Social Sciences and History CLEP PDF

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Test InformationGuide:College-LevelExaminationProgram®

2011-12

Social Sciences andHistory

© 2011 The College Board. All rights reserved. College Board, College-Level ExaminationProgram, CLEP, and the acorn logo are registered trademarks of the College Board.

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CLEP TEST INFORMATIONGUIDE FOR SOCIAL SCIENCESAND HISTORY

History of CLEP

Since 1967, the College-Level Examination Program(CLEP®) has provided over six million people withthe opportunity to reach their educational goals.CLEP participants have received college credit forknowledge and expertise they have gained throughprior course work, independent study or work andlife experience.

Over the years, the CLEP examinations have evolvedto keep pace with changing curricula and pedagogy.Typically, the examinations represent material taughtin introductory college-level courses from all areasof the college curriculum. Students may choose from33 different subject areas in which to demonstratetheir mastery of college-level material.

Today, more than 2,900 colleges and universitiesrecognize and grant credit for CLEP.

Philosophy of CLEP

Promoting access to higher education is CLEP’sfoundation. CLEP offers students an opportunity todemonstrate and receive validation of theircollege-level skills and knowledge. Students whoachieve an appropriate score on a CLEP exam canenrich their college experience with higher-levelcourses in their major field of study, expand theirhorizons by taking a wider array of electives andavoid repetition of material that they already know.

CLEP Participants

CLEP’s test-taking population includes people of allages and walks of life. Traditional 18- to 22-year-oldstudents, adults just entering or returning to school,homeschoolers and international students who needto quantify their knowledge have all been assisted byCLEP in earning their college degrees. Currently,58 percent of CLEP’s test-takers are women and52 percent are 23 years of age or older.

For over 30 years, the College Board has worked toprovide government-funded credit-by-examopportunities to the military through CLEP. Militaryservice members are fully funded for their CLEP examfees. Exams are administered at military installations

worldwide through computer-based testing programsand also — in forward-deployed areas — throughpaper-based testing. Approximately one-third of allCLEP candidates are military service members.

2010-11 National CLEP Candidates by Age*

These data are based on 100% of CLEP test-takers who responded to this survey question during their examinations.

*

Under 189%

18-22 years39%

23-29 years22%

30 years and older30%

2010-11 National CLEP Candidates by Gender

41%

58%

Computer-Based CLEP Testing

The computer-based format of CLEP exams allowsfor a number of key features. These include:

• a variety of question formats that ensure effectiveassessment

• real-time score reporting that gives students andcolleges the ability to make immediate credit-granting decisions (except College Composition,which requires faculty scoring of essays twice amonth)

• a uniform recommended credit-granting score of50 for all exams

• “rights-only” scoring, which awards one point percorrect answer

• pretest questions that are not scored but providecurrent candidate population data and allow forrapid expansion of question pools

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CLEP Exam Development

Content development for each of the CLEP examsis directed by a test development committee. Eachcommittee is composed of faculty from a widevariety of institutions who are currently teachingthe relevant college undergraduate courses. Thecommittee members establish the test specificationsbased on feedback from a national curriculumsurvey; recommend credit-granting scores andstandards; develop and select test questions; reviewstatistical data and prepare descriptive material foruse by faculty (Test Information Guides) and studentsplanning to take the tests (CLEP Official Study Guide).

College faculty also participate in CLEP in otherways: they convene periodically as part ofstandard-setting panels to determine therecommended level of student competency for thegranting of college credit; they are called upon towrite exam questions and to review forms and theyhelp to ensure the continuing relevance of the CLEPexaminations through the curriculum surveys.

The Curriculum Survey

The first step in the construction of a CLEP exam isa curriculum survey. Its main purpose is to obtaininformation needed to develop test-contentspecifications that reflect the current collegecurriculum and to recognize anticipated changes inthe field. The surveys of college faculty areconducted in each subject every three to five yearsdepending on the discipline. Specifically, the surveygathers information on:

• the major content and skill areas covered in theequivalent course and the proportion of the coursedevoted to each area

• specific topics taught and the emphasis given toeach topic

• specific skills students are expected to acquire andthe relative emphasis given to them

• recent and anticipated changes in course content,skills and topics

• the primary textbooks and supplementary learningresources used

• titles and lengths of college courses thatcorrespond to the CLEP exam

The Committee

The College Board appoints standing committees ofcollege faculty for each test title in the CLEP battery.Committee members usually serve a term of up tofour years. Each committee works with contentspecialists at Educational Testing Service to establishtest specifications and develop the tests. Listedbelow are the current committee members and theirinstitutional affiliations.

Gary Elbow,Chair

Texas Tech University

Scott Ditloff University of the IncarnateWord

Juliet Elu Morehouse College

Thomas Zoumaras Truman State University

The primary objective of the committee is to producetests with good content validity. CLEP tests must berigorous and relevant to the discipline and theappropriate courses. While the consensus of thecommittee members is that this test has high contentvalidity for a typical introductory Social Sciencesand History course or curriculum, the validity of thecontent for a specific course or curriculum is bestdetermined locally through careful review andcomparison of test content, with instructional contentcovered in a particular course or curriculum.

