U.S. History
Assessment
Eligible Texas Essential
Knowledge and Skills
Texas Education Agency
Revised October 2023
STAAR U.S. History Assessment
Reporting Category 1:
History
The student will demonstrate an understanding of issues and events in U.S.
history.
(1) History. The student understands the principles included in the Celebrate
Freedo
m Week program. The student is expected
to
(A)
analyze an
d evaluate the text, intent, meaning, and importance
of the
Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill
of Rights; Sup
porting Stand
ard
(B)
analyze an
d evaluate the application of these foundin
g principles to
historical events in U.
S. history; and Supporting Standa
rd
(C)
explain the
meaning and historical significance of the mottos “E Pl
uribus
Unum” an
d “In God We Trust.” Supporting Standa
rd
(2)
History.
The student understands traditional historical points of reference
in
U.S.
history from 1877 to the present. The student is expected
to
(A)
identify th
e major eras in U.S. history from 1877 to the presen
t and
describe th
eir defining characteristics; and Readiness Standa
rd
(B)
explain the significance of the following years as turning points: 1898
(Spanis
h–American War), 1914–1918 (World War I), 1929 (t
he Great
Depre
ssion begins), 1939–1945 (World War II)
, 1957 (Sputnik launch
i
gnites U.S.–Soviet space race), 1968 (Martin Luther Ki
ng Jr.
assa
ssination), 1969 (U.S. lands on the moon), 1991 (Cold Wa
r ends),
2001 (terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon), and
2008 (election of
first black president, Barack Obama)
.
Supp
orting Standar
d
(3)
History.
The student understands the political, economic, and social chan
ges
in the United States from 1877 to 1898. The student is expected to
(A)
analy
ze political issues such as Indian policies, the growth of politic
al
mac
hines, and civil service reform; Readiness Standar
d
(B)
analy
ze economic issues such as industrializ
ation, the growth of
railroads, the grow
th of labor unions, farm issues, the cattle in
dustry
boom,
the growth of entrepreneurship, and the pros and cons of
big
busi
ness; and Readiness Standar
d
STAAR U.S. History Page 2 of 15
Texas Education Agency
Revised October 2023
(C) analyze social issues affecting women, minorities, children, immigrants,
and urbani
zation. Re
adiness Standard
(4)
History.
The student understands the emergence of the United States as
a
world pow
er between 1898 and 1920. The student is expected
to
(A)
explain why significa
nt events, policie
s, and individuals, including the
Spanish–A
merican War, U.S. expansionism,
Alfred Thayer Mahan,
Theodore
Roosevelt, and Sanford B. Dole moved the
United States into
the position of a world power; Readiness Standard
(B)
evaluate American e
xpansionism, including acquisitions such as
Guam,
Hawai
i, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico; Supporting Stand
ard
(C)
identify th
e causes of World War I and reasons for U.S. entr
y;
Readiness Standard
(D)
understan
d the contributions of the American Expeditionary Forces (AE
F)
led by Gen
eral John J. Pershing, including the Battle of Argonne
Forest;
Supp
orting Standar
d
(E)
analyze the impact of machine guns, airplanes, tanks, poison gas, and
trenc
h warfare as significant technological innovations
in World War I on
the We
stern Front; and Supporting Standar
d
(F)
analyze m
ajor issues raised by U.S. involvement in World War I
,
including isolationism, neutrality, Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and
the Trea
ty of Versailles. Readiness Standa
rd
(5)
History.
The student understands the effects of reform and
third–party
move
ments in the early 20th century. The student is expected
to
(A)
analyze th
e impact of Progressive Era reforms, including initiative
,
refer
endum, recall, and the passage of the 16th, 17th, 18th, a
nd 19th
amendme
nts; Readiness Standar
d
(B)
eval
uate the impact of muckrakers and reform leaders such as Up
ton
Sinclair, Susan
B. Anthony, Jane Addams, Ida B. We
lls, and W. E. B.
