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Test Yourself: Grade 8

Grade 8 Sample Questions page graphic

The following questions were included in the 2006 NAEP U.S. History assessment at grade 8. As in the actual assessment, some of the questions are multiple choice, and others are constructed response. Although students are asked to handwrite their responses, you can type yours in the space provided.

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer the questions below, then click submit at the bottom of the page.

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Question 1: The following question refers to the painting below of a town on the western frontier.

This black and white picture depicts a frontier with expansive land, mountain ranges, rivers and bodies of water, frontier people, log houses, a locomotive riding diagonally through the center of the frontier.

Paintings like this one helped to make people want to go west. How was life on
the frontier different from what the painting shows?

1)

2)

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Question 2:

This is a black and white photo with the title

What event is depicted in the photograph above?

How was American foreign policy influenced by the event depicted in the photograph? Explain, using one example.

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Question 3: The purpose of the Underground Railroad was to

A.

make transportation to the western frontier easier

B.

take Native Americans to reservations in the West

C.

provide an escape route for slaves fleeing their masters

D.

provide a way for European immigrants to move to the Midwest

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Question 4: What was a major effect of the introduction of the cotton gin?

A.

A decline in the southern slave population

B.

A decline in the size of southern farms

C.

An increase in cotton production

D.

An increase in the import of manufactured goods

 Click here to submit your responses.

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