After Parliament passed the Stamp Act, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed a set of resolutions. What did the resolutions deny?U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Parliamentary Taxation of Colonies, International Trade, and the American Revolution, 1763-1775"; TEKS 8.4(A)
How did the Great Compromise settle the argument over representation in Congress?U.S. Senate, "A Great Compromise"; TEKS 8.4(D)
In 1619 elected burgesses met with the governor and his council in the church at Jamestown. Why is that meeting important?National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne, "The First Legislative Assembly"; TEKS 8.3(B)
In the autumn of 1777 American forces defeated a British army and forced it to surrender. The victory secured essential foreign recognition and support. Where did it happen?National Park Service, Saratoga National Historical Park, "History & Culture"; TEKS 8.4(C)
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 rested on the idea of popular sovereignty. What did that idea mean for the two territories?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)"; TEKS 8.7(E)
On what date did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Declaration of Independence (1776)"; TEKS 8.4(C)
Show all 44 questions (38 more)
History, continued
Under the Three-Fifths Compromise, how were enslaved people counted when seats in the House of Representatives were divided among the states?National Archives, "The Constitution: How Did it Happen?"; TEKS 8.4(D)
What did George Washington warn the nation to avoid in his Farewell Address of 1796?U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Washington's Farewell Address, 1796"; TEKS 8.5(F)
What did the Indian Removal Act of 1830 require of the Indian tribes of the Southeast?National Park Service, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, "History & Culture"; TEKS 8.5(H)
What did the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provide?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Northwest Ordinance (1787)"; TEKS 8.6(A)
What did the Royal Proclamation of 1763 do?U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Proclamation Line of 1763, Quebec Act of 1774 and Westward Expansion"; TEKS 8.4(A)
What did the Treaty of Paris of 1783 do?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Treaty of Paris (1783)"; TEKS 8.4(C)
What was one result of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)"; TEKS 8.6(B)
Where were the first shots of the Civil War fired on April 12, 1861?National Park Service, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, "History & Culture"; TEKS 8.8(C)
Which event took place in 1607?TEA, STAAR Grade 8 Social Studies, Eligible Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (revised August 2024), TEKS 8.1(B)
Which treaty ended the war between the United States and Mexico in 1848?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)"; TEKS 8.6(C)
Whom did the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, declare free?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Emancipation Proclamation (1863)"; TEKS 8.8(C)
Geography and Culture 10
After escaping from slavery in Maryland, which leader of the abolitionist movement ran his own newspaper, The North Star?National Park Service, Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, "Frederick Douglass"; TEKS 8.24(A)
After her own escape from slavery, what did Harriet Tubman do over the next ten years?National Park Service, "Harriet Tubman"; TEKS 8.23(D)
Before 1803, why did farmers west of the Appalachian Mountains care so much about the port of New Orleans?U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Louisiana Purchase, 1803"; TEKS 8.10(C)
Before the Civil War, which reformer worked for better hospitals and state-funded care for people with mental illness?National Park Service, "Dorothea Dix"; TEKS 8.24(B)
In 1781 the British general Cornwallis took his army to Yorktown, a town on the water in Virginia. Why did he go there?National Park Service, Yorktown Battlefield, "History & Culture"; TEKS 8.10(C)
In March 1776 Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John, who was in Philadelphia. What did she ask him to do?National Park Service, "Abigail Adams"; TEKS 8.23(E)
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 drew a line across the rest of the Louisiana Territory. What did the law say about the land north of the 36°30' line?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Missouri Compromise (1820)"; TEKS 8.10(A)
What happened at Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848?National Park Service, Women's Rights National Historical Park, "The First Women's Rights Convention"; TEKS 8.24(B)
Where did the Continental Army under George Washington camp during the winter of 1777 to 1778?National Park Service, Valley Forge National Historical Park, "History & Culture"; TEKS 8.10(A)
Which words of the First Amendment protect religious freedom?National Archives, "The Bill of Rights: A Transcription"; TEKS 8.25(C)
Government and Citizenship 10
During the debate over ratifying the Constitution, what did its opponents demand?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Bill of Rights (1791)"; TEKS 8.17(A)
In McCulloch v. Maryland, Maryland had taxed a branch of the national bank. What did the Supreme Court decide?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)"; TEKS 8.18(B)
Magna Carta promised proceedings according to "the law of the land." Which part of the U.S. Constitution descends directly from that promise?National Archives, Featured Documents, "Magna Carta"; TEKS 8.15(A)
