Legislative Exams
All students enrolled in an institution of higher education affiliated with the University System of Georgia must receive instruction in Georgia history and government. Political science and history courses taught in University System schools include the required information about Georgia.
The University System assumes that political science and history courses from non-System colleges and universities do not include Georgia history and government. Students must either take the courses again or demonstrate knowledge of the content through legislative exams.
Students may take a legislative exam in lieu of a credit course if:
- they have non-System Constitution transfer credit for POLS 1101, American Government; or they have private or out-of-state History transfer credit for HIST 2110, Themes in US History; HIST 2111, Survey of US History to 1877; or HIST 2112, Survey of US History since Reconstruction, or
- they have received CLEP credit for either POLI 1101, HIST 2111, or HIST 2112
Students who need additional hours of academic credit for history or government should take courses rather than the legislative tests, which do not confer credit. Please consult your advisor and the academic catalog for more information.
To reserve your spot to test, call the Testing Center at (678) 466-4495. First attempt is at no charge; any attempts after the first one is $25 per session. Payments must be paid at center with either credit/debit card ONLY!
You may schedule up to two different exams on each testing date. These exams will be taken on the computer. You may not repeat the same exam on the same test day. Each test lasts a maximum of one hour.
Legislative exams offered at Clayton State University are only for Clayton State University students. Each school affiliated with the University System of Georgia is responsible for its own students.
The Testing Center is located at 121 Arbor Hall at Clayton State - East. The address is 5823 Trammel Road, Morrow, GA 30260: View the map.
Preparing for the Exams
The following study materials for each of the exams are available for use in the Clayton State University Library. The Clayton State University Campus Book Store can order the textbooks upon request (three-day turn-around period).
1. Georgia History exam: Primary Study Resource: New Georgia Encyclopedia, http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/. Suggested Study Resource: Cobb, James C., Georgia Odyssey: A Short History of the State. 2nd ed. Athens: Univ. of Georgia Press, 2008. Each of these fifty study terms relates directly to one of the fifty multiple choice questions which appears on the exam. Detailed information about the effect of each term on Georgia history may be found in the New Georgia Encyclopedia, which is searchable. The book Georgia Odyssey provides a brief narrative history of the state. While the exam questions are not drawn directly from the book, it provides chronological context for the history of Georgia. Use the following study guide:
| James Edward Oglethorpe | Redemption |
| Battle of Bloody Marsh | Sharecropping |
| Commons House of Assembly | Henry W. Grady |
| Cherokee | Booker T. Washington |
| First Provisional Congress | Tom Watson |
| Battle of the Rice Boats | Leo Frank |
| Button Gwinnett | World War I |
| Constitution of 1776 | Automobile highway construction |
| Siege of Savannah | Great Migration |
| Battle of Kettle Creek | Boll weevil |
| Eli Whitney | Eugene Talmadge |
| Yazoo Land Fraud | Fort Stewart |
| Land lotteries | Poll tax |
| Slavery | King v. Chapman, et al. |
| War of 1812 | Three Governors Controversy |
| First Seminole War | Sibley Commission |
| Georgia Gold Rush | Atlanta Lunch Counter Sit-Ins |
| Central Railroad | County Unit System |
| Creeks | Wesberry v. Sanders |
| Secession Crisis | Braves |
| Andersonville | Lester Maddox |
| Atlanta Campaign | Jimmy Carter |
| Field Order No. 15 | Constitution of 1983 |
| Presidential Reconstruction | HOPE |
| Atlanta Constitutional Convention of 1868 | Flag Controversy |
2. Georgia Government/Constitution exam: Prepare from the cached copy of Fleischmann 6th Edition.pdf.
Additional study materials are in these word documents and the Constitution of the
State of Georgia:
http://www.senate.ga.gov/Documents/gaconstitution.pdf
3. United States Constitution exam: Excerpts from Government in America by Lineberry, Edwards, & Wattenberg or from any American government or political science textbook. Topics of study should include: the founding fathers and the Constitutional Convention, Federalism, political parties, interest groups, Congress, the Presidency, courts, civil liberties, and civil rights.
4. United States History exam: The Unfinished Nation by Alan Brinkley (on reserve) and the following study guide:
| Colonial America | Late Nineteenth Century |
| English colonization | Reconstruction |
| Mercantilism | Crop lien system |
| Pilgrims | Booker T. Washington |
| Quakers | Social Darwinism |
| Slave rebellions | Immigration restrictions |
| Great Awakening | Populist Party |
| Provincial assemblies | American imperialism |
| Colony of Virginia | Doctrine of Manifest Destiny |
| Colonial crops | |
| Colony of Georgia | Early Twentieth Century |
| Colonial cities | Roosevelt Corollary |
| British involvement in American politics | World War I |
| National Origins Act | |
| Early National Period | |
| Founding fathers | Mid-Twentieth Century |
| State governments | Korean War |
| War of 1812 | Civil Rights movement |
| Tecumseh | Vietnam |
| Monroe Doctrine | Bay of Pigs |
| Mid-Nineteenth Century | Late Twentieth Century |
| Free Soil movement | Cultural pluralism |
| Compromise of 1850 | Mideast peace negotiations |
| John Brown's Raid | Nixon |
| Emancipation Proclamation | "Reaganomics" |
| Cotton | Star Wars |
| Westward expansion | Persian Gulf War |
| Causes of population increase | Reasons for inflation |
| Impact of presidents Washington, Jefferson and Jackson | |
| Northern versus Southern economics |
In order to schedule a legislative exam please call our office during normal business hours at 678-466-4495. All legislative exams will be administered in the Testing Center labs through your Desire2Learn portal.
| Test Dates | Test Times |
|---|---|
| Tuesday, January 7, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday, January 21, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday, February 4, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday, March 18, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. |
Only one legislative exam can be taken independently during finals week. These exams can be scheduled by calling the Testing Center at 678-466-4495.
Scores: students will need to score a 30/50 for both GA & US History exams, 36/60 for US Constitution, and a 7/10 for the GA Constitution exam.
You must bring a photo ID.