DuB
ois on American society; and Suppor
ting Standard
(C)
analyze the impact of third parties, including the Populist and
Prog
ressive parties. Supporting Standar
d
STAAR U.S. History Page 3 of 15
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(6) History. The student understands significant events, social issues, and
i
ndividuals of the 1920s. The student is expecte
d to
(A)
anal
yze causes and effects of events and social issues such
as
immigration, Social Darwinism, the Scopes Trial, eugenics, race
relations, nativism, the Re
d Scare, Prohibition, and the c
hanging role of
women; a
nd Readin
ess Standard
(B)
analyze th
e impact of significant individuals such as Henry Ford, Marc
us
Garvey, and Charles A. Lindbergh. Supporting Standard
(7)
History.
The student understands the domestic and
international impact of
U.S.
participation in World War II. The student is expecte
d to
(A)
identify re
asons for U.S. involvement in World War II
, including the
aggre
ssion of Italian, German, and Japanese dictatorships, especially
the
attack on
Pearl Harbor; Readin
ess Standard
(B)
evaluate the dom
estic and international leadership of Frank
lin D.
Roosevelt and Harry Truman during World War II, including the U.S.
relations
hip with its allies; Support
ing Standard
(C)
analyze m
ajor issues of World War II, including the Holocaust,
the
internment of Japan
ese Americans as a result of Executive Order 9066
,
and the development of atomic weapons; Readiness Standard
(D)
analy
ze major military events of World War II, including fi
ghting the war
on multipl
e fronts, the Bataan Death Marc
h, the U.S. military
advancement through the Pa
cific Islands, the Battle of Midway,
the
invasion of Normandy, and the liberation of concentration camps;
Readines
s Standar
d
(E)
des
cribe the military contributions of leaders during
World War II,
including
Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, and Chester
W.
Nimitz; Supporting Standard
(F)
explain issues a
ffecting the home front, i
ncluding volunteerism, the
purcha
se of war bonds, and Victory Gardens and opportunities
and
obsta
cles for women and ethnic minorities; and Supporting Standa
rd
(G)
explain how American patriotism inspired high levels of military
enlistment and th
e bravery and contributions of the Tuskeg
ee Airmen,
the Flying
Tigers, and the Navajo Code Talkers. Support
ing Standard
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Revised October 2023
(8) History.
The student understands the impact of significant nati
onal and
international dec
isions and conflicts in the Cold War on the United States
. The
student is
expected
to
(A)
describe U
.S. responses to Soviet aggression after Wo
rld War II,
inc
luding the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin airlif
t, the
North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, and John F. Kenn
edy’s role in the
Cuban M
issile Crisis; Readiness Standar
d
(B)
describe h
ow Cold War tensions were intensified by the House
Un–
American Activities
Committee (HUAC), McCarthyism, the arms race, an
d
the space
race; Supporting Standar
d
(C)
explain reasons and outcomes for U.S. involvement in the Korean War
and its
relationship to the containment policy; Re
adiness Standard
(D)
explain rea
sons and outcomes for U.S. involvement in foreign co
untries
and their r
elationship to the Domino Theory, including the
Vietnam War;
Readines
s Standar
d
(E)
analyze th
e major events of the Vietnam War, including the esca
lation of
forces, the
Tet Offensive, Vietnamization, and the fall of Saigon
; and
Supp
orting Standar
d
(F)
describe the responses to the Vietnam War such as the draft, the 26th
Amendm
ent, the role of the media, the credibility gap, the
silent
majority, a
nd the anti–war movement.
Readiness Standard
(9)
History.
