If you're reading this, then you've either stumbled upon this page during a pretty obscure Google search... or you're a student/parent/guardian/fellow teacher/Administrator about to take/administer the Ohio State Test (OST) in History.
Ahhhh, state tests... you're taking them. Your teachers took them. Your Administrators took them. Your folks took them. Your grandparents took them (while walking uphill to and from school in the snow without them there fancy gadgets you got these days). One day your kids will take them. And then your grandkids. It's a shared-experience across generations (be it Proficiency Tests, OGTs, or OSTs), a rite of passage, a melancholic perpetual cycle of force-fed education trapped on some Groundhog Day-esque loop. (But it bags the state a boat load of money, soooooo here we are.)
FUN FACT: On average, American students in public schools (THAT'S YOU!) will take 112 standardized tests by the time they graduate high school. Don't worry, that information isn't on the test... or is it? (Also, this isn't so much of a "Fun" Fact as it is a "Horribly Depressing and Educationally Unsound Way of Assessing True Mastery" Fact.)
The History OST (as it's known on the streets) covers material from the end of Reconstruction through the 1960s/Civil Rights Era. That being said, the state sometimes forgets its own curriculum and peppers in things from 7th/8th grade as well as more recent events (if they connect to concepts learned from Reconstruction-1960s).
Don't panic... I've got you covered - but only if you keep scrolling. (Don't bail yet!)
Ahhhh, state tests... you're taking them. Your teachers took them. Your Administrators took them. Your folks took them. Your grandparents took them (while walking uphill to and from school in the snow without them there fancy gadgets you got these days). One day your kids will take them. And then your grandkids. It's a shared-experience across generations (be it Proficiency Tests, OGTs, or OSTs), a rite of passage, a melancholic perpetual cycle of force-fed education trapped on some Groundhog Day-esque loop. (But it bags the state a boat load of money, soooooo here we are.)
FUN FACT: On average, American students in public schools (THAT'S YOU!) will take 112 standardized tests by the time they graduate high school. Don't worry, that information isn't on the test... or is it? (Also, this isn't so much of a "Fun" Fact as it is a "Horribly Depressing and Educationally Unsound Way of Assessing True Mastery" Fact.)
The History OST (as it's known on the streets) covers material from the end of Reconstruction through the 1960s/Civil Rights Era. That being said, the state sometimes forgets its own curriculum and peppers in things from 7th/8th grade as well as more recent events (if they connect to concepts learned from Reconstruction-1960s).
Don't panic... I've got you covered - but only if you keep scrolling. (Don't bail yet!)
I've snagged all of the History OSTs since 2021 as well as a PRACTICE State Test and have those uploaded for you below. Don't concern yourself with HOW I got ahold of these... or WHEN... or the alias I had to establish in so doing. Or what really happened during that expedition across the Marquesas Time Zone. Just know that I did. And you're welcome. (That being said, please speak kindly of me as a character witness.)
The "Item Release" tests contain actual questions from those particular tests/years. Now, these don't have all of the questions (I mean, they've gotta keep you guessing, right?)... but still, they have a good chunk available. I strongly encourage looking these over since they show you how the state phrases their questions, the general layout of the test, and the styles/kinds of questions that'll appear. (And yes, at times, it does feel like they're getting paid by the word. But you were probably already able to analyze, infer, evaluate, formulate, describe, support, explain, summarize, compare, contrast, and predict that. Weren't you?)
Now don't you go getting all overwhelmed by the length of these documents - the state breaks down every possible answer and explains why it's correct or incorrect. They'll even mention what content standard covers it. THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO PREPARE! I mean, in those classic horror movies, when the hitchhiker with an eyepatch and a hook for a hand tells you to DO or NOT do something, you need to listen to him (or, at least, we find out later what happens to those counselors that didn't listen to Crazy Carl). So, that's me. I'm your eyepatch-wearing, hook-handed, grizzled OST hitchhiker. I'm Carl. Now... LISTEN TO ME!
The "Item Release" tests contain actual questions from those particular tests/years. Now, these don't have all of the questions (I mean, they've gotta keep you guessing, right?)... but still, they have a good chunk available. I strongly encourage looking these over since they show you how the state phrases their questions, the general layout of the test, and the styles/kinds of questions that'll appear. (And yes, at times, it does feel like they're getting paid by the word. But you were probably already able to analyze, infer, evaluate, formulate, describe, support, explain, summarize, compare, contrast, and predict that. Weren't you?)
