A historian studying a Civil War regiment uses a diary that one of its soldiers kept during the campaign. What kind of source is the diary?Wikipedia, "Primary source". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0001
About how many new states in Asia and Africa gained autonomy or independence from European colonial rulers between 1945 and 1960?U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Decolonization of Asia and Africa, 1945-1960". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0004
At the Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885, what did the principle of effective occupation require of a power that claimed land in Africa?Wikipedia, "Berlin Conference". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0004
Besides goods, what did the trade of the Silk Road carry across Eurasia over many centuries?Wikipedia, "Silk Road". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0002
Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis put the origin of American democracy in which place?Wikipedia, "Frontier Thesis". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0001
In the dynastic cycle used to describe Chinese history, what explains the fall of a ruling house?Wikipedia, "Dynastic cycle". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0001
Show all 48 questions (42 more)
Historiography and world history, continued
Laws 196 and 200 of the Code of Hammurabi prescribe an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. What is this principle of matching the penalty to the injury called?Wikipedia, "Code of Hammurabi". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0002
The printing press that Johannes Gutenberg built around 1440 is credited with helping which two movements spread?Wikipedia, "Printing press". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0003
The treaties of the Peace of Westphalia, signed in 1648, ended which conflict?Wikipedia, "Peace of Westphalia". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0003
The Treaty of Versailles planned a League of Nations, which President Woodrow Wilson strongly backed. What did the United States do about the League?U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "The Paris Peace Conference and the Treaty of Versailles". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0004
Which change in how people lived is most directly tied to the Neolithic Revolution?Wikipedia, "Neolithic Revolution". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0002
Which pair of crops moved from the Americas to Europe, Asia and Africa in the Columbian exchange?Wikipedia, "Columbian exchange". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0003
U.S. history 12
Before the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, who chose U.S. senators?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Direct Election of U.S. Senators (1913)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0007
Executive Order 9066, issued on February 19, 1942, authorized the forced removal of "all persons deemed a threat to national security" from which region?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0008
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 chartered a government for the Northwest Territory. What else did it provide?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Northwest Ordinance (1787)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0005
The Pendleton Act of 1883 replaced the "spoils system" in covered federal jobs with what?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Pendleton Act (1883)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0007
President Monroe's annual message to Congress of December 2, 1823, carried a warning. To whom was it addressed, and about what?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Monroe Doctrine (1823)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0006
Under the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, who was to decide whether slavery would be legal in the two new territories?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0006
What did the Dawes Act of 1887 authorize the President to do?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Dawes Act (1887)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0007
What did the Homestead Act of 1862 grant to an adult head of a family who paid a small filing fee and lived on the land for five years?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Homestead Act (1862)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0006
What kind of union did the Articles of Confederation set up among the 13 states?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Articles of Confederation (1777)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0005
Which practice, used in many southern states as a prerequisite to voting, did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaw?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Voting Rights Act (1965)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0008
Which program did the Social Security Act of 1935 create, among others?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Social Security Act (1935)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0008
Which two provisions of the Treaty of Paris of 1783 does the National Archives call crucial?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Treaty of Paris (1783)". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0005
Geography and culture 9
A county planner layers maps of floodplains, roads and housing on a computer to see where they overlap. Which tool is the planner using?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts, "What is GIS?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0009
A family leaves its home country because of a war there. In the study of migration, what is the war?Wikipedia, "Human migration". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0011
During an El Niño winter, the Pacific jet stream moves south. What does this usually bring to the southern United States?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts, "What are El Niño and La Niña?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0010
For the 2020 Census, a densely settled territory qualified as an urban area if it had at least 2,000 housing units or a population of at least how many?U.S. Census Bureau, "Urban and Rural". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0011
In Stage 2 of the demographic transition model, death rates drop quickly while birth rates stay high. What happens to the population?Wikipedia, "Demographic transition". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0011
Lines of latitude are also called parallels. What do they measure?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts, "What is latitude?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0009
Many of the world's large port cities stand on estuaries. Where is an estuary usually found?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts, "What is an estuary?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0010
On a Mercator world map, Greenland looks about as large as Africa. What is true of their real areas?Wikipedia, "Mercator projection". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0009
