Regents US History and Government: the course and the exam
Three parts: 28 stimulus-based multiple-choice questions, two short essays on pairs of documents, and a civic literacy essay built on six documents. The content is the eleven Key Ideas of the Grade 11 framework, from 1607 to the present.
26 weeks, 104 hours in all
Start with Key Idea 11.2
Constitutional Foundations (1763 to 1824): 10.3 of your hours. It is 3 of the 28 questions on our timed checks, 11%.
| Key Idea | Your hours | Share of the checks |
|---|---|---|
| Key Idea 11.2: Constitutional Foundations (1763 to 1824) | 10.3 | 11% |
| Key Idea 11.3: Expansion, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1800 to 1865) | 10.3 | 11% |
| Key Idea 11.5: Industrialization and Urbanization (1870 to 1920) | 10.3 | 11% |
| Key Idea 11.7: Prosperity and Depression (1920 to 1939) | 10.3 | 11% |
| Key Idea 11.9: Cold War (1945 to 1990) | 10.3 | 11% |
| Key Idea 11.10: Social and Economic Change and Domestic Issues (1945 to present) | 10.3 | 11% |
| Key Idea 11.1: Colonial Foundations (1607 to 1763) | 6.9 | 7% |
| Key Idea 11.4: Post-Civil War Era (1865 to 1900) | 6.9 | 7% |
| Key Idea 11.6: The Rise of American Power (1890 to 1920) | 6.9 | 7% |
| Key Idea 11.8: World War II (1935 to 1945) | 6.9 | 7% |
| Key Idea 11.11: The United States in a Changing World (1990 to present) | 6.9 | 7% |
Week by week
- Week 1Key Idea 11.2: Constitutional Foundations (1763 to 1824)
- Week 2Key Idea 11.2: Constitutional Foundations (1763 to 1824)
- Week 3Key Idea 11.2: Constitutional Foundations (1763 to 1824), Key Idea 11.3: Expansion, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1800 to 1865)
- Week 4Key Idea 11.3: Expansion, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1800 to 1865)
- Week 5Key Idea 11.3: Expansion, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1800 to 1865)
- Week 6Key Idea 11.3: Expansion, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1800 to 1865), Key Idea 11.5: Industrialization and Urbanization (1870 to 1920)
- Week 7Key Idea 11.5: Industrialization and Urbanization (1870 to 1920)
- Week 8Key Idea 11.5: Industrialization and Urbanization (1870 to 1920), Key Idea 11.7: Prosperity and Depression (1920 to 1939)
- Week 9Key Idea 11.7: Prosperity and Depression (1920 to 1939)
- Week 10Key Idea 11.7: Prosperity and Depression (1920 to 1939)
- Week 11Key Idea 11.7: Prosperity and Depression (1920 to 1939), Key Idea 11.9: Cold War (1945 to 1990)
- Week 12Key Idea 11.9: Cold War (1945 to 1990)
- Week 13Key Idea 11.9: Cold War (1945 to 1990), Key Idea 11.10: Social and Economic Change and Domestic Issues (1945 to present)
- Week 14Key Idea 11.10: Social and Economic Change and Domestic Issues (1945 to present)
- Week 15Key Idea 11.10: Social and Economic Change and Domestic Issues (1945 to present)
- Week 16Key Idea 11.10: Social and Economic Change and Domestic Issues (1945 to present), Key Idea 11.1: Colonial Foundations (1607 to 1763)
- Week 17Key Idea 11.1: Colonial Foundations (1607 to 1763)
- Week 18Key Idea 11.1: Colonial Foundations (1607 to 1763), Key Idea 11.4: Post-Civil War Era (1865 to 1900)
- Week 19Key Idea 11.4: Post-Civil War Era (1865 to 1900), Key Idea 11.6: The Rise of American Power (1890 to 1920)
- Week 20Key Idea 11.6: The Rise of American Power (1890 to 1920)
- Week 21Key Idea 11.6: The Rise of American Power (1890 to 1920), Key Idea 11.8: World War II (1935 to 1945)
- Week 22Key Idea 11.8: World War II (1935 to 1945)
- Week 23Key Idea 11.8: World War II (1935 to 1945), Key Idea 11.11: The United States in a Changing World (1990 to present)
- Week 24Key Idea 11.11: The United States in a Changing World (1990 to present)
- Week 25A timed check, a short essay and a civic literacy essay, then review every lost credit
- Week 26A timed check, a short essay and a civic literacy essay, then review every lost credit
| Part I | 28 stimulus-based multiple-choice questions, 28 credits |
|---|---|
| Part II | Two short essays on pairs of documents, 5-point rubric each |
| Part III | Civic literacy essay: six short responses, then an essay weighted by 3 |
| Content | The eleven Key Ideas of the Grade 11 framework |
The three parts
- Part I: 28 multiple-choice questions, each built on a stimulus such as a document, a map, a cartoon, a graph or a table. 28 credits.
- Part II: two short essays, each on a pair of documents and scored on a 5-point rubric. Set 1: the historical context, then the relationship between the documents (cause and effect, similarity or difference, or turning point). Set 2: the historical context, then how audience, purpose, bias or point of view affects one document's reliability.
- Part III: the civic literacy document-based essay. Six short-response questions on six documents (1 credit each), then an essay on a constitutional or civic issue, scored on a 5-point rubric and weighted by 3.
The eleven Key Ideas
- 11.1 Colonial Foundations (1607 to 1763) and 11.2 Constitutional Foundations (1763 to 1824).
- 11.3 Expansion, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1800 to 1865) and 11.4 Post-Civil War Era (1865 to 1900).
- 11.5 Industrialization and Urbanization (1870 to 1920) and 11.6 The Rise of American Power (1890 to 1920).
How the multiple choice spreads
The test specification grid gives each Key Idea a range of Part I questions, from none up to five, and some questions cross several Key Ideas. The exact spread changes from test to test with the topics of the essays.
Next step
Questions people ask
How many multiple-choice questions are there?
28 in Part I, each based on a stimulus.
How are the essays scored?
Each Part II short essay on a 5-point rubric; the Part III essay on a 5-point rubric weighted by 3, with six 1-credit short responses before it.
What does the exam cover?
The Grade 11 United States History and Government section of the NYS K-12 Social Studies Framework: eleven Key Ideas from 1607 to the present.