The student understands the impact of the American
civil rights
move
ment. The student is expected
to
(A)
trace
the historical development of the civil rights movement fro
m the
late 1
800s through the 21st century, including the 13th, 14th, 15th, an
d
19th amendments; Readiness Standard
(B)
explain how Jim Cro
w laws and the Ku Klux Klan created
obstacles to
ci
vil rights for minorities such as the suppression of voti
ng;
Readines
s Standar
d
(C)
describe the roles of political organizations that promoted African
Americ
an, Chicano, American Indian, and women’s
civil rights;
Supp
orting Standar
d
(D)
identify th
e roles of significant leaders who supported va
rious rights
movements, including Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Dolores
Huerta, Ro
sa Parks, and Betty Friedan; Supporting
Standard
STAAR U.S. History Page 5 of 15
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Revised October 2023
(E) compa
re and contrast the approach taken by the Black Panthers
with the
nonviolent approach
of Martin Luther King Jr.; Supporting Standar
d
(F)
di
scuss the impact of the writings of Martin Luther King Jr. such as hi
s “I
Have a Dream” speech and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on the civil
rights m
ovement; Supporting
Standard
(G)
describe presidential actions
and congressional votes to address minori
ty
rights in th
e United States, including desegregation of the armed forces
,
the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act
of 1965;
Readiness Standard
(H)
explain how George
Wallace, Orval Faubus, and the Congressional
bloc
of
southern Democrats sought to maintain the status
quo;
Supp
orting Standar
d
(I) evaluate
changes in the United States that have resulted from
the civil
rights
movement, including increased participation of mi
norities in the
political pr
ocess; and Readiness Standa
rd
(J)
describe h
ow Sweatt v. Painter and Brown v. Board of Education
played
a role in protecting the rights of the minority during the civil rights
move
ment. Supporting Standa
rd
(10)
History.
The student understands the impact of political, economic, and soci
al
f
actors in the U.S. from the 1970s through 1990. The student is expected
to
(A)
describe Ri
chard M. Nixon’s leadership in the normaliz
ation of relations
with China and th
e policy of détente; Supporting Standa
rd
(B)
describe Ronald Rea
gan’s leadership in domestic
and international
polic
ies, including Reagan’s economic policies and Peac
e Through
Strength; Supporting Standard
(C)
describe U
.S. involvement in the Middle East such as support for Israel
,
the Cam
p David Accords, the Iran Hostage Crisis, Marines in L
ebanon,
and the Iran–Contra
Affair; Re
adiness Standard
(D)
describe th
e causes and key organizations of th
e conservative
resurg
ence of the 1980s such as the Heritage Foundation and the Mo
ral
Majority; a
nd Supporting Standar
d
(E)
describe si
gnificant societal issues of this time period such as th
e War on
Drugs and the AIDS epidemic. Supporting Standard
STAAR U.S. History Page 6 of 15
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(11) History.
The student understands the emerging political, economic, and soci
al
i
ssues of the United States from the 1990s into the 21st century. The student i
s
expe
cted
to
(A)
describe U
.S. involvement in world affairs, including the end of
the Cold
War, the
Persian Gulf War, the events surrounding September 11,
2001,
and the
global War on Terror; Readiness Standar
d
(B)
i
dentify significant social and political issues such as health car
e,
immigration, and education from different viewpoints across the political
spectrum
; Supporting Stand
ard
(C)
analyze th
e impact of third parties on the 1992 and 2000 pres
idential
elections; and S
upporting Standar
d
(D)
identify th
e impact of international events, multinational corporations
,
govern
ment policies, and individuals on the 21st century econ
omy.
Supp
orting Standar
d
STAAR U.S. History Page 7 of 15
Texas Education Agency
Revised October 2023
Reporting Category 2:
Geography and Culture
The student will demonstrate an understanding of geographic and cultural
influences on U.S. History.
