (e.g., Jim Crow laws, American Indian policies) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of regional developments in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (e.g., Jim Crow laws, American Indian policies) E. The changes in the politics, government, economy, and society of the United States resulting from Gilded Age and Progressive Era reforms (1 5%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the political, social, and cultural history of the Gilded Age (e.g., political machines, social Darwinism, Populism) 2. Demonstrate understanding of changes in the politics, government, economy, and society of the United States resulting from Progressive Era reforms (e.g., trust-busting, settlement houses, Prohibition) F. The origins, major events, and development of the woman suffrage movement in the United States (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the development and major events of the woman suffrage movement in the United States G. The causes, major events, and effects both at home and abroad of United States participation in the First World War (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes, major events, and effects of United States participation in the First World War both abroad and within the United States H. The political, social, economic, and cultural changes that occurred in the United States in the 1920s (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the political, social, economic, and cultural changes that occurred in the United States in the 1920s I. The causes and effects of the Great Depression (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes and effects of the Great Depression 11

12 Step 1: Learn About Your Test J. The goals and programs of the New Deal and their effect on government, politics, the economy, and society (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the goals and programs of the New Deal 2. Demonstrate understanding of the effect of New Deal programs on government, politics, the economy, and society K. The causes, major events, and effects both at home and abroad of United States participation in the Second World War (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes, major events, and effects of United States participation in the Second World War both abroad and within the United States L. The causes and effects of immigration and internal migration in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (e.g., African American Great Migration, growth of the Sunbelt, expansion of Hispanic immigration) (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes and effects of immigration and internal migration in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries (e.g., African American Great Migration, growth of the Sunbelt, expansion of Hispanic immigration) M. The origins, development, and effects of the Cold War both abroad and domestically (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the origins, development, and effects of the Cold War both abroad (e.g., containment, the Vietnam War) and within the United States (e.g., anticommunism, the military-industrial complex) N. The causes, major events, and effects of the movements for civil rights by African Americans and other groups (e.g., women, Hispanics, American Indians) in the twentieth century (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of the causes, major events, and effects of the movements for civil rights by African Americans and other groups (e.g., women, Hispanics, American Indians) in the twentieth century O. The social changes in the United States from the 1940s to the 1970s (e.g., the baby boom, counterculture, the sexual revolution) (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of social changes in the United States from the 1940s to the 1970s (e.g., the baby boom, counterculture, the sexual revolution) P. Major social policy initiatives and political movements in the United States since the Second World War (e.g., the Great Society, the Reagan Revolution) (1 3%) 1. Identify major social policy initiatives and political movements in the United States since the Second World War (e.g., the Great Society, the Reagan Revolution) 2. Compare and contrast major social policy initiatives and political movements in the United States since the Second World War Q. The global political, economic, social, and technological changes in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and their effects on the United States (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate understanding of how global political, economic, social, and technological changes in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries have affected domestic developments in the United States R. The changing role of the United States in the post Cold War world (1 3%) 1. Demonstrate knowledge of the changing role of the United States in the post-cold War world 12

13 Step 1: Learn About Your Test V. Historical Thinking Skills (25%) Questions cross-classified with content categories I-IV. A. Know how to formulate historical questions. (1 7%) Cross-classification with content area. 1. Identify historical questions (e.g., questions that can be researched, that call for analysis and interpretation, that can be supported with evidence) 2. Distinguish different levels of historical understanding (e.g., recall, chronology, evaluation) B. Know how to locate, identify, and differentiate between primary and secondary sources. (1 7%) Crossclassification with content area. 1. Identify the main characteristics of primary sources and secondary sources 2. Differentiate between primary and secondary sources C. Know how to evaluate a variety of sources for analyzing people s values, motivations, perspectives, and behaviors in various historical contexts. (1 10%) Cross-classification with content area. 1. Evaluate historical sources in terms of main idea, speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, point of view, bias, and argument 2. Draw inferences and conclusions and make generalizations using historical sources 3. Analyze and contextualize people s values, motivations, perspectives, and behaviors using historical sources D. Know how to write a thesis and develop historical arguments by using primary and secondary sources. (1 10%) Crossclassification with content area. 1. Identify a valid historical thesis statement 2. Evaluate how evidence supports or undermines historical arguments 3. Apply primary and secondary sources to relevant historical arguments and theses E. Know how to make connections between historical developments across time and geography, including comparing and contrasting, determining cause and effect, analyzing change over time, and putting events in global context. (1 13%) Cross-classification with content area. 1. Compare and contrast historical developments across time and geography 2. Identify and evaluate causes and effects 3. Identify patterns of continuity and change over time 4. Place historical events and processes in local, national, and global context 13

