• 53 questions

VA History SOL Practice Test

Virginia and United States History, the end-of-course SOL test, in its four reporting categories from Jamestown to the Cold War.

Which settlement, begun in 1607, became the first permanent English settlement in North America?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 50 questions, no time limit.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Education. Bank checked October 8, 2026.

The real test: Virginia and U.S. History SOL

Questions
50
Items
60 on the test: 50 that count toward the score and 10 field-test items that do not.
Largest categories
Early America Through the Founding of the New Nation, and Industrialization, Emergence of Modern America, and World Conflicts: 13 to 15 items each.
Other categories
Expansion, Civil War, and Reconstruction 10 to 12; The United States since World War II 10 to 12.
Item types
Multiple choice, with technology-enhanced items for up to 15% of an online form.
How it is given
An end-of-course test, online or on paper. Everyone who takes one version answers the same questions.
Scores
A scale of 0 to 600: 400 is the minimum for proficient and 500 is advanced.

Checked October 8, 2026 against the Test Blueprint, End-of-Course Virginia and United States History, 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning, and the SOL Test Scoring & Performance Reports page, Virginia Department of Education. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

The state's own SOL practice items

Next step U.S. Constitution practiceU.S. history to 1877 practice

All 53 questions

Early America Through the Founding of the New Nation 15

  • How did the French and Indian War help lead to the American Revolution? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "French and Indian War/Seven Years' War, 1754-63"; SOL VUS.5a
  • How did the Great Compromise settle representation in Congress? U.S. Senate, Senate Historical Office, "A Great Compromise"; SOL VUS.6c
  • In 1676 Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion in Virginia against which official? National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne, "Bacon's Rebellion"; SOL VUS.4c
  • What did the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France give the American cause? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)"; SOL VUS.5e
  • What did the Stamp Act require of colonists? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Parliamentary taxation of colonies, international trade, and the American Revolution, 1763-1775"; SOL VUS.5b
  • What did the Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom do? Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia, "Virginia Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom (1786)"; SOL VUS.6a
  • Where did Patrick Henry give the speech that ended, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"? Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia, "Patrick Henry (1736-1799)"; SOL VUS.5b
Show all 53 questions (46 more)

Early America Through the Founding of the New Nation, continued

  • Which 1781 siege in Virginia, fought by American and French forces, ended with the surrender of the army of Lord Cornwallis? National Park Service, Yorktown Battlefield, "History of the Siege"; SOL VUS.5e
  • Which body, first meeting at Jamestown on July 30, 1619, began the American tradition of representative government? National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne, "The First Legislative Assembly"; SOL VUS.2d
  • Which principle did Chief Justice John Marshall establish in Marbury v. Madison? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Marbury v. Madison (1803)"; SOL VUS.6f
  • Which settlement, begun in 1607, became the first permanent English settlement in North America? National Park Service, Historic Jamestowne, "A Short History of Jamestown"; SOL VUS.2a
  • Which Virginian wrote most of the Virginia Plan that was presented to the Constitutional Convention in 1787? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Virginia Plan (1787)"; SOL VUS.6c
  • Which was a weakness of the Articles of Confederation? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Articles of Confederation (1777)"; SOL VUS.6b
  • Who did the actual writing of the Declaration of Independence for the committee of five? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Declaration of Independence (1776)"; SOL VUS.5d
  • Who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which became the basis of the Bill of Rights? National Archives, America's Founding Documents, "The Virginia Declaration of Rights"; SOL VUS.6a

Expansion, Civil War, and Reconstruction 12

  • Under the Missouri Compromise, which two states were admitted at the same time? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Missouri Compromise (1820)"; SOL VUS.8c
  • What did the Indian Removal Act of 1830 authorize the president to do? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress 'On Indian Removal' (1830)"; SOL VUS.7b
  • What did the Readjuster Party, which won control of the Virginia General Assembly in 1879, want to do? Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia, "The Readjuster Party"; SOL VUS.9g
  • What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sandford? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)"; SOL VUS.8c
  • What idea did Senator Stephen Douglas build into the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)"; SOL VUS.8c
  • What was the effect of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)"; SOL VUS.7e
  • Where did Robert E. Lee surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Articles of Agreement Relating to the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865)"; SOL VUS.9a
  • Which amendment, ratified in December 1865, abolished slavery in the United States? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)"; SOL VUS.8d
  • Which British practice was a cause of the War of 1812? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Treaty of Ghent (1814)"; SOL VUS.7a
  • Which is a major provision of the 14th Amendment? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868)"; SOL VUS.8d
  • Which treaty ended the Mexican-American War in 1848? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)"; SOL VUS.7g
  • Whom did the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, declare free? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Emancipation Proclamation (1863)"; SOL VUS.9b