Which process pushed up the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau?U.S. Geological Survey, This Dynamic Earth, "Understanding plate motions". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0010
Government 9
A bill reaches the President while Congress is in session. Three weeks later, with Congress still sitting, the President has neither signed it nor sent it back. What is the bill's status under Article I, section 7?Constitution of the United States, transcription at the National Archives. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0014
A state law conflicts with a treaty made under the authority of the United States. Which rule of Article VI decides the conflict?Constitution of the United States, transcription at the National Archives. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0014
A town council votes to name one faith the official religion of the town. Which amendment's opening clause does this run against?Bill of Rights, transcription at the National Archives. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0013
"Ambition must be made to counteract ambition." Which feature of the Constitution does this line from Federalist No. 51 defend?The Federalist No. 51, text at the Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0012
How does James Madison define a faction in Federalist No. 10?The Federalist No. 10 (Madison), text at the Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0012
In Federalist No. 10, what is the first point of difference between a republic and a democracy?The Federalist No. 10 (Madison), text at the Avalon Project, Yale Law School. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0012
The President has negotiated a treaty. Under Article II of the Constitution, what must happen before the treaty is made?Constitution of the United States, transcription at the National Archives. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0014
Under the 23rd Amendment, how many electors does the District of Columbia have in the Electoral College?National Archives, "What is the Electoral College?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0013
Which amendment says that no state shall "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"?Constitution of the United States, Amendments 11 to 27, transcription at the National Archives. Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0013
Economics 6
A deposit of $100 earns 5% interest a year, and the interest is left in the account. How much interest does the account earn in the second year?U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, "What is compound interest?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0015
A student has one free evening and can work a paid shift, study for an exam or go to a concert. She studies. In economics, what is her opportunity cost?Wikipedia, "Opportunity cost". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0015
Congress raises income tax rates and cuts spending on highways. Which kind of policy is this?Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, FAQs, "What is the difference between monetary policy and fiscal policy, and how are they related?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0016
David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage, developed in 1817, explains which puzzle?Wikipedia, "Comparative advantage". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0016
The Federal Open Market Committee states its 2 percent inflation goal in terms of which price index?Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, FAQs, "What is inflation and how does the Federal Reserve evaluate changes in the rate of inflation?". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0016
With income and the prices of other goods held constant, the price of a good rises. What does the law of demand predict?Wikipedia, "Law of demand". Outline: NES Social Science (303) framework, competency 0015
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test framework for NES Social Science, test 303, read 2026-10-09 on the National Evaluation Series site (https://www.nestest.com/static/docs/NES_Framework_303.pdf; test page https://www.nestest.com/test/303): Historiography and World History (competencies 0001 to 0004, 25%), U.S. History (0005 to 0008, 25%), Geography and Culture (0009 to 0011, 19%), Government (0012 to 0014, 19%) and Economics (0015 to 0016, 12%). The bank holds 3 questions for each of the 16 competencies. Every fact was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page the question names: the Milestone Documents and founding document transcriptions of the National Archives (archives.gov), the Milestones of the Office of the Historian (history.state.gov), The Federalist at the Avalon Project (avalon.law.yale.edu), NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve Board, Investor.gov and Wikipedia. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
Practice for test 303 with 48 questions of our own, three for every competency on the framework. This is an unofficial NES Social Science practice test, not affiliated with Pearson, the owner of the National Evaluation Series.
Read the full guide
Study guide: what NES 303 covers
The framework, read October 9, 2026, gives a quarter of the score to historiography and world history, a quarter to U.S. history, 19% each to geography and culture and to government, and 12% to economics.
What this content area practice test holds
Twelve world history questions, twelve on U.S. history, nine on geography, nine on government and six on economics. Against the clock, the full set gets 58 minutes.
Where the answers come from
U.S. history and government questions cite the National Archives and The Federalist. World history cites the State Department's historians and Wikipedia. Geography and economics cite NOAA, the Census Bureau and the Federal Reserve.
History is half the score, split evenly between world and U.S. history, so give it half of your study time.
The framework names historians' interpretations, such as Turner's frontier thesis, so learn the argument and not only the dates.
Questions and answers
Is this NES Social Science practice test the real exam?
No. These 48 questions are our own, written from the 303 framework, and each one points to the archive record, federal page or article where its answer can be checked. Real test items, study guide samples and the paid practice test were left unopened.
How many questions are on the NES 303 Social Science test?
150, all multiple choice, with 3 hours to answer them after a 15-minute tutorial and nondisclosure agreement. No reference materials are listed for this test.
What is the passing score for NES Social Science?
The national benchmark shown for test 303 is a scaled score of 220, beside links to the passing scores Arizona and Oregon have set. Ask your own state's agency, and read a score here only as a count of right answers.
Is NES Social Science 325 the same test as 303?
No. The test list carries a second Social Science test, 325, which has 100 multiple-choice questions and a shorter appointment. Everything on this page is written to 303, so confirm the code before you register.