14 Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with Test Questions 2. Familiarize Yourself with Test Questions Become comfortable with the types of questions you ll find on the Praxis tests The Praxis Series assessments include a variety of question types: constructed response (for which you write a response of your own); selected response, for which you select one or more answers from a list of choices or make another kind of selection (e.g., by clicking on a sentence in a text or by clicking on part of a graphic); and numeric entry, for which you enter a numeric value in an answer field. You may be familiar with these question formats from taking other standardized tests. If not, familiarize yourself with them so you don t spend time during the test figuring out how to answer them. Understanding Computer-Delivered Questions Questions on computer-delivered tests are interactive in the sense that you answer by selecting an option or entering text on the screen. If you see a format you are not familiar with, read the directions carefully. The directions always give clear instructions on how you are expected to respond. For most questions, you respond by clicking an oval to select a single answer from a list of options. However, interactive question types may also ask you to respond by: Clicking more than one oval to select answers from a list of options. Typing in an entry box. When the answer is a number, you may be asked to enter a numerical answer. Some questions may have more than one place to enter a response. Clicking check boxes. You may be asked to click check boxes instead of an oval when more than one choice within a set of answers can be selected. Clicking parts of a graphic. In some questions, you will select your answers by clicking on a location (or locations) on a graphic such as a map or chart, as opposed to choosing your answer from a list. Clicking on sentences. In questions with reading passages, you may be asked to choose your answers by clicking on a sentence (or sentences) within the reading passage. Dragging and dropping answer choices into targets on the screen. You may be asked to select answers from a list of options and drag your answers to the appropriate location in a table, paragraph of text or graphic. Selecting options from a drop-down menu. You may be asked to choose answers by selecting options from a drop-down menu (e.g., to complete a sentence). Remember that with every question you will get clear instructions. Perhaps the best way to understand computer-delivered questions is to view the Computer-delivered Testing Demonstration on the Praxis Web site to learn how a computer-delivered test works and see examples of some types of questions you may encounter. 14

15 Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with Test Questions Understanding Selected-Response Questions Many selected-response questions begin with the phrase which of the following. Take a look at this example: Which of the following is a flavor made from beans? Strawberry Cherry Vanilla Mint How would you answer this question? All of the answer choices are flavors. Your job is to decide which of the flavors is the one made from beans. Try following these steps to select the correct answer. 1) Limit your answer to the choices given. You may know that chocolate and coffee are also flavors made from beans, but they are not listed. Rather than thinking of other possible answers, focus only on the choices given ( which of the following ). 2) Eliminate incorrect answers. You may know that strawberry and cherry flavors are made from fruit and that mint flavor is made from a plant. That leaves vanilla as the only possible answer. 3) Verify your answer. You can substitute vanilla for the phrase which of the following and turn the question into this statement: Vanilla is a flavor made from beans. This will help you be sure that your answer is correct. If you re still uncertain, try substituting the other choices to see if they make sense. You may want to use this technique as you answer selected-response questions on the practice tests. Try a more challenging example The vanilla bean question is pretty straightforward, but you ll find that more challenging questions have a similar structure. For example: Entries in outlines are generally arranged according to which of the following relationships of ideas? Literal and inferential Concrete and abstract Linear and recursive Main and subordinate You ll notice that this example also contains the phrase which of the following. This phrase helps you determine that your answer will be a relationship of ideas from the choices provided. You are supposed to find the choice that describes how entries, or ideas, in outlines are related. Sometimes it helps to put the question in your own words. Here, you could paraphrase the question in this way: How are outlines usually organized? Since the ideas in outlines usually appear as main ideas and subordinate ideas, the answer is. 15

16 Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with Test Questions QUICK TIP: Don t be intimidated by words you may not understand. It might be easy to be thrown by words like recursive or inferential. Read carefully to understand the question and look for an answer that fits. An outline is something you are probably familiar with and expect to teach to your students. So slow down, and use what you know. Watch out for selected-response questions containing NOT, LEAST, and EXCEPT This type of question asks you to select the choice that does not fit. You must be very careful because it is easy to forget that you are selecting the negative. This question type is used in situations in which there are several good solutions or ways to approach something, but also a clearly wrong way. How to approach questions about graphs, tables, or reading passages When answering questions about graphs, tables, or reading passages, provide only the information that the questions ask for. In the case of a map or graph, you might want to read the questions first, and then look at the map or graph. In the case of a long reading passage, you might want to go ahead and read the passage first, noting places you think are important, and then answer the questions. Again, the important thing is to be sure you answer the questions as they refer to the material presented. So read the questions carefully. How to approach unfamiliar formats New question formats are developed from time to time to find new ways of assessing knowledge. Tests may include audio and video components, such as a movie clip or animation, instead of a map or reading passage. Other tests may allow you to zoom in on details in a graphic or picture. Tests may also include interactive questions. These questions take advantage of technology to assess knowledge and skills in ways that standard selected-response questions cannot. If you see a format you are not familiar with, read the directions carefully. The directions always give clear instructions on how you are expected to respond. QUICK TIP: Don t make the questions more difficult than they are. Don t read for hidden meanings or tricks. There are no trick questions on Praxis tests. They are intended to be serious, straightforward tests of your knowledge. Understanding Constructed-Response Questions Constructed-response questions require you to demonstrate your knowledge in a subject area by creating your own response to particular topics. Essays and short-answer questions are types of constructed-response questions. For example, an essay question might present you with a topic and ask you to discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated. You must support your position with specific reasons and examples from your own experience, observations, or reading. Take a look at a few sample essay topics: Celebrities have a tremendous influence on the young, and for that reason, they have a responsibility to act as role models. We are constantly bombarded by advertisements on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines, on highway signs, and the sides of buses. They have become too pervasive. It s time to put limits on advertising. Advances in computer technology have made the classroom unnecessary, since students and teachers are able to communicate with one another from computer terminals at home or at work. 16