(12) Geography. The student understands the impact of geographic factors on
major
events. The student is expecte
d to
(A)
analyze th
e impact of physical and human geographic factors
on the
Klondike Gold Rush, the Panama Canal, the Dust Bowl, and the levee
f
ailure in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Readiness Standar
d
(13)
Geograp
hy. The student understands the causes and effects of migration
and
immigration
on American society. The student is expected
to
(A)
analyze th
e causes and effects of changing demogra
phic patterns
resulting from migrati
on within the United States
, including western
expan
sion, rural to urban, the Great Migration, and the Rust Belt to
the
Sun Belt; and Readiness Standard
(B)
analyze th
e causes and effects of changing demogra
phic patterns
resulting from immigration to
the United States. Re
adiness Standard
(14)
Geograp
hy. The student understands the relationship between
population
growth and the physical environment. The student is expected to
(A)
identify th
e effects of population growth and distribution on the
physical
environment; and Readiness Standard
(B)
identify th
e roles of governmental entities and private
citizens in
managing the
environment such as the establishment of the Na
tional
Park
System, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an
d the
Endangere
d Species Act. Supporting Standar
d
(24)
Cult
ure. The student understands the relationship between the arts and th
e
times duri
ng which they were created. The student is expected
to
(A)
describe how the characteristics and issues in U.S. history have been
reflecte
d in various genres of art, mu
sic, film, and literature;
Supp
orting Standar
d
(B)
describe th
e impacts of cultural movements in art, music, and li
terature
such as Tin Pan Alley, the Harlem Renaissance, the Beat Generation,
rock and roll, the Chicano
Mural Movement, and country and we
stern
musi
c on American society; and Readiness Standar
d
STAAR U.S. History Page 8 of 15
Texas Education Agency
Revised October 2023
(C) identify an
d analyze the global diffusion of American culture thro
ugh
various me
dia. Supporting Standar
d
(25)
Cult
ure. The student understands how people from various groups
contribute
to our national identity. The student is expected to
(A)
explain actions taken
by people to expand economic opportunities an
d
politic
al rights for racial, ethnic, gender, an
d religious groups in
American society; Readiness Standard
(B)
describe the Americanization movement to assimilate immigrants and
Americ
an Indians into American culture; Supporting
Standard
(C)
explain how the
contributions of people of various ra
cial, ethnic, gender,
and religious groups
shape American culture; and
Readiness Standard
(D)
identify the contributions of women such as Rosa Parks, Eleanor
Roo
sevelt, and Sonia Sotomayor to American societ
y.
Supp
orting Standar
d
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Texas Education Agency
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Reporting Category 3:
Government and Citizenship
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role of government
and the civic process in U.S. History.
(18) Governme
nt. The student understands changes over time in the role
of
govern
ment. The student is expected
to
(A)
evaluate the impact of New Deal legislation on the historical roles of
state
and federal government; Readiness Standar
d
(B)
explain co
nstitutional issues raised by federal government po
licy
change
s during times of significant events, including World War I,
the
Great Depression, World War II, the 1960s, and September 11, 2001;
Readines
s Standar
d
(C)
describe th
e effects of political scandals, including Teapot Dome
,
Watergate, and
Bill Clinton’s impeachment, on the views of U.S. citize
ns
concerning trust in the federal government and its leaders; and
Supp
orting Standar
d
(D)
describe th
e role of contemporary govern
ment legislation in the private
and publ
ic sectors such as the Community Reinvestment Act of 19
77,
USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, and the American Recovery and
Rei
nvestment Act of 2009. Support
ing Standard
(19)
Governm
ent. The student understands the changing relationships amon
g the
three
branches of the federal government. The student is expe
cted to
(A)
describe the impact of events such as the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and
the Wa
r Powers Act on the relationship between the
legislative and
execu
tive branches of government; and Supporting Standar
d
(B)
evaluate the impact
of relationships among the
legislative, executive,
and judicial branches of government, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
attemp
t to increase the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices
and the
presidentia
l election of 2000.
