US History Regents

Overview
This exam is designed to assess the skills and knowledge that are identified in the New York State Social Studies Framework

Format of the Exam

• Part 1: Stimulus-Based Multiple Choice Questions = 28 Questions

• Part 2: Short Essays = Two sets of documents and three questions

• Part 3: Civic Literacy Essay = One set of 8 documents used to write 1 essay

Part 1: Stimulus-Based Multiple Choice (28 questions)
Each of these questions will be based on a stimulus. Each stimulus will be used to answer 2-3 questions. You will need to use your knowledge of US History & Gov. and integrate the information in the stimulus to identify the best answer.The stimulus could be a map, a photo, a political cartoon, an excerpt from a document, or a chart. 

Part 2: Short-Essay Questions
You will get TWO sets of documents. Each set will include writing prompts based on the two documents. Each prompt will ask you to write a short essay. Short = 2-3 paragraphs. Each set and writing prompt will follow a pattern. Include ANALYSIS. 

Document Set 1 (2 documents):
Context: This prompt will ask you about the historical context of the two documents.

• You will describe the historical context. In other words, what was happening when this document was created? What are the circumstances in which this historical development occurred?

• You may also discuss the geographical context. Where did this development take place?

Relationship: This prompt asks about the relationship between the two documents.  You will choose ONE of these three types of relationships:

•  Cause and Effect - is there a cause and effect relationship between the events/concepts  in the documents? Can you describe how one CAUSED the other? If so, choose this relation and explain how the events/concepts on one document caused the events/concepts of the other. 

• Turning Point - can you identify a turning point?  If you can identify how the events/concepts of the documents  brought about a change, select this relationship and explain why it is a turning point.

• Similarity or Difference - you can select this relationship to write about if you can identify and describe a similarity or difference presented in the two documents.

Document Set 2 (2 documents):
Context: Like the first set this prompt will ask you about the historical context of the two documents.

• You will describe the historical context. In other words, what was happening when this document was created? What are the circumstances in which this historical development occurred?

• You may also discuss the geographical context. Where did this development take place?

Reliability: This prompt asks about the reliability of one of the documents. They will tell you which document to focus on. You will analyze the document and explain its reliability as a source by focusing on how audience, OR, bias, OR, purpose, OR point fo view affects this document's use as a reliable source of evidence. 

Part 3: Civic Literacy Essay
To assess your ability to work with historical documents, you will write a document-based civic literacy essay. You will be provided with at least 6 historical documents pertaining to a constitutional or civic issue. In your essay, you should use evidence from the documents (and cite which document you found this evidence) and your knowledge of US History and Government to:

• Describe the historical context (the historical circumstances) surrounding this civic or constitutional issue,

• Explain efforts to address this issue by individuals, groups, and/or governments,

• Discuss the extent to which these efforts were successful OR the impact that they had on society. 

NOTE: Simply describing the documents is NOT enough. To score higher you must analyze the documents and include your analysis in your essay.  Also, make sure you incorporate relevant OUTSIDE information. Information that you know that ISN'T included in the documents. This is another way to boost your essay score. 

How the regents exam is scored

You will 1 point for each correct multiple-choice question for a total up to 28 points. (Part I)

You will get between 0-5 points for each of the short essay questions (Part II)

The 6 scaffolding questions that follow each document that is part of the civics literacy essay is worth 1 point each. (Part IIIa)

Your scores for Part I, Part II, and Part IIIa are added for a score between 0-44. 

Your civics literacy essay is graded for a score between 0-5. The civics literacy essay is weighted more than the other parts of the exam. 

To determine your final grade a conversion chart is used. Below is the conversion chart that was used to score the June 2023 regents. The conversion chart can be slightly different for each administration of the exam so it is important not to use a previously published chart for a current exam. 

To determine your final score locate your score for Parts I, II, and IIIa running down the left-hand column and then find your essay score running across the top row. Where these two score intersect on the chart is your final grade. 

Test taking strategies

Do NOT do the test in order. Start with the multiple choice questions (Part I), they are worth the most points. Then move to Part III. Do the scaffolding questions and the civic literacy essay. Because the civics literacy essay is worth so much you DO NOT want to run out of time before you finish it. Therefore, do it right after the multiple choice questions. Do the short essay questions last.