US History STAAR
Spring 2013
Bottom 14!
(approximately bottom quintile)
> 38%
US History: STAAR Scores
• Level III = 7
• Level II = 73
• Level I = 27
• 7903 Students Assessed
Format of Questions
• Dual-Coded = 34 (50%)
• Images = 11
• Graphs (data) = 3
• Graphic Organizers = 6
• Quotes/Excerpts = 14
• Maps = 2
RC 4, SS
H.28(B): explain how space technology and exploration
improve the quality of life
H.29(H)
A = 17
B = 27
C = 30
D = 26*
RC 1, RS
H.7(G): explain the home front and how American patriotism inspired
exceptional actions by citizens and military personnel, including high
levels of military enlistment; volunteerism; the purchase of war bonds;
Victory Gardens; the bravery and contributions of the Tuskegee
Airmen, the Flying Tigers, and the Navajo Code Talkers; and
opportunities and obstacles for women and ethnic minorities
F = 29
G = 33
H = 30*
J= 8
RC 1, RS
H.9(F): describe presidential actions and congressional votes to
address minority rights in the United States, including
desegregation of the armed forces, the Civil Rights acts of 1957
and 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
F = 40
G = 31*
H = 10
J = 19
RC 3, RS
H.23(A): identify and analyze methods of expanding the right to
participate in the democratic process, including lobbying, non-violent
protesting, litigation, and amendments to the U.S. Constitution;
H.30(B)
F = 39
G = 16
H = 31*
J = 14
RC 2, SS
H.26(D): identify the political, social, and economic
contributions of women such as Frances Willard, Jane
Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dolores Huerta, Sonia
Sotomayor, and Oprah Winfrey to American society
F = 47
G=8
H = 31*
J = 14
RC 2, SS
H.26(E): discuss the meaning and historical significance of the
mottos "E Pluribus Unum" and "In God We Trust"
F = 25
G = 33*
H = 16
J = 26
RC 1, RS
H.3(C): analyze social issues affecting women, minorities, children,
immigrants, urbanization, the Social Gospel, and philanthropy of industrialists
H.29(H)
F = 23
G = 12
H = 31
J = 34*
RC 1, SS
H.7(E): analyze major military events of World War II, including the Battle
of Midway, the U.S. military advancement through the Pacific Islands, the
Bataan Death March, the invasion of Normandy, fighting the war on
multiple fronts, and the liberation of concentration camps
H.29(H)
F = 37
G = 21
H=8
J = 35*
RC 2, SS
H.25(A): describe how the characteristics and issues in U.S.
history have been reflected in various genres of art, music,
film, and literature
H.29(B)
A = 32
B = 19
C = 35*
D = 14
RC 1, SS
H.6(B): analyze the impact of significant individuals such as Clarence
Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, Henry Ford, Glenn Curtiss, Marcus
Garvey, and Charles A. Lindbergh
F = 13
G = 26
H = 26
J = 35*
RC1, RS
H.4(A): explain why significant events, policies, and individuals such as the
Spanish-American War, U.S. expansionism, Henry Cabot Lodge, Alfred
Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, Sanford B. Dole, and missionaries
moved the United States into the position of a world power
H.29(B)
A = 19
B= 37*
C = 23
D = 21
RC 2, RS
H.13(B): analyze the causes and effects of changing demographic
patterns resulting from legal and illegal immigration to the United
States
H.29(H)
F = 12
G = 38*
H = 26
J = 24
RC 4, RS
H.17(B): identify the
causes of prosperity in
the 1950s, including
the Baby Boom and the
impact of the GI Bill
(Servicemen's
Readjustment Act of
1944), and the effects
of prosperity in the
1950s such as
increased consumption
and the growth of
agriculture and
business
F = 38*
G = 20
H = 19
J = 23
RC 1, RS
H.5(A): evaluate the impact of Progressive Era reforms, including
initiative, referendum, recall, and the passage of the 16th, 17th,
18th, and 19th amendments
H.29(B)
A = 25
B = 18
C = 38*
D = 19
RC1, RS
H.10(D): describe U.S. involvement in the Middle East such
as support for Israel, the Camp David Accords, the IranContra Affair, Marines in Lebanon, and the Iran Hostage
Crisis
F = 18
G = 19
H = 24
J = 38*
Analysis of Bottom 14
• Dual Coded: 8 out of 14 (57%)
• Images: 3 out of 14 (21%)
• Graphs (data): 1 out of 14 (7%)
• Graphic Organizers: 1 out of 14 (7%)
• Quotes/Excerpts: 4 out of 14 (29%)
• Maps: 0
Grade 8 Social Studies Test
Bottom 14
>50
 Dual-coded
 Images
= 22
=2
 Graphs (data) = 0
 Graphic Organizers = 12
 Quotes = 8
 Maps = 1
Level I (Unsatisfactory) = 37
 Level II (Satisfactory)
= 63
 Level III (Advanced)
= 13