The president can veto a bill that Congress has passed. Which principle of the Constitution does this show?USA.gov, "Branches of the U.S. government"; TEKS 8.15(D)
What did the 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, do?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)"; TEKS 8.16(B)
What did the Supreme Court say in Dred Scott v. Sandford in 1857?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)"; TEKS 8.18(C)
What was a major provision of the 14th Amendment?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)"; TEKS 8.16(B)
Which Supreme Court decision established the principle of judicial review?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Marbury v. Madison (1803)"; TEKS 8.18(A)
Which unalienable rights does the Declaration of Independence name?National Archives, "Declaration of Independence: A Transcription"; TEKS 8.19(A)
Which was a weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Articles of Confederation (1777)"; TEKS 8.15(B)
Economics, Science, Technology, and Society 7
At the start of the Civil War, how did the economies of the North and the South differ?National Park Service, "Industry and Economy during the Civil War"; TEKS 8.12(C)
The cotton gin, patented in 1794, made it far easier to remove the seeds from cotton. What effect did it have on slavery?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Patent for Cotton Gin (1794)"; TEKS 8.27(A)
Eli Whitney is known for the cotton gin. What method did he try in his gun factory that changed how goods were made?National Park Service, "Eli Whitney"; TEKS 8.27(B)
Robert Fulton built his steamboat in 1807. In Gibbons v. Ogden, a case about steamboats, what did the Supreme Court rule?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)"; TEKS 8.27(A)
What did the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 provide?National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Pacific Railway Act (1862)"; TEKS 8.27(C)
Which is a feature of the free enterprise system that grew up in the new nation?TEA, STAAR Grade 8 Social Studies, Eligible Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (revised August 2024), TEKS 8.14(A)
Who made up most of the workforce in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts, before the Civil War?National Park Service, Lowell National Historical Park, "The Mill Girls"; TEKS 8.28(B)
How this list was compiled: Outline: STAAR Grade 8 Social Studies Blueprint, effective as of academic year 2022-23, Texas Education Agency, https://tea.texas.gov/data-reports/staar/staar-g8-ss-blueprint.pdf, linked from STAAR Resources, https://tea.texas.gov/data-reports/staar/staar-resources, read 2026-10-08. Each question names the student expectation it practices in TEA's Grade 8 Social Studies Assessment, Eligible Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (revised August 2024), https://tea.texas.gov/data-reports/staar/staar-8-social-studies-assessed-curriculum.pdf, read 2026-10-08. Each fact rests on the public page named under its answer, opened 2026-10-08: the National Archives, the National Park Service, the U.S. Senate, the State Department's Office of the Historian or USA.gov. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from a STAAR test, a released test, a TEA practice set or another practice test. Short quotations are from public documents of the United States.
How it works
Unofficial practice for the grade 8 social studies STAAR, the Texas test on U.S. history through 1877. The questions are our own and none is a released question. Not affiliated with the Texas Education Agency.
Read the full guide
What the 8th grade social studies STAAR covers
The blueprint has four reporting categories. History is the largest, from Jamestown and the Revolution to the Civil War and Reconstruction. Geography and Culture adds places, reform movements and religious freedom. Government and Citizenship covers the Constitution, its amendments and landmark Supreme Court cases. The fourth category is economics and inventions: the cotton gin, the steamboat, factories and railroads.
How the answers are checked
Each question names the TEKS student expectation it practices. Its fact was read on a public page named under the answer: the National Archives for founding documents and court cases, the National Park Service for places and people, the State Department's Office of the Historian for treaties.
Learn the six dates the TEKS name: 1607, 1620, 1776, 1787, 1803 and 1861 to 1865.
For a court case, learn the question it settled, not only its name.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the 8th grade social studies STAAR?
40, worth 49 points: 31 one-point questions and 9 two-point questions that are not multiple choice. This page has 44 questions, all multiple choice.
Is this 8th grade history STAAR test practice?
Yes. Texas names the test grade 8 social studies, and its content is U.S. history through 1877, with the geography, government, economics and culture of those years.
Are there grade 8 study guides for the social studies STAAR test?
TEA's list of eligible TEKS is the outline to study from. It names the eras: colonization, revolution, the Constitution, the early republic, the Age of Jackson, westward expansion, reform movements, sectionalism, the Civil War and Reconstruction.
What is a passing score on the 8th grade social studies STAAR?
Approaches Grade Level or higher counts as passing. TEA reports four levels, from Did Not Meet to Masters Grade Level, on a scale score, so a percent on this page is not a STAAR score.
Is this the Texas STAAR practice test for grade 8 social studies from TEA?
No. It is unofficial and was written for this site. TEA posts released STAAR questions of its own, and the link to them is in the box under the questions.