The Committee Meeting

The exam is developed from a pool of questionswritten by committee members and outside questionwriters. All questions that will be scored on a CLEPexam have been pretested; those that pass a rigorousstatistical analysis for content relevance, difficulty,fairness and correlation with assessment criteria areadded to the pool. These questions are compiled bytest development specialists according to the testspecifications, and are presented to all the committeemembers for a final review. Before convening at atwo- or three-day committee meeting, the membershave a chance to review the test specifications andthe pool of questions available for possible inclusionin the exam.

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At the meeting, the committee determines whetherthe questions are appropriate for the test and, if not,whether they need to be reworked and pretestedagain to ensure that they are accurate andunambiguous. Finally, draft forms of the exam arereviewed to ensure comparable levels of difficulty andcontent specifications on the various test forms. Thecommittee is also responsible for writing anddeveloping pretest questions. These questions areadministered to candidates who take the examinationand provide valuable statistical feedback on studentperformance under operational conditions.

Once the questions are developed and pretested,tests are assembled in one of two ways. In somecases, test forms are assembled in their entirety.These forms are of comparable difficulty and aretherefore interchangeable. More commonly,questions are assembled into smaller,content-specific units called testlets, which can thenbe combined in different ways to create multiple testforms. This method allows many different forms tobe assembled from a pool of questions.

Test Specifications

Test content specifications are determined primarilythrough the curriculum survey, the expertise of thecommittee and test development specialists, therecommendations of appropriate councils andconferences, textbook reviews and other appropriatesources of information. Content specifications takeinto account:

• the purpose of the test

• the intended test-taker population

• the titles and descriptions of courses the test isdesigned to reflect

• the specific subject matter and abilities to be tested

• the length of the test, types of questions andinstructions to be used

Recommendation of the AmericanCouncil on Education (ACE)

The American Council on Education’s CollegeCredit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT)has evaluated CLEP processes and procedures for

developing, administering and scoring the exams.Effective July 2001, ACE recommended a uniformcredit-granting score of 50 across all subjects, withthe exception of four-semester language exams,which represents the performance of students whoearn a grade of C in the corresponding collegecourse.

The American Council on Education, the majorcoordinating body for all the nation’s higher educationinstitutions, seeks to provide leadership and a unifyingvoice on key higher education issues and to influencepublic policy through advocacy, research and programinitiatives. For more information, visit the ACECREDIT website at www.acenet.edu/acecredit.

CLEP Credit Granting

CLEP uses a common recommended credit-grantingscore of 50 for all CLEP exams.

This common credit-granting score does not mean,however, that the standards for all CLEP exams arethe same. When a new or revised version of a test isintroduced, the program conducts a standard settingto determine the recommended credit-granting score(“cut score”).

A standard-setting panel, consisting of 15–20 facultymembers from colleges and universities across thecountry who are currently teaching the course, isappointed to give its expert judgment on the level ofstudent performance that would be necessary toreceive college credit in the course. The panelreviews the test and test specifications and definesthe capabilities of the typical A student, as well asthose of the typical B, C and D students.* Expectedindividual student performance is rated by eachpanelist on each question. The combined average ofthe ratings is used to determine a recommendednumber of examination questions that must beanswered correctly to mirror classroom performanceof typical B and C students in the related course. Thepanel’s findings are given to members of the testdevelopment committee who, with the help ofEducational Testing Service and College Boardpsychometric specialists, make a final determinationon which raw scores are equivalent to B and C levelsof performance.

*Student performance for the language exams (French, German and Spanish)is defined only at the B and C levels.

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Social Sciences and History

Description of the Examination

The Social Sciences and History examination coversa wide range of topics from the social sciences andhistory disciplines. While the exam is based on nospecific course, its content is drawn from introductorycollege courses that cover United States history,Western civilization, world history, government/political science, geography, sociology, economics,psychology and anthropology.

The primary objective of the exam is to givecandidates the opportunity to demonstrate that theypossess the level of knowledge and understandingexpected of college students who meet a distributionor general education requirement in the socialsciences/history areas.

The Social Sciences and History examination containsapproximately 120 questions to be answered in90 minutes. Some of them are pretest questions thatwill not be scored. Any time candidates spend ontutorials and providing personal information is inaddition to the actual testing time.

Note: This examination uses the chronologicaldesignations B.C.E. (before the common era) andC.E. (common era). These labels correspond toB.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (anno Domini), whichare used in some textbooks.

Knowledge and Skills Required

The Social Sciences and History examinationrequires candidates to demonstrate one or moreof the following abilities.

• Familiarity with terminology, facts, conventions,methodology, concepts, principles,generalizations and theories

• Ability to understand, interpret and analyzegraphic, pictorial and written material

• Ability to apply abstractions to particulars andto apply hypotheses, concepts, theories andprinciples to given data

The content of the exam is drawn from the followingdisciplines. The percentages next to the maindisciplines indicate the approximate percentage ofexam questions on that topic.

40% History

Requires general knowledge andunderstanding of time- and place-specifichuman experiences. Topics covered includepolitical, diplomatic, social, economic,intellectual and cultural material.