344,283 Students Assessed
Phase-In 2
 Recommended

= 44%
= 26%
RC 1, SS
8.1(C) explain the significance of the following
dates: 1607, founding of Jamestown; 1620,
arrival of the Pilgrims and signing of the
Mayflower Compact; 1776, adoption of the
Declaration of Independence; 1787, writing of
the U.S. Constitution; 1803, Louisiana
Purchase; and 1861-1865, Civil War
F = 15
G = 30
H = 25
J = 30*
RC4, RS
8.27(B) analyze the impact of
transportation and communication systems
on the growth, development, and
urbanization of the United States
F = 22
G = 14
H = 31*
J = 32
RC 3, SS
8.22(B) describe the contributions of significant
political, social, and military leaders of the
United States such as Frederick Douglass, John
Paul Jones, James Monroe, Stonewall Jackson,
Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
A = 16
B = 32
C = 16
D = 36*
RC3, RS
8.16(B) describe the impact of 19thcentury amendments, including the 13th,
14th, and 15th amendments, on life in the
United States
A = 31
B = 29
C=4
D = 36*
RC 3, RS
8.15(D) analyze how the U.S. Constitution reflects
the principles of limited government, republicanism,
checks and balances, federalism, separation of
powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights
8.30(A)
F = 10
G = 38*
H = 45
J =7
RC4, SS
8.28(B) identify examples of how
industrialization changed life in the
United States
A=8
B = 17
C = 40*
D = 35
RC2, SS
8.23(C) identify ways conflicts between
people from various racial, ethnic, and
religious groups were resolved
8.29(C)
F = 40*
G = 19
H = 21
J = 21
RC1, RS
8.4(A) analyze causes of the American
Revolution, including the Proclamation of 1763,
the Intolerable Acts, the Stamp Act,
mercantilism, lack of representation in
Parliament, and British economic policies
following the French and Indian War
F = 18
G = 10
H = 41*
J = 31
RC 1, RS
8.7(C) analyze the impact of
slavery on different sections of the
United States
F = 44*
G = 33
H = 10
J = 13
RC 2, RS
8.23(A) identify selected racial, ethnic,
and religious groups that settled in the
United States and explain their reasons
for immigration
A = 12
B = 44*
C = 32
D = 12
RC 3, RS
8.18(A) identify the origin of judicial review
and analyze examples of congressional and
presidential responses
A = 13
B = 45*
C = 26
D = 15
RC1, RS
8.5(A) describe major domestic problems faced by
the leaders of the new republic such as maintaining
national security, building a military, creating a
stable economic system, setting up the court
system, and defining the authority of the central
government
F = 14
G = 46*
H = 10
J = 30
RC 3, SS
8.18(B) summarize the issues, decisions, and
significance of landmark Supreme Court
cases, including Marbury v. Madison,
McCulloch v. Maryland, and Gibbons v. Ogden
A = 23
B = 14
C = 48*
D = 14
RC2, RS
8.10(B) compare places and regions of the United
States in terms of physical and human
characteristics
A = 35
B= 5
C = 48*
D = 12
Analysis of Bottom 14






Dual Coded: 2 out of 14 (14%)
Images: 0
Graphs (data): 0
Graphic Organizers: 1 out of 14 (7%)
Quotes/Excerpts: 1 out of 14 (7%)
Maps: 0