17 Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with Test Questions Keep these things in mind when you respond to a constructed-response question 1) Answer the question accurately. Analyze what each part of the question is asking you to do. If the question asks you to describe or discuss, you should provide more than just a list. 2) Answer the question completely. If a question asks you to do three distinct things in your response, you should cover all three things for the best score. Otherwise, no matter how well you write, you will not be awarded full credit. 3) Answer the question that is asked. Do not change the question or challenge the basis of the question. You will receive no credit or a low score if you answer another question or if you state, for example, that there is no possible answer. 4) Give a thorough and detailed response. You must demonstrate that you have a thorough understanding of the subject matter. However, your response should be straightforward and not filled with unnecessary information. 5) Reread your response. Check that you have written what you thought you wrote. Be sure not to leave sentences unfinished or omit clarifying information. QUICK TIP: You may find that it helps to take notes on scratch paper so that you don t miss any details. Then you ll be sure to have all the information you need to answer the question. For tests that have constructed-response questions, more detailed information can be found in Understanding Constructed-Response Questions on page

18 Step 3: Practice with Sample Test Questions 3. Practice with Sample Test Questions Answer practice questions and find explanations for correct answers Sample Test Questions This test is available via computer delivery. To illustrate what a computer-delivered test looks like, the following sample question shows an actual screen used in a computer-delivered test. For the purposes of this guide, sample questions are provided as they would appear in a paper-delivered test. 18

19 Step 3: Practice with Sample Test Questions The sample questions that follow illustrate the types of selected-response questions on the test. They are not, however, representative of the entire scope of the test in either content or difficulty. Answers with explanations follow the questions. Directions: Each of the questions or incomplete statements below is followed by four suggested answers or completions. Select the one that is best in each case. 1. The Phoenicians are best known for their achievements in which of the following areas? Weapons technology Trade and exploration Literature Agriculture 2. The shaded land area of the map above shows the region affected by bubonic plague conquests by the Russian monarchy greatest extent of Mongol control farthest spread of Buddhism 19

20 Step 3: Practice with Sample Test Questions 3. Man being... by nature free, equal, and independent, no one can be... subjected to the political power of another, without his consent. The statement above was most likely made by John Locke Edmund Burke Bishop Jacques Bossuet Adam Smith 4. Which of the following was a major result of Japan s Meiji restoration? Japan revived some aspects of feudal society. Japan granted Korea political and cultural autonomy. Japan sought alliances with Russia and China. Japan created a modern industrial economy. 5. In the period 1890 to 1914, the majority of immigrants to the United States came from which of the following? Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Russia Ireland, Japan, and India China, Brazil, and Scandinavia 6. Which of the following was the major result of the work of India s Muslim League in the 1940s? Unification of Indians across religious and ethnic lines to achieve independence from Great Britain A growing division between the Westernized upper middle class and the majority of Indians Partition of the independent subcontinent into Muslim Pakistan and a secular but predominantly Hindu India The initiation of Indian nationalists negotiations with Britain s wartime enemies of Germany and Japan 7. Which of the following caused the largest number of deaths among Native Americans in the colonial period? Diseases such as smallpox Enslavement by European settlers Famines caused by game depletion Problems caused by relocation 8. The Tea Act passed by Parliament in 1773 angered American colonists primarily because it gave the British East India Company a monopoly on the tea trade dramatically increased the price of tea hurt tea planters in the North American colonies by lowering prices decreased the supply of tea available in the North American colonies 9. Which of the following best summarizes the attitude of most delegates to the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787 toward the development of political parties? Parties would be beneficial to the growth of democracy. Parties would eventually return the country to dependence on Great Britain because they were suggestive of rule by monarchy. Parties would divide the country into hostile camps and would be disruptive to the conduct of political affairs. Parties would ensure that the delegates would control the government of the new nation. 10. Which of the following was the predominant trend in United States manufacturing in the mid-1800s? Manufacturing jobs were increasingly held by married women. Manufacturing increasingly shifted from small shops and households to factories. Manufacturing was increasingly done by slaves. Manufacturing increasingly relied on electricpowered machinery. 20