17% United States HistoryCovers the colonial period, theAmerican Revolution, the earlyrepublic, the Civil War andReconstruction, industrialization, theProgressive Era, the First World War,the 1920s, the Great Depression andthe New Deal, the Second WorldWar, the 1950s, the Cold War, socialconflict — the 1960s and 1970s, thelate twentieth century

15% Western CivilizationCovers ancient Western Asia, Egypt,Greece and Rome as well asmedieval Europe and modernEurope, including its expansion andoutposts in other parts of the world

8% World HistoryCovers Africa, Asia, Australia,Europe, North America and SouthAmerica from prehistory to thepresent, including global themes andinteractions

13% Government/Political Science, includingComparative politicsInternational relationsMethodsUnited States institutionsVoting and political behavior

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S O C I A L S C I E N C E S A N D H I S T O R Y

11% Geography, includingCartographic methodsCultural geographyPhysical geographyPopulationRegional geographySpatial interaction

10% Economics, includingEconomic measurementsInternational tradeMajor theorists and schoolsMonetary and fiscal policyProduct marketsResource marketsScarcity, choice and cost

10% Psychology, includingAggressionBiopsychologyConformityGroup processMajor theorists and schoolsMethodsPerformancePersonalitySocialization

10% Sociology, includingDemographyDevianceFamilyInteractionMajor theorists and schoolsMethodsSocial changeSocial organizationSocial stratificationSocial theory

6% Anthropology, includingCultural anthropologyEthnographyMajor theorists and schoolsMethodsPaleoanthropology

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Sample Test Questions

The following sample questions do not appear onan actual CLEP examination. They are intendedto give potential test-takers an indication of theformat and difficulty level of the examination andto provide content for practice and review. Knowingthe correct answers to all of the sample questions isnot a guarantee of satisfactory performance on theexam.

Directions: Each of the questions or incompletestatements below is followed by five suggestedanswers or completions. Select the one that is bestin each case.

1. Prior to the campaign of 1828, most candidatesfor president of the United States werenominated by

(A) state legislatures(B) the electoral college(C) national party conventions(D) state primary elections(E) party leaders in Congress

2. Which of the following best describes the impactof Spanish colonization on the indigenouspeoples of Central and South America in thesixteenth and early seventeenth centuries?

(A) Their economic well-being was improved bythe wealth they produced at the direction ofthe Spanish ruler.

(B) They kept their own political system andculture, which coexisted with that of theSpanish colonial system.

(C) They migrated in large numbers to Spain.(D) Their system of religious beliefs and

practices was unaffected.(E) Their populations decreased dramatically as

a result of contact with the Spanish.

3. An individual who believes that “government isbest which governs not at all” favors

(A) anarchy(B) tyranny(C) monarchy(D) oligarchy(E) democracy

4. Which of the following statements concerningthe process of socialization is true?

(A) In the upbringing of a child, the agenciesof socialization tend to function togetherharmoniously.

(B) In a modern society, the individual issubjected to many diverse socializinginfluences.

(C) In a modern society, the media have littleimpact on the socialization of children.

(D) In a traditional society, there are nosocializing agencies.

(E) In a traditional society, socializinginfluences are likely to be in conflict.

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5. As depicted above, the Kurds could be describedas which of the following?

(A) Nation-state(B) Perforated state(C) Multinational state(D) Stateless nation(E) Fragmented state

6. Which of the following statements about theconcept of charisma is correct?

(A) It is possible only in the absence oflegitimate authority.

(B) It involves a basically political appeal.(C) It rests on the devotion of followers to

an individual with exceptional qualities.(D) It is an inherited personality trait.(E) It is a prerequisite for high office in

traditional societies.

7. A traveler going from point 1 to point 2 onthe map above would experience a climaticchange from

(A) humid continental to desert(B) humid subtropical to Mediterranean(C) desert to tropical rain forest(D) tropical wet to Mediterranean(E) Mediterranean to humid continental

8. In general, cultures in which a belief in ancestralspirits exists regard such beings as

(A) residing in heaven(B) responsible for natural disasters(C) unable to communicate directly with

the living(D) beyond the spiritual reach of the living(E) retaining an active membership in the

society

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9. “To industry and frugality I owe the earlyeasiness of my circumstances and the acquisitionof my fortune with all that knowledge that hasenabled me to be a useful citizen.”

The statement above is most characteristic ofwhich of the following?

(A) Benjamin Franklin(B) Ralph Waldo Emerson(C) Henry David Thoreau(D) Samuel Gompers(E) Thomas Jefferson

10. One of the fundamental changes that took placein the twentieth century was a gradual

(A) increase in manufacturing, as opposed toservices, in developed nations

(B) increase in economic interdependence(C) decrease in the pressure of world

population on economic resources(D) decline in world trade(E) decline in nationalistic feelings among

peoples of the Eastern Hemisphere

11. A person who lived in the 1790s in the UnitedStates and who believed in a strong centralgovernment, broad construction of theConstitution, and funding of the public debtwould most probably have been

(A) a socialist(B) an Anti-Federalist(C) a Federalist(D) a believer in monarchy(E) a Jeffersonian Republican

12. Public opinion polls in the United Statescommonly make use of

(A) sampling theory(B) case studies(C) intelligence tests(D) Rorschach tests(E) clinical interviews

13. For the economy described by the productionpossibilities curve above, which of the followingis true?

(A) Intended investment is greater than intendedsaving at point X.

(B) The economy cannot produce at pointX using currently available resourcesand technology.

(C) The economy is more efficient in producinggood A than good B.

