ILTS Social Science: History (315) case studies
ILTS Social Science: History (315) · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Social Science: History (315) is a redeveloped Illinois Licensure Testing System (ILTS) content-area test for prospective history teachers in Illinois. Registration opened for testing starting April 7, 2025, and it replaces Social Science: History (246), which the ILTS site lists for testing only through April 5, 2026. The ILTS Social Science: History (315) case studies are 5 cases and about 3,029 words.
1Two Accounts of the 1919 Chicago Riot
A student researching the Chicago race riot of July–August 1919 brings two sources to a seminar. Source A is a Chicago Tribune front-page story from August 2, 1919, describing "rioters" being dispersed and crediting police with restoring order; it quotes no Black residents.
635 words, about 3 min2"States' Rights" and the Secession Documents
Lee's statement that he could not raise his hand against Virginia, and to the Corwin Amendment, which Congress passed in March 1861 and which would have barred federal interference with slavery in the states. The seminar must decide whether this is a defensible historical argument or a misuse of evidence.
603 words, about 3 min3Did the Industrial Revolution "Begin" in the 1780s?
Two claims are on the board: (1) "The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 1780s and was a sudden break"; (2) "It was a gradual process stretching back into the seventeenth century." The teacher supplies a data table: Indicator c.1760 c.1800 c.1830 --- --- --- --- British coal output ~5 million tons ~10 million tons ~20–24 million tons Raw cotton imported to Britain ~2.5 million lb ~56 million lb ~250 million lb Population of Great Britain ~7 million ~10.5 million ~16.5 million Students notice that the cotton series looks explosive and the coal series looks steady, and conclude that claim (1) is confirmed. Explain why the students' conclusion depends on the indicator chosen, and what each series actually measures.
606 words, about 3 min4Illinois: A Free State in Everything but Name?
Illinois entered the Union in 1818 as a free state. A student finds three things.
629 words, about 3 min5"The New Deal Ended the Great Depression"
A candidate drafts a document-based question: "The New Deal ended the Great Depression." She supplies a table of U.S. unemployment rates: 1933 1937 1938 1941 1944 --- --- --- --- --- ~24.9% ~14.3% ~19.0% ~9.9% ~1.2% Two students argue.
556 words, about 3 min