Following is a sample of 12th graders’ responses to a question on the U.S. history NAEP.
“In spite of the obvious advantages held by the North, the South was able to fight for four years and to achieve some real military successes. So while the North held most of the cards, the South had one or two aces up its sleeves.”
Identify two of the “aces” (significant advantages) that the South had in the Civil War. Explain how these advantages helped the South.
The full NAEP report and sample questions are available on the Web at http://nces.ed.gov /nationsreportcard/ushistory/results.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