(D) To produce additional units of good B, theeconomy must forgo fewer and fewer unitsof good A.

(E) Income is unequally distributed to thefactors of production.

14. Which of the following statements about thecontrol group in a well-designed experimentis correct?

(A) It differs from the experimental group in theway in which participants are sampled.

(B) It is like the experimental group and receivesthe same experimental treatment.

(C) It is like the experimental group except fordifferences in exposure to the dependentvariable.

(D) It is like the experimental group except fordifferences in exposure to the independentvariable.

(E) It must contain exactly the same number ofindividuals as does the experimental group.

X •

GOOD A

GOOD BO

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15. The area of the African continent isapproximately

(A) half the area of western Europe(B) the same as the area of the United States

east of the Mississippi River(C) two times the area of California(D) four times the area of the continental

United States(E) five times the area of South America

16. Chinese culture and influence were mostsignificant in shaping the institutions ofwhich of the following countries?

(A) Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka(B) India, Japan, and Korea(C) Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand(D) Japan, Korea, and Vietnam(E) Korea, Nepal, and the Philippines

17. The most immediate consequence ofabolitionism in the United States in the1830s and 1840s was

(A) widespread support for the abolitionof slavery

(B) intensified slaveholders’ resentment towardthe movement

(C) better treatment of freed African Americansin the North

(D) greater sympathy for popular sovereignty(E) increased interest in African colonization

18. “We know so little about how to live in thislife that there is no point in worrying about whatmay happen to us after death. First let us learn tolive in the right way with other people and thenlet whatever happens next take care of itself.”

The quotation above best expresses thephilosophy of

(A) Jesus(B) Muhammad(C) Confucius(D) Karl Marx(E) Thomas Aquinas

19. Major political revolutions in the twentiethcentury most often occurred in countries with

(A) comparatively low unemployment(B) high levels of industrialization(C) small industrial and large agricultural sectors(D) representative governments(E) small populations

20. The tendency for an individual’s rank on onedimension of status to be positively correlatedwith that individual’s rank on other dimensionsof status is called

(A) structural balance(B) rank ordering(C) status polarization(D) status congruence(E) status stability

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21. To reduce inflationary pressure in the economyof the United States, the Federal Reserve wouldmost likely

(A) sell government securities on theopen market

(B) reduce margin requirements(C) lower legal reserve requirements(D) decrease the discount rate(E) encourage member banks to increase

their loans

22. Participant satisfaction increases in thosegroups that

(A) have competing subgroup interaction(B) are low in cohesion among group members(C) identify clear goals and supportive roles(D) have incompatible directions(E) fail to coordinate member interaction

23. Construction of the Panama Canal shortened thesailing time between New York and

(A) London(B) Port-au-Prince(C) Rio de Janeiro(D) New Orleans(E) San Francisco

24. Of the following, which is the earliest humaninnovation?

(A) Development of urban centers(B) Use of written language(C) Use and control of fire(D) Dependence on agriculture as the major

source of food(E) Domestication of animals

25. Which of the following prompted AfricanAmericans to move to cities in the North duringthe first quarter of the twentieth century?

I. The impact of the boll weevilII. The availability of industrial jobs in the

NorthIII. The impact of segregation legislation in the

South

(A) II only(B) I and II only(C) I and III only(D) II and III only(E) I, II, and III

26. Abolition of the transatlantic slave trade wasdifficult to achieve in the early 1800s because

(A) the British were strongly in favor of slavery(B) slave labor was needed in Europe(C) profits from the slave trade were high(D) most countries in Europe had extensive

African colonies(E) slavery was widespread in all parts of

the Americas

27. Among the several social science methods ofresearch, the one used for conducting publicopinion polls can best be described as

(A) laboratory experimentation(B) participant observation(C) field experimentation(D) survey research(E) computer simulation

28. An aging population necessarily has

(A) a population pyramid with a large base(B) more males than females(C) a decreasing death rate(D) an increasing median age(E) an increasing birth rate

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29. The United States market for apples is inequilibrium at E1, where 75 units are sold at aprice of $15 per unit. If consumers’ per capitadisposable income decreases, the equilibriumprice and quantity of apples sold can be whichof the following?

Unit Price Quantity

(A) $15 75(B) $10 50(C) $10 100(D) $ 5 75(E) $ 5 100

30. In psychology, the biosocial approach seeks toexplain behavior in terms of

(A) environmental influences(B) genetic factors(C) unconscious motivations(D) an integration of cultural and biological

factors(E) genetic drifts within population groups

31. In the late twentieth century, Islamicfundamentalism had the least influence inwhich of the following countries?

(A) Algeria(B) China(C) Egypt(D) India(E) Indonesia

32. Which of the following is true of the FirstAmendment to the United States Constitution?

(A) It established presidential control overthe budget.

(B) It created the Supreme Court.(C) It declared all people to be equal.(D) It established the foundations for church-

state relations.(E) It guaranteed citizens the right to bear arms.