Now don't you go getting all overwhelmed by the length of these documents - the state breaks down every possible answer and explains why it's correct or incorrect. They'll even mention what content standard covers it. THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO PREPARE! I mean, in those classic horror movies, when the hitchhiker with an eyepatch and a hook for a hand tells you to DO or NOT do something, you need to listen to him (or, at least, we find out later what happens to those counselors that didn't listen to Crazy Carl). So, that's me. I'm your eyepatch-wearing, hook-handed, grizzled OST hitchhiker. I'm Carl. Now... LISTEN TO ME!
2021 OST Item Release [Click to access]
|
2022 OST Item Release [Click to access]
|
2023 OST Item Release [Click to access]
|
2024 OST Item Release [Click to access]
|
2025 OST Item Release [Click to access]
|
Practice History OST [Click to access]
|
For additional review, click on the key topics found below. These come from a WNHS History Department handout that was built around established patterns/trends over what has appeared in previous years and across the various incarnations and "flavors" of state tests. It contains tons of great "tips"... as well as hauntingly bad typos characteristic of worksheets handed out during the Golden Era of Dittos (pre-2010). (Hey, people just didn't proof read back then. It was grip 'n' rip... fire off 300 copies before noticing the mistake. Trust me... check out Term 8 in the "Tricky Vocabulary" section. It'll make your left eye twitch. But, alas, I digress.) In the caption beneath each topic, I've included the name of our unit from class where that information can be found should you wish to revisit your notes. (All the "cool" kids revisit their notes...)
Nervous? Spooked by something you see on the Practice Test or in the Key Topics below? Don't panic! Don't be afraid! (The OSTs smell fear!) Chat with me sometime during the day/class or send along an e-mail. I'm more than happy to help!
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
Nervous? Spooked by something you see on the Practice Test or in the Key Topics below? Don't panic! Don't be afraid! (The OSTs smell fear!) Chat with me sometime during the day/class or send along an e-mail. I'm more than happy to help!
YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
Summaries of Key Topics:
|
Enlightenment
This material was covered in class during Unit 1: Morning in America from QT1. [Click for larger version.]
|
Industrial Revolution
This material was covered in class during Unit 2: America 2.0 from QT1/QT2. [Click for larger version.]
|
Imperialism
This material was covered in class during Unit 2: America 2.0 from QT2. [Click for larger version.]
|
|
World War I
This material was covered in class during Unit 3: Ka-Boom to Bust from QT2. [Click for larger version.]
|
Treaty of Versailles
This material was covered in class during Unit 3: Ka-Boom to Bust from QT2 and reviewed at the start of Unit 4: King America from QT3. [Click for larger version.]
|
1920s & 1930s
This material was covered in class during Unit 3: Ka-Boom to Bust from QT2. [Click for larger version.]
|
|
World War II
This material was covered in class during Unit 4: King America from QT3. [Click for larger version.]
|
Korean & Vietnam War,
Cold War 
This material was covered in class during Unit 4: King America and Unit 5: The American Overhaul from QT3/QT4. [Click for larger version.]
|
Civil Rights
This material was covered in class during Unit 5: The American Overhaul from QT3/QT4. [Click for larger version.]
|
|
1950s & 1960s
This material was covered in class during Unit 4: King America and Unit 5: The American Overhaul from QT3/QT4. [Click for larger version.]
|
Forms of Government
This material was covered in class during Unit 1: Morning in American during QT1 and in Unit 4: King America from QT3 ("cow cartoons"). [Click for larger version.]
|
U.S. Constitution
& U.S. Government 
This material was covered in class during Unit 1: Morning in America from QT1. [Click for larger version.]
|
|
Key Amendments
This material was covered in class during Unit 1: Morning in America and revisited as these Amendments appeared across the rest of the units. [Click for larger version.]
|
Supreme Court Cases
This material was covered in class during Unit 5: The American Overhaul from QT3/QT4. [Click for larger version.]
|
ECONOMICS!!!
This material was covered in class during Unit 3: Ka-Boom to Bust ("ECON terms") from QT2. [Click for larger version.]
|
|
Geography
This material was covered in association with specific events, such as immigration/emigration (Unit 2: America 2.0) over the course of the year. [Click for larger version.]
|
Skills & Methods
This material was covered in association with specific events over the course of the year. [Click for larger version.]
|
Tricky Vocabulary
These words have been used on class assessments. NOTE: The state removed short answer and extended response questions following the 2019 OSTs. [Click for larger version.]
|