Industrialization, Emergence of Modern America, and World Conflicts 14

  • How did the Immigration Act of 1924 limit immigration? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act)"; SOL VUS.12c
  • What brought the United States into World War II? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Japan (1941)"; SOL VUS.14b
  • What did buying stocks "on margin" mean in the 1920s? Federal Reserve History, "Stock Market Crash of 1929"; SOL VUS.13a
  • What did Executive Order 9066 lead to in 1942? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942)"; SOL VUS.14b
  • What did the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, do? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920)"; SOL VUS.12f
  • What did the Morrill Act of 1862 make possible? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Morrill Act (1862)"; SOL VUS.10h
  • What did the Roosevelt Corollary add to the Monroe Doctrine? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1905)"; SOL VUS.11b
  • What did the Supreme Court uphold in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)"; SOL VUS.10g
  • What did the Zimmermann Telegram of 1917 propose? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Zimmermann Telegram (1917)"; SOL VUS.11c
  • What was Operation Overlord? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Order of the Day (1944)"; SOL VUS.14e
  • What was the Byrd Organization? Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia, "Massive Resistance"; SOL VUS.10f
  • Which lands did Spain cede to the United States after the war of 1898? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "The Spanish-American War, 1898"; SOL VUS.11a
  • Which New Deal law of 1935 set up old-age benefits and unemployment insurance? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Social Security Act (1935)"; SOL VUS.13b
  • Why did the United States never join the League of Nations? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "The League of Nations, 1920"; SOL VUS.11e

The United States since World War II 12

  • How did the fighting in the Korean War end in 1953? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Armistice Agreement for the Restoration of the South Korean State (1953)"; SOL VUS.15d
  • In 1951, students at Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, walked out to protest unequal schools. Who led the strike? Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia, "Moton School Strike and Prince Edward County School Closings"; SOL VUS.16b
  • In the Truman Doctrine speech of 1947, for which two countries did President Truman ask Congress for aid? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Truman Doctrine (1947)"; SOL VUS.15a
  • What caused the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962"; SOL VUS.15c
  • What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Civil Rights Act (1964)"; SOL VUS.16e
  • What did the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 establish? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (1956)"; SOL VUS.17a
  • What did the Supreme Court rule in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Brown v. Board of Education (1954)"; SOL VUS.16b
  • What was Massive Resistance in Virginia? Virginia Humanities, Encyclopedia Virginia, "Massive Resistance"; SOL VUS.16b
  • What was the purpose of the Marshall Plan? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Marshall Plan (1948)"; SOL VUS.15b
  • Which event of November 9, 1989, came to represent the end of the Cold War? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, 1989"; SOL VUS.15e
  • Which law of 1965 outlawed literacy tests as a requirement for voting? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Voting Rights Act (1965)"; SOL VUS.16e
  • Why was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization created in 1949? U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, Milestones, "North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), 1949"; SOL VUS.15b

How this list was compiled: Outline: Test Blueprint, End-of-Course Virginia and United States History, 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning (effective with the spring 2026 tests, updated July 2026), Virginia Department of Education, https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/64316/639198032467030000, linked from Test Blueprints, https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/student-assessment/virginia-sol-assessment-program/test-blueprints, read 2026-10-08. Each question names the standard it practices in the History and Social Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools (adopted April 2023), Grade 11: Virginia and United States History, https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/57774/638635432035600000, linked from https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/history-and-social-science/standards-of-learning, read 2026-10-08. Each fact rests on the public page named under its answer, opened 2026-10-08: the National Archives, the State Department's Office of the Historian, the National Park Service, the U.S. Senate, Federal Reserve History or Encyclopedia Virginia. Licence: Own work. Questions, answer choices and explanations were written for this site. Nothing is copied or reworded from an SOL test, a released test, a state practice item or another practice test. Short quotations are from public documents and the named pages.

How it works

Unofficial practice for the end-of-course SOL test in Virginia and United States History. All 53 questions were written for this site from the 2023 standards, VUS.1 to VUS.17, and none is a released item. This site is not affiliated with the Virginia Department of Education.

Read the full guide

What the U.S. History SOL practice test covers

The state blueprint sorts 50 scored items into four reporting categories. Early America Through the Founding of the New Nation has 13 to 15: Jamestown, the Revolution, the Constitution. Expansion, Civil War, and Reconstruction has 10 to 12. Industrialization, Emergence of Modern America, and World Conflicts has 13 to 15, from industrial growth through World War II. The United States since World War II has 10 to 12: the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement.

How the answers are checked

Under each answer is its standard, such as VUS.6f for Marbury v. Madison, and the page the fact was read on: the National Archives, the State Department's Office of the Historian, the National Park Service, the U.S. Senate, Federal Reserve History or Encyclopedia Virginia.

  • Know Virginia's own part: the 1619 assembly, the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Statute for Religious Freedom, the Readjusters, the Byrd Organization and Massive Resistance.

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the Virginia U.S. History SOL test?

60 items: 50 count toward the score and 10 are field-test items that do not. Up to 15% of the items on an online form are technology-enhanced, and the rest are multiple choice.

Which standards does this practice US History SOL test follow?

The 2023 History and Social Science Standards of Learning, VUS.1 to VUS.17. The state blueprint for them took effect with the spring 2026 tests. A blueprint for the 2015 standards is still posted beside it.

Where are more Virginia US History SOL practice tests?

The Virginia Department of Education posts practice items for the course on its SOL Practice Items page, linked in the box under the questions. They show the technology-enhanced item types that this page cannot.

Does this United States History SOL review practice test cover Virginia history?

Yes. The course is Virginia and United States History, so questions on Jamestown, Bacon's Rebellion, Patrick Henry, Yorktown, Appomattox, the Readjusters and Massive Resistance sit beside the national ones.

What is a passing score on the Virginia U.S. History SOL?

SOL scores run from 0 to 600. 400 is the minimum for Pass/Proficient and 500 for Pass/Advanced; below 400 the level is Fail/Does Not Meet. A percent on this page is practice only.

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