Readiness Standard
(20)
Governm
ent. The student understands the impact of constitutional issues
on
American
society. The student is expected
to
(A)
analyze th
e effects of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions,
including
Ple
ssy v. Ferguson, Brown v. Board of Education, Hernandez v. Texas
,
Tinker v. D
es Moines, and Wisconsin v. Yoder
; and
Readines
s Standar
d
STAAR U.S. History Page 10 of 15
Texas Education Agency
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(B) explain why landmark constitutional amendments ha
ve been propose
d
and rati
fied from 1877 to the present. Supporting
Standard
(21)
Citizenship. The student understands the concept of American exceptionalism
as identified by Alexis de T
ocqueville. The student is expected
to
(A)
di
scuss values crucial to America’s success as a constitutional republic
,
inc
luding liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laisse
z–
faire. Supporting Standard
(22)
Citizens
hip. The student understands the promises of the D
eclaration of
Independence and the protections of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of
Rights. Th
e student is expected
to
(A)
identify an
d analyze methods of expanding the right to particip
ate in the
demo
cratic process, including lobbying, non–violent protesting, litigat
ion,
and amen
dments to the U.S. Constitution; Readiness Standa
rd
(B)
evaluate
various means of achieving equality of political rights, incl
uding
the 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments and congressional acts such as
the American I
ndian Citizenship Act of 1924; Supporting Standar
d
(C)
explain how participa
tion in the democratic process reflects our
national
identity, patriotism,
and civic responsibility; and Supporting
Standard
(D)
summarize
the criteria and explain the process for be
coming a
naturalized citizen o
f the United States. Supporting
Standard
(23)
Citizens
hip. The student understands the importance of effe
ctive leadership in
a con
stitutional republic. The student is expecte
d to
(A)
evaluate the con
tributions of significant political and soci
al leaders in the
United Sta
tes such as Andrew Carnegie, Thurgood
Marshall, Billy
Graham, Sandra Da
y O’Connor,
and Hillary Clinton; and
Supp
orting Standar
d
(B)
explain the
importance of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients
such
as A
rmy First Lieutenant Vernon J. Baker, Army Corp
oral Alvin York, and
Army Ma
ster Sergeant Raul “Roy” Perez
Benavidez.
Supp
orting Standar
d
STAAR U.S. History Page 11 of 15
Texas Education Agency
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Reporting Category 4:
Economics, Science, Technology, and Society
The student will demonstrate an understanding of economic and technological
influences on U.S. history.
(15) Economics. The student und
erstands domestic and
foreign issues related to
U.S. economic growth from the 1870s to 1920. The student is expected to
(A)
describe h
ow the economic impact of the Transcontinental Railroad an
d
the Home
stead Act contributed to the close of the frontier in th
e late
1
9th century; Supporting Standar
d
(B)
describe the changing relationship between the federal government and
private bu
siness, including the growth of free enterprise, costs
and
benefits of laissez–faire, Sherm
an Antitrust Act, Interstate Com
merce
Act, an
d Pure Food and Drug Act;
Readiness Standard
(C)
explain how foreign policies affected economic issues such as the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Open
Door Policy, Dollar Diplomacy
,
and immigration quotas; an
d Supporting
Standard
(D)
des
cribe the economic effects of international military conflicts, incl
uding
the Spanish–American War and World War I, on the United States.