33. The Peloponnesian Wars were primarily theresult of

(A) Athenian imperialism(B) Spartan militarism(C) the invasion of Greece by Rome(D) the conquests of Alexander the Great(E) the spread of Athenian democracy

34. Which of the following economic policiesis likely to result in the greatest reduction inaggregate demand?

(A) A $5 billion increase in personal incometaxes only

(B) A $5 billion decrease in government transferpayments only

(C) A $5 billion decrease in governmentpurchases of goods and services only

(D) A $5 billion decrease in governmentpurchases accompanied by a $5 billionincrease in personal income taxes

(E) A $5 billion decrease in governmentpurchases accompanied by a $5 billiondecrease in personal income taxes

UNITED STATES MARKET FOR APPLES

QUANTITY

PRICE$/UNIT

Supply1

Demand1

Demand2

0

5

10

15 E

50 75 100

2

Supply1

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35. Which of the following philosophers assertedthat all human beings possess the natural rightsto life, liberty, and property?

(A) Thomas Hobbes(B) John Locke(C) Augustine of Hippo(D) Aristotle(E) Socrates

36. Which of the following is NOT compatible withthe traditional conception of bureaucracy?

(A) Salaried remuneration(B) Recruitment of personnel by examination(C) A hierarchical structure(D) Decentralization of authority(E) Formal allocation of obligation and duties

37. According to the map above, which of thefollowing land formations would most likelybe found near City X?

(A) A plateau(B) A volcano(C) A delta(D) A peninsula(E) A mountain

38. On the basis of empirical evidence gatheredduring the Second World War, which of thefollowing was most successful in motivatingUnited States soldiers to perform well underoverseas combat conditions?

(A) Emphasizing to them that the civilianpopulation was dependent on them

(B) Developing their dedication to dominantpolitical and ethical values

(C) Instilling in the soldiers a loyalty tonational leaders

(D) Developing in the soldiers a satisfactoryself-image of their individual abilities

(E) Emphasizing positive relationships amongmembers of small combat units

39. Of the following, which group was the first toestablish trade links with both East Africa andthe upper Niger Valley?

(A) The Portuguese(B) The English(C) The Arabs(D) The Spanish(E) The French

40. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrathdepicts the period of United States historyknown as the

(A) Gilded Age(B) Roaring Twenties(C) Great Depression(D) Cold War(E) Vietnam era

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41. The Green Revolution of the twentieth centuryrefers to

(A) the unparalleled strength of the UnitedStates dollar

(B) increased agricultural productivity due to theintroduction of new crops and technologies

(C) the rise of a social and political movementexpressing strong environmental concerns

(D) the destruction of Brazilian rain forests(E) the political development of tropical

countries previously under colonial rule

42. Which of the following is the most significanteffect of mass media on national elections in theUnited States?

(A) Helping shape the agenda for politicaldebate

(B) Improving the exposure of little-knowncandidates

(C) Defining party platforms(D) Reducing the influence of money in politics(E) Decreasing the accountability of incumbent

officials

43. Which of the following methods of datacollection provides the most comprehensiveinformation?

(A) Face-to-face interviews(B) Telephone surveys(C) Mail surveys(D) Interest inventories(E) Opinion polls

44. Which of the following would increase thedemand for workers in the short run?

(A) A decrease in the demand for machinery(B) An increase in the cost of production(C) An increase in the price of the product(D) A decrease in the demand for the product(E) A decrease in available natural resources

45. Which of the following areas of the brain isinvolved in control of aggression and fear?

(A) Hypothalamus(B) Cerebellum(C) Amygdala(D) Cortex(E) Pituitary

46. The cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly who playeda major role in turning public sentiment againstNew York City’s Boss Tweed was

(A) Grant Wood(B) Winslow Homer(C) Matt Morgan(D) Thomas Nast(E) Norman Rockwell

47. Which of the following cultures provided a linkbetween ancient Greece and medieval westernEurope, designed methods for making steel andleather, and contributed to scientific knowledgeof mathematics?

(A) Celtic(B) Carolingian(C) Gothic(D) Islamic(E) Norman

48. After their defeat by the Chinese Communists in1949, Chiang Kai-shek and many supporters ofhis Nationalist government chose to

(A) emigrate to the United States(B) ally with the Soviet Union(C) flee to Tibet(D) accept Chinese Communist rule(E) flee to the island of Taiwan (Formosa)

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49. In sociology and anthropology, a cultural lagoccurs when

(A) cultural norms have not adapted to newmaterial conditions

(B) wealth and income are distributed unequally(C) individuals who are labeled deviate fail to

live up to their potential(D) people from one culture are immersed in a

wholly different culture(E) the younger generation of a society rejects

the ideas of the older generation

50. According to international relations (IR) theory,nation-states that join international organizationsare usually motivated by

(A) the desire to move toward world government(B) respect for legal norms(C) popular pressure to join such organizations(D) self-interest(E) religious belief

51. The Russo-Japanese War (1904 –1905)resulted in

(A) expanded export trade for Russia(B) predominance of the Russian navy in East

Asia(C) Japan’s acquisition of Taiwan(D) the opening of Japanese ports to foreign

trade(E) a significant weakening of the tsarist

government

52. The Dawes Severalty Act, which was passed bythe United States Congress in 1887, did whichof the following?

(A) Stopped all homesteading west of theMississippi River.

(B) Extended voting rights to Native Americans.(C) Resulted in the notorious Trail of Tears.(D) Divided tribally held lands among individual

Native Americans.(E) Extended welfare assistance to Native

Americans.

