Course

Course Summary

Credit Type:

Exam

ACE ID:

CLEP-0033

Organization:

College Board's College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Location:

Certified CLEP testing centers throughout the U.S.

Length:

1.5 hours

Dates Offered:

Credit Recommendation & Competencies

Level	Credits (SH)	Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate	3	Western Civilization II

Credit is recommended for candidates scoring 50 and above.

Description

Objective:

The Western Civilization II: 1648 to the Present exam covers material that is usually taught in the second semester of a two-semester course in Western civilization. Questions cover European history from the mid-17th century through the post-Second World War period including political, economic, and cultural developments such as scientific thought, the Enlightenment, the French and Industrial Revolutions, and the First and Second World Wars. Test takers may be asked to choose the correct definition of a historical term, select the historical figure whose political viewpoint is described, identify the correct relationship between two historical factors, or detect the inaccurate pairing of an individual with a historical event. Groups of questions may require candidates to interpret, evaluate, or relate the contents of a passage, a map, a picture, or a cartoon to the other information, or to analyze and use the data contained in a graph or table.

The exam contains 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.

Skills Measured:

Questions on the Western Civilization II exam require test takers to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities:
• Understanding important factual knowledge of developments in Western civilization
• Ability to identify the causes and effects of major historical events
• Ability to analyze, interpret, and evaluate textual and graphic materials
• Ability to distinguish the relevant from the irrelevant
• Ability to reach conclusions on the basis of facts

The subject matter of the Western Civilization II exam is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentages of exam questions on those topics.
• Absolutism and Constitutionalism, 1648–1715 (7%–9%)
• Competition for empire and economic expansion (4%–6%)
• The Scientific View of the World (5%–7%)
• Period of Enlightenment (7%–9%)
• Revolution and Napoleonic Europe (10%–13%)
• The Industrial Revolution (7%–9%)
• Political and cultural developments, 1815–1848 (6%–8%)
• Politics and diplomacy in the Age of Nationalism, 1850–1914 (8%–10%)
• Economy, Culture, and Imperialism, 1850–1914 (7%–9%)
• The First World War and the Russian Revolution (10%–12%)
• Europe Between the Wars (7%–9%)
• The Second World War and contemporary Europe (8%–10%)

Instruction & Assessment