Readines
s Standar
d
(16)
Economics. The stu
dent understands significant economic development
s
between
World War I and World War II. The student is expe
cted to
(A)
analyze causes of economic growth and prosperity in the 1920s,
including
Warren Harding’s Return to Normalcy, reduced taxe
s, and
i
ncreased production efficiencies; Supporting Standar
d
(B)
identify th
e causes of the Great Depression, including the impact o
f
tariffs on world trade, stock market speculation, bank failures, and the
m
onetary policy of the Federal Reserve System;
Readiness Standard
(C)
analyze th
e effects of the Great Depression on the U.S. economy an
d
society such as widespread une
mployment and depo
rtation and
repatriation of peo
ple of Mexican heritage
;
Readines
s Standar
d
(D)
compa
re the New Deal policies and its opponents’ approaches
to
resolving the econom
ic effects of the Gre
at Depression; and
Supp
orting Standar
d
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(E) describe h
ow various New Deal agencies and progra
ms, including the
Federal D
eposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exch
ange
Commission, and the Social Security Administration, continue to affect
the lives o
f U.S. citizens. Supporting Standar
d
(17)
Economics. The stu
dent understands the economic effects of governme
nt
policies fro
m World War II through the present. The student is expected
to
(A)
describe the economic effects of World War II on the home front such as
mobiliz
ation, the end of the Great Depression, rationing, and increas
ed
opportunity for w
omen and minority empl
oyment;
Readines
s Standar
d
(B)
identify the causes of prosperity in the 1950s, including the Baby Boom
and the impac
t of the GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944)
,
and the
effects of prosperity in the 1950s such as increased co
nsumption
and the
growth of agriculture and business; Readiness Standa
rd
(C)
describe the economic impact of defense spending on the business cycle
and edu
cation priorities from 1945 to the 1990s; Supporting
Standard
(D)
identify th
e actions and outcomes of government
policies intended to
creat
e economic opportunities for citizens such as the Great Soci
ety,
affirmative action, an
d Title IX; and Supporting Standar
d
(E)
describe th
e dynamic relationship between
U.S. international trade
policies and the
U.S. free enterprise system such as
the Organization of
Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embarg
o, the General
Agree
ment of Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the North Amer
ican Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Readiness Standard
(26)
Science, technology, and so
ciety. The student understands the impa
ct of
science,
technology, and the free enterprise system on the econ
omic
developme
nt of the United States. The student is expected
to
(A)
expl
ain the effects of scientific discoveries and techno
logical innovations
such as
electric power, telephone and satellite communicati
ons,
petroleum
–based products, steel production, and computers o
n the
econo
mic development of the United States; Readiness Standa
rd
(B)
explain how specific needs result in scientific discoveries and
tec
hnological innovations in agriculture, the military, and medici
ne; and
Supp
orting Standar
d
(C)
describe th
e effect of technological innovations in the workplace such a
s
assembly line manufacturing and robotics. Supporting Standard
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(27) Science, technology, and so
ciety. The student understands the influence o
f
sci
entific discoveries, technological innovations, and the free enterprise sys
tem
on the standard of living in the United States. The student is expected to
(A)
analy
ze how scientific discoveries, technological innovations, spac
e
exploratio
n, and the application of these by the free enterprise
system
improve
the standard of living in the United States,
including changes in
transportation and communication; and Readiness Standard
(B)
describe h
ow the free enterprise system drives technological innova
tion
and its
application in the marketplace such as cell phones, inex
pensive
person
al computers, and global positioning products. Supporti
ng
Standard
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Texas Education Agency
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Social Studies Skills
(28) Social studies skills. The student understands how historians use
historiography to interpret the past and applies critical–thinking skills to
organize and use information acquired from a variety of valid sources, including
technology. The student is expected to
(A) analyze primary and secondary sources such as maps, graphs, speeches,
political cartoons, and artifacts to acquire information to answer
historical questions;
(B) analyze information by applying absolute and relative chronology
through sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause–and–effect
relationships, comparing and contrasting, finding the main idea,
summarizing, making generalizations, making predictions, drawing
inferences, and drawing conclusions;
(D) evaluate the validity of a source based on corroboration with other
sources and information about the author, including points of view,
frames of reference, and historical context.
(29) Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual
forms. The student is expected to
(B) use social studies terminology correctly.
(30) Social studies skills. The student uses geographic tools to collect, analyze,
and interpret data. The student is expected to
(B) pose and answer questions about geographic distributions and patterns
shown on maps, graphs, charts, and available databases.
STAAR U.S. History Page 15 of 15
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