53. European imperialism in Africa in the lastquarter of the nineteenth century differed fromEuropean imperialism in Africa of earlier periodsin which of the following ways?

(A) It encouraged the African colonizationmovement in the United States.

(B) It promoted the integration of indigenouspeoples into all sectors of colonial society.

(C) It combined commerce with extensiveterritorial acquisitions.

(D) Its aim was to prepare colonies forindependence and democracy.

(E) Its central goal was the abolition of theslave trade.

54. For African Americans, the reduction ofEuropean immigration during the First WorldWar resulted in which of the following?

(A) Government encouragement of Africanimmigration to the United States

(B) The endorsement of the racial policiesof Woodrow Wilson by the NationalAssociation for the Advancement ofColored People (NAACP)

(C) The rise of African Americans to positionsof power in Southern politics

(D) The establishment of Marcus Garvey’sBack to Africa movement

(E) The opening of industrial jobs to AfricanAmerican workers

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55. Which of the following would be an example ofthe Columbian Exchange?

(A) The exchange rate between the Colombianpeso and the United States dollar

(B) The introduction of horses and cattle into theWestern Hemisphere

(C) The expansion of cocoa bean production toSouth America

(D) The introduction of rice to Europe(E) The introduction of coffee to Europe

56. Puerto Rico became part of the territorialholdings of the United States as a result of the

(A) Monroe Doctrine(B) Gadsden Purchase(C) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo(D) Spanish-American War(E) Adams-Onís Treaty

57. Which of the following is an example of atertiary economic activity?

(A) Cultivation of wheat in the Midwest(B) Manufacture of automobiles in Detroit(C) Offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico(D) Development of ecotourism in Costa Rica(E) Clothing assembly in Malaysia

58. An isogloss delineates a region of common

(A) temperature(B) barometric pressure(C) altitude(D) dialect(E) religion

59. Which of the following Latin Americancountries was one of the original membersof the Organization of the Petroleum ExportingCountries (OPEC)?

(A) Mexico(B) Brazil(C) Venezuela(D) Colombia(E) Peru

60. Which of the following has been a sacred site forboth Christians and Muslims?

(A) The Kabah in Mecca(B) Taj Mahal in Agra(C) Hagia Sophia in Istanbul(D) Pyramids in Egypt(E) Angkor Wat in Cambodia

61. In the United States and European countries,mobilization for the Second World War differedfrom mobilization for the First World War forwhich of the following reasons?

(A) During the First World War, governmentsrationed supplies.

(B) During the First World War, governmentsbanned immigration.

(C) During the First World War, governmentsbanned labor unions.

(D) During the Second World War, governmentsrecruited women to work in weaponsindustries.

(E) During the Second World War, governmentsestablished agencies to regulate industrialproduction.

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62. The United States Immigration Act of 1965 wassignificant because it

(A) led to increased immigration of scientistsfrom Western Europe

(B) led to increased immigration ofprofessionals from Asia

(C) led to increased immigration of agriculturallaborers from Mexico

(D) prohibited immigration from Communistcountries

(E) prohibited immigration of unskilled laborers

63. Phillis Wheatley, a slave during therevolutionary era in the United States, was

(A) a seamstress who bought her freedom fromslavery

(B) a domestic servant who shielded patriots(C) a published author who wrote poetry(D) an artist who painted revolutionary scenes(E) a spy who provided information on British

troop movements

64. Which of the following would shift the supplycurve for gasoline rightward?

(A) An increase in the demand for sport-utilityvehicles, which use more gas

(B) A situation where the quantity demandedexceeds the quantity supplied

(C) A decrease in the price of a resource used toproduce gasoline, such as crude oil

(D) An increase in the price of gasoline(E) An increase in the price of a resource used

to produce gasoline, such as crude oil

65. A map 2 feet by 3 feet at a scale of 1:100,000would display the appropriate amount of detailfor doing which of the following?

(A) Providing block-level directions from aresidence to a local elementary school

(B) Displaying national weather patterns(C) Determining the best location for a new

shopping center(D) Planning a cross-country road trip(E) Identifying highway directions to a city

25 miles away

66. The United States Constitution denies somepowers to both national and state governmentsin order to

(A) prevent the deployment of the NationalGuard

(B) allow citizens to hold federal officersaccountable

(C) safeguard individual rights(D) deny unfair welfare practices(E) provide protection of labor rights

67. The greatest crisis of the United States federalsystem occurred during the

(A) American Revolution(B) Civil War(C) First World War(D) Cold War(E) Vietnam War

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68. To maximize total utility, a consumer willconsume a product at the point where

(A) marginal utility per dollar spent on eachgood is equal

(B) total utility per dollar spent on each good isequal

(C) total utility from each good is equal to zero(D) marginal utility from each good is equal to

zero(E) marginal utility is equal to zero

69. According to von Thünen’s model, shown above,key factors in determining the relative locationsof agricultural activities near a city includewhich of the following?