21 Step 3: Practice with Sample Test Questions 11. The admission of California into the Union as a free state in 1850 was hotly debated primarily because many slaveholders wanted to move there it disrupted the balance of power in the Senate Californians wanted slaves to work in the vineyards settlers in southwestern territories had already applied for admission as slave states 12. Which of the following United States programs provided money, supplies, and machinery to assist participating European countries in rebuilding after the Second World War? Truman Doctrine Atlantic Charter Point Four Program Marshall Plan 13. The transition to agriculture in Mesoamerica differed from the transition to agriculture in Southwest Asia in that the transition in Mesoamerica occurred much earlier than the transition in Southwest Asia was driven by political decisions made by Mesoamerican rulers, whereas the transition in Southwest Asia was driven by economic and demographic factors was not accompanied by the domestication of draft or pasture animals, whereas the transition in Southwest Asia was accompanied by the domestication of such animals did not involve the domestication of cereal grains, whereas the transition in Southwest Asia was based on the domestication of cereal grains 14. Which of the following was the underlying cause of the 1994 Rwandan genocide? The small size and limited powers of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda The ethnic, economic, and political rivalries between members of Rwanda s Hutu majority and Tutsi minority The territorial ambitions of Rwanda s neighboring states, which led them to intervene repeatedly in Rwandan affairs with the goal of destabilizing the country The religious divide between mostly Muslim northern Rwanda and mostly Christian southern Rwanda 15. During the Cold War the term Non-Aligned Movement referred to a group of countries that had rapidly developing economies based on technology and international finance, such as Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan avoided formal political or economic affiliation with either the Soviet or the Western bloc, such as India, Indonesia, and Egypt were former colonies with White elites who continued to govern after decolonization, such as Rhodesia and South Africa harbored foreign militant organizations and were ostracized by the Western bloc, such as Libya and Iran The political situation in Africa today is heartening and at the same time disturbing. It is heartening to see so many new flags hoisted in place of the old; it is disturbing to see so many countries of varying sizes and at different levels of development, weak and, in some instances, almost helpless.... The greatest contribution that Africa can make to the peace of the world is to... [create] a political union which will by its success, stand as an example to a divided world....we have to prove that greatness is not to be measured in stockpiles of atom bombs. Kwame Nkrumah, first president of Ghana, The ideas expressed by Kwame Nkrumah in the passage above are most representative of the ideology of Pan-Africanism the international socialist movement the anti-apartheid movement the liberation theology movement 21

22 Step 3: Practice with Sample Test Questions Let the working man and the employer make free arrangements, and in particular let them agree freely as to the wages; nevertheless, there exists a dictate of natural justice more imperious and ancient than any bargain between man and man, namely that the wages ought not be insufficient to support a frugal and well-behaved wage-earner.... [Employers] are reminded that, according to natural reason and Christian philosophy, working... is creditable, not shameful, to man, since it enables him to earn an honorable living. Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum, official pronouncement, Based on the excerpt above, it can be concluded that Pope Leo XIII s main purpose in Rerum Novarum was to argue that employers had an ethical and religious duty to treat their employees fairly propose strict government regulations of labor markets support the formation and growth of trade unions warn against the danger of a possible communist revolution, if workers conditions did not improve 18. During the eighth century C.E., which of the following pairs of empires competed for control of central Asia? The Byzantine Empire and Han China The Abbasid caliphate and Tang China The Mongol empire and Gupta India The Mughal empire and Sasanid Persia 19. President Lyndon Johnson s Great Society legislation was premised on a view of the role of the federal government in domestic policy that was most similar to that of Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt Richard Nixon Ronald Reagan 20. Which of the following best summarizes the key policy goals of the New Feminism movement of the 1970s? Defending traditional gender roles at home and in the workplace, and opposing the Equal Rights Amendment of 1972 Obtaining for women the rights to vote, own property, and engage in legal and business transactions Passing a legal prohibition of the sale of alcohol and limiting immigration Demanding equal pay for equal work and removing restrictions on women s reproductive rights 21. The construction of an extensive road network funded by the federal government under the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 changed the built form of metropolitan areas in the United States by encouraging the greater use of public transit for travel to work concentration of manufacturing in central cities shrinking of metropolitan areas in terms of the land area they occupied expansion of housing and jobs in suburbs 22. The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) overturned the judicial precedent that had allowed the teaching of evolution in public schools gender segregation in private schools and social clubs separate but equal public facilities for Black people and White people federal funding of local public schools and state universities 22