American Government

Description

Knowledge and Skills Required

Questions on the American Government examination require candidates to demonstrate one or more of the following abilities in the approximate proportions indicated.

• Knowledge of American government and politics (about 55–60 percent of the exam)

• Understanding of typical patterns of political processes and behavior (including the components of the behavioral situation of a political actor), the principles used to explain or justify various governmental structures and procedures (about 30–35 percent of the exam)

• Analysis and interpretation of simple data that are relevant to American government and politics (10–15 percent of the exam)

The subject matter of the American Government examination is drawn from the following topics. The percentages next to the main topics indicate the approximate percentage of exam questions on that topic.

30–35% Institutions and Policy Processes: Presidency, Bureaucracy and Congress

• The major formal and informal institutional arrangements and powers

• Structure, policy processes and outputs

• Relationships among these three institutions and links between them and political parties, interest groups, the media, and public opinion

15–20% Federal Courts, Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

• Structure and processes of the judicial system with emphasis on the role and influence of the Supreme Court

• The development of civil rights and civil liberties by judicial interpretation

• The Bill of Rights

• Incorporation of the Bill of Rights

• Equal protection and due process

15–20% Political Parties and Interest Groups

• Political parties (including their function, organization, mobilization, historical development and effects on the political process)

• Interest groups (including the variety of activities they typically undertake and their effects on the political process)

• Elections (including the electoral process)

10–15% Political Beliefs and Behavior

• Processes by which citizens learn about politics

• Political participation (including voting behavior) • Public opinion

• Beliefs that citizens hold about their government and its leaders

• Political culture (the variety of factors that predispose citizens to differ from one another in terms of their political perceptions, values, attitudes and activities)

• The influence of public opinion on political leaders

15–20% Constitutional Underpinnings of American Democracy

The development of concepts such as:

• Federalism (with attention to intergovernmental relations)

• Separation of powers

• Checks and balances

• Majority rule

• Minority rights

• Considerations that influenced the formulation and adoption of the Constitution

• Theories of democracy