I. Distance to market for perishable goodsII. Land costs versus land needs for different

forms of agricultureIII. Population size of the market areaIV. Modes of transportation

(A) I only(B) I and II only(C) II and III only(D) II, III, and IV only(E) I, II, III, and IV

70. The ancient Greeks derived their greatest senseof cultural unity through

(A) participation in athletic games(B) use of a common currency(C) worship of the goddess Athena(D) preparation of similar foods(E) creation of the same types of civic

architecture

71. The only state in the United States that has anAsian majority population is

(A) Alaska(B) California(C) Hawaii(D) Washington(E) Oregon

72. Which of the following is associated withincreasing air pollution?

(A) Convective turbulence(B) Normal lapse rate(C) Low pressure(D) Temperature inversion(E) The Coriolis effect

73. The purpose of the Constitutional Convention of1787 was to

(A) nominate George Washington as the firstpresident

(B) rectify the perceived weaknesses of theArticles of Confederation

(C) develop a plan for the compensation ofRevolutionary War soldiers

(D) strengthen the powers of the individual states(E) declare independence from Great Britain

74. All of the following were federal agenciesestablished in the New Deal EXCEPT the

(A) National Recovery Administration(B) Social Security Administration(C) Envionmental Protection Agency(D) Agricultural Adjustment Administration(E) Civilian Conservation Corps

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Study Resources

Most of the textbooks used in college-level socialsciences and history courses cover the topics inthe outline given earlier, but the approaches tocertain topics and the emphases given to themmay differ. To prepare for the Social Sciences andHistory exam, it is advisable to study one or morecollege textbooks for United States and worldhistory, sociology, Western civilization and otherrelated courses, which can be found in most collegebookstores. When selecting a textbook, check thetable of contents against the knowledge and skillsrequired for this test.

The materials suggested for preparing for otherCLEP exams may also be helpful. Study resourcesfor the American Government, History of the UnitedStates I and II, Principles of Macroeconomics andPrinciples of Microeconomics, IntroductoryPsychology, Introductory Sociology, and WesternCivilization I and II exams are particularly relevantand can be found in the Study Resources section ofthe Official Study Guide for these exams.

Visit www.collegeboard.org/clepprep for additionalsocial sciences and history resources. You can alsofind suggestions for exam preparation in Chapter IVof the Official Study Guide. In addition, manycollege faculty post their course materials on theirschools’ websites.

38. E 39. C 40. C 41. B 42. A 43. A 44. C 45. C 46. D 47. D 48. E 49. A 50. D 51. E 52. D 53. C 54. E 55. B 56. D 57. D 58. D 59. C 60. C 61. D 62. B 63. C 64. C 65. E 66. C 67. B 68. A 69. B70. A71. C72. D73. B74. C

1. E 2. E 3. A 4. B 5. D 6. C 7. A 8. E 9. A 10. B 11. C 12. A 13. B 14. D 15. D 16. D 17. B 18. C 19. C 20. D 21. A 22. C 23. E 24. C 25. E 26. C 27. D 28. D 29. B 30. D 31. B 32. D 33. A 34. D 35. B 36. D 37. C

Answer Key

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Test Measurement Overview

Format

There are multiple forms of the computer-based test,each containing a predetermined set of scoredquestions. The examinations are not adaptive. Theremay be some overlap between different forms of atest: any of the forms may have a few questions,many questions, or no questions in common. Someoverlap may be necessary for statistical reasons.

In the computer-based test, not all questionscontribute to the candidate’s score. Some of thequestions presented to the candidate are beingpretested for use in future editions of the tests andwill not count toward his or her score.

Scoring Information

CLEP examinations are scored without a penalty forincorrect guessing. The candidate’s raw score issimply the number of questions answered correctly.However, this raw score is not reported; the rawscores are translated into a scaled score by a processthat adjusts for differences in the difficulty of thequestions on the various forms of the test.

Scaled Scores

The scaled scores are reported on a scale of 20–80.Because the different forms of the tests are notalways exactly equal in difficulty, raw-to-scaleconversions may in some cases differ from form toform. The easier a form is judged to be, the higherthe raw score required to attain a given scaled score.Table 1 indicates the relationship between numbercorrect (raw score) and scaled score across all forms.

The Recommended Credit-GrantingScore

Table 1 also indicates the recommendedcredit-granting score, which represents theperformance of students earning a grade of C in thecorresponding course. The recommended B-levelscore represents B-level performance in equivalentcourse work. These scores were established as theresult of a Standard Setting Study, the most recenthaving been conducted in 2004. The recommendedcredit-granting scores are based upon the judgmentsof a panel of experts currently teaching equivalentcourses at various colleges and universities. Theseexperts evaluate each question in order to determinethe raw scores that would correspond to B and C

levels of performance. Their judgments are thenreviewed by a test development committee, which, inconsultation with test content and psychometricspecialists, makes a final determination. Thestandard-setting study is described more fully in theearlier section entitled “CLEP Credit Granting” onpage 4.

