The new Regents Examination in United States History and Government has been 
developed to reflect the social studies content and intellectual skills described in the 
five social studies standards. This new assessment will provide students with multiple
opportunities to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Questions on this 
examination will focus on the student’s knowledge of commencement-level social 
studies skills and content emphasized in the Social Studies Resource Guide with 
Core Curriculum for United States History and Government. Items for this new 
assessment resulted from the collaborative efforts of New York State teachers, 
school districts, State Education Department staff, and the Educational Testing Service
 (ETS).

The United States History and Government Test Specifications Grid (see Appendix)
indicates a range of specific multiple choice items from each social studies unit and
social studies standard that can be included in Part I of this examination. Teachers 
should review the social studies skills section and the United States History and 
Government content understandings of the Social Studies Resource Guide with 
Core Curriculum for additional information about what might be asked on future 
United States History and Government examinations. The multiple choice items are 
designed to assess both the students’ understanding of the United States History and
Government content and their ability to apply the content understandings to the 
interpretation and analysis of reading passages, graphs, political cartoons, maps, 
charts, and diagrams.

Students will be expected to apply the intellectual skills (taken from the commencement
-level performance indicators) in completing the thematic essay and document-based
question included on this assessment. Thematic essays require students to explore in 
depth one of the major themes found in the United States History and Government 
section of the Social Studies Resource Guide with Core Curriculum. Document-
based questions require students to identify and explore events or issues by examining,
analyzing, and evaluating textual and visual primary and secondary source documents.

The United States History and Government Regents examination will be administered 
in one three-hour session in January, June, and August of each year. Students must 
take all three parts of the test and complete the examination within that three-hour 
period, unless modified by an IEP or 504 plan. Unlike the current Regents Examination
in United States History and Government, students will be required to answer all of the
questions on the test. There will be no choice in the essay sections. The first 
administration of this examination is scheduled for June 2001.

The document-based essay, "scaffold" questions, and thematic essay will be scored 
holistically using clearly defined criteria as described in the scoring rubrics and 
commentaries. Tests will be scored by teachers in their districts, following guidelines 
designed to produce reliable scores. These guidelines require all scorers to complete 
a local training session just prior to scoring student papers. All schools administering 
this examination will be provided with a New York State Education Department 
publication entitled Information Booklet for Administering and Scoring the Regents
Examinations in Social Studies prior to the first administration of this exam.

Each test will be scaled, and all test forms equated, based on a standard-setting process
A chart for converting the student’s total test raw score to a scaled score will be
provided in the rating guide for each administration.

Test modifications must be consistently provided to students with disabilities when it is
determined that such accommodations are necessary. These modifications must be
documented in either an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or in a Section 504 
Accommodation Plan. The various State assessments are being developed by both 
special and general educators to ensure that they are appropriate for students with 
disabilities.

The tasks in this sampler may be administered in the classroom to help teachers plan 
or instruction.

However, it is recommended that this test not be used as an actual final examination 
because of the nonsecure nature of this publication. Sometime before taking the sample
test, students should be introduced to the test format and general scoring guidelines. 
teachers are encouraged to use the scoring guides and sample papers in this document 
for practice in scoring the essay portion of the DBQ, the "scaffold" questions, and the 
thematic essay.

In considering student results on the Regents Examination in United States History and
Government for improving curriculum and instruction, teachers may want to answer the
following questions:

• Is your local United States History and Government curriculum aligned with the State
learning standards for social studies as detailed in the social studies core curriculum?

• On which components did students seem to be most successful? least successful?

• To what extent did students follow the guidelines included with each question type?

• To what extent did students use the scaffolding portion of the document-based 
question to respond properly to the larger question presented in the document-based 
essay?

• What learning experiences will students need to perform well on each question?

• What opportunities do commencement-level students have to engage in a social 
studies instructional pro-gram that includes writing in the content area, using documents 
of all kinds, and engaging in activities requiring higher-order thinking skills?

Students will benefit from having multiple opportunities to answer document-based 
questions and thematic essays. Test-taking strategies can be taught and students who
have practiced answering these types of questions will be better prepared for this 
assessment.