Panel members participating in the most recent studywere:

William Alexander Norfolk State UniversityMichelle Behr Western New Mexico

UniversityRichard Bieker Delaware State UniversityLolene Blake Weber State UniversityEdward Bond Alabama A&M UniversityMichelle Calvarese California State University,

FresnoE. Steve Cassells Laramie County Community

CollegeDonna Dahlgren Indiana University SoutheastKeith Edgerton Montana State University —

BillingsCarol Engelhardt Wright State UniversityRandy Hanson Colby-Sawyer CollegeWoodrow Hughes, Jr. Converse CollegeAubrey Jewett University of Central FloridaCarlos Juarez Hawaii Pacific UniversityKevin Leicht University of IowaMaureen McCarthy Austin Peay State UniversityDonald Melton Arapahoe Community CollegeMark Moberg University of South AlabamaRusty Monhollon Hood CollegeKathleen Moyer Holy Family UniversityDavid O’Donnell Vermillion Community CollegeJames Riddlesperger Texas Christian UniversityLydia Savage University of Southern MaineRichard Seefeldt University of Wisconsin —

River FallsJohn Wade Eastern Kentucky UniversitySally West Truman State UniversityPingchao Zhu University of Idaho

To establish the exact correspondences betweenraw and scaled scores, a scaled score of 50 isassigned to the raw score that corresponds to therecommended credit-granting score for C-levelperformance. Then a high (but in some cases,possibly less than perfect) raw score will be selectedand assigned a scaled score of 80. These twopoints — 50 and 80 — determine a linearraw-to-scale conversion for the test.

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Table 1: Social Sciences and HistoryInterpretive Score Data

American Council on Education (ACE) Recommended Number of Semester Hours of Credit: 6

Course Grade Scaled Score Number Correct80 10079 9978 97-9877 9676 9575 93-9474 92-9373 9172 89-9071 88-8970 87-8869 85-8668 84-8567 83-8466 81-8265 80-8164 78-8063 77-78

B 62 76-7761 74-7660 73-7459 72-7358 70-7157 69-7056 67-6955 66-6754 65-6653 63-6452 62-6351 61-62

C 50* 59-6049 58-5948 5747 55-5646 54-5545 52-5344 51-5243 5042 48-4941 47-4840 45-4639 44-4538 43-4437 41-4236 40-4135 38-4034 37-3833 36-3732 34-3631 33-3430 31-3329 30-3228 29-3027 27-2926 26-2825 25-2624 23-2523 22-2422 21-2221 19-2120 0-20

*Credit-granting score recommended by ACE.Note: The number-correct scores for each scaled score on different forms may vary depending on form diffi culty.

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Validity

Validity is a characteristic of a particular use of thetest scores of a group of examinees. If the scores areused to make inferences about the examinees’knowledge of a particular subject, the validity of thescores for that purpose is the extent to which thoseinferences can be trusted to be accurate.

One type of evidence for the validity of test scores iscalled content-related evidence of validity. It isusually based upon the judgments of a set of expertswho evaluate the extent to which the content of thetest is appropriate for the inferences to be madeabout the examinees’ knowledge. The committeethat developed the CLEP Social Sciences andHistory examination selected the content of the testto reflect the content of Social Sciences and Historycourses at most colleges, as determined by acurriculum survey. Since colleges differ somewhat inthe content of the courses they offer, facultymembers should, and are urged to, review thecontent outline and the sample questions to ensurethat the test covers core content appropriate to thecourses at their college.

Another type of evidence for test-score validity iscalled criterion-related evidence of validity. Itconsists of statistical evidence that examinees whoscore high on the test also do well on other measuresof the knowledge or skills the test is being used tomeasure. Criterion-related evidence for the validityof CLEP scores can be obtained by studiescomparing students’ CLEP scores with the gradesthey received in corresponding classes, or othermeasures of achievement or ability. CLEP and theCollege Board conduct these studies, calledAdmitted Class Evaluation Service or ACES, forindividual colleges that meet certain criteria at thecollege’s request. Please contact CLEP for moreinformation.

Reliability

The reliability of the test scores of a group ofexaminees is commonly described by two statistics:the reliability coefficient and the standard error ofmeasurement (SEM). The reliability coefficient isthe correlation between the scores those examineesget (or would get) on two independent replicationsof the measurement process. The reliabilitycoefficient is intended to indicate thestability/consistency of the candidates’ test scores,and is often expressed as a number rangingfrom .00 to 1.00. A value of .00 indicates total lackof stability, while a value of 1.00 indicates perfectstability. The reliability coefficient can be interpretedas the correlation between the scores examineeswould earn on two forms of the test that had noquestions in common.

Statisticians use an internal-consistency measure tocalculate the reliability coefficients for the CLEPexam. This involves looking at the statisticalrelationships among responses to individualmultiple-choice questions to estimate the reliabilityof the total test score. The formula used is known asKuder-Richardson 20, or KR-20, which is equivalentto a more general formula called coefficient alpha.The SEM is an index of the extent to which students’obtained scores tend to vary from their true scores.1

It is expressed in score units of the test. Intervalsextending one standard error above and below thetrue score (see below) for a test-taker will include68 percent of that test-taker’s obtained scores.Similarly, intervals extending two standard errorsabove and below the true score will include95 percent of the test-taker’s obtained scores. Thestandard error of measurement is inversely related tothe reliability coefficient. If the reliability of the testwere 1.00 (if it perfectly measured the candidate’sknowledge), the standard error of measurementwould be zero.

Scores on the CLEP examination in Social Sciencesand History are estimated to have a reliabilitycoefficient of 0.91. The standard error of measurementis 3.13 scaled-score points.1 True score is a hypothetical concept indicating what an individual’s score on a

test would be if there were no errors introduced by the measuring process. It isthought of as the hypothetical average of an infinite number of obtained scoresfor a test-taker with the effect of practice removed.

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