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Department of Political Science SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY Statutory Requirement in the Principles of California State and Local Government All students who hope to receive bachelors' degrees from San Francisco State University are required by California statute to demonstrate knowledge of the principles of California state and local government. The usual way to satisfy this requirement is by completing an appropriate course in this area. The Political Science Department offers a course - Political Science 473, Politics in California (3 units) - which will satisfy this requirement. Another course in this department - Political Science 200, American Political Systems (3 units) -meets the statutory requirement for California state and local government as well as the requirement for the U.S Constitution. These courses are offered regularly by the Department. Another way to satisfy the California state and local government requirement is by challenge examination. The Political Science Department offers an examination in the Principles of California State and Local Government. Students or citizens interested in taking this examination must sign up with the Testing Center on the campus, who will be administering the examination.

Table of Contents REGISTER (SECURE ENCRYPTED) FOR CAL STATE ON-LINE. If your browser does not support security/SSL, a non-secure, non-encryped version is also available. Please give us your feedback - Fill out the Testing Center's Who should take the examination? Preparation for the examination. Nature of examination. Completing the examination. Sample Questions Other Information Dates and fees Advising Center's Web page - General Education (G.E.) or graduation requirements information. Testing Homepage

CAL STATE Preparation for the examination. Nature of examination. Completing the examination. For dates and fees: Examination Calendar

Who should take the examination? The purpose of this examination is to free students from the responsibility for taking a course in political science if they have achieved the required competence in some other way. A student who successfully completes the examination clears her/his statutory requirement in the area covered by the examination. The student does not earn course credit for passing the examination. While any student may attempt the examination, individuals with work or political experience in California government, students with a strong vocational interest in politics, or students with an especially strong background in politics through course work taken at this institution or elsewhere are especially encouraged to take the examination. Students who are essentially without background and experience in California state and local government and politics are normally advised not to attempt the examination without extensive independent study. Table of Contents | Testing Home Page | Testing Calendar | Online Registration |

CAL STATE Who should take the examination? Nature of examination. Completing the examination. For dates and fees: Examination Calendar For information regarding General Education (G.E.) or graduation requirements, check out the Advising Center's Web page. Return to Testing Homepage

Preparation for the examination. The following texts are recommended: Lawrence L. Giventer, Governing California, 2004 Lawrence Brewster and Genie Stowers, A Primer of California Politics, 2004 Larry N. Gerston, Terry Christensen, David Tatom, Janise Fry, California Politics and Government: A Practical Approach, 2002 Charles G. Bell and Charles M. Price, California Government Today: Politics of Reform, 1997 John H. Culver and Lorie L. Shelley, Politics and Public Policies in California, 1997 Students who do not have a good background in California state and local government should look at several texts with great care. They should prepare themselves by reading about California government in local newspapers, The California Journal, (see especially the Journal's California Government and Political Annual for the current year) and other periodical sources. Table of Contents | Testing Home Page | Testing Calendar | Online Registration |

CAL STATE Who should take the examination? Preparation for the examination. Completing the examination. For dates and fees: Examination Calendar For information regarding General Education (G.E.) or graduation requirements, check out the Advising Center's Web page. Return to Testing Homepage

Nature of examination. The examination consists of approximately 100 multiple-choice questions. The structure and organization of the examination and the questions themselves are similar to subject-matter examinations prepared by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey. The items are distributed among the various sub-areas and topics of California state and local government approximately according to the following schedule: Calif. History & Socio-Economics Political Party System Legislative System The Executive The Courts & Legal System State Finances Local Government Table of Contents | Testing Home Page | Testing Calendar | Online Registration |

CAL STATE Who should take the examination? Preparation for the examination. Nature of examination. For dates and fees: Examination Calendar For information regarding General Education (G.E.) or graduation requirements, check out the Advising Center's Web page Return to Testing Homepage

Completing the examination. To complete the examination successfully, a student will be expected to achieve a score which places him/her at a level above the median score achieved by California State University students who have recently completed the basic offering in the Department of Political Science in California state and local government, that is, Political Science 473. (This score usually is 70%.) The test will be scored and evaluated by the Testing Center. A copy of the score will be sent to the student, the Political Science Department and the Student Records Office where it will be noted on the transcript whether this requirement has been fulfilled. As the main purpose of this examination is to give credit to students who have achieved essential knowledge through experience outside the normal activities of the University, students who fail the examination will not be permitted to attempt the examination a second time. Table of Contents | Testing Home Page | Testing Calendar | Online Registration |

CAL STATE Who should take the examination? Preparation for the examination. Completing the examination. For dates and fees: Examination Calendar For information regarding General Education (G.E.) or graduation requirements, check out the Advising Center's Web page. Return to Testing Homepage

Sample Questions 1. To be eligible for admission to a community college an applicant must have scored in the upper one quarter of his high school graduating class. A. True B. False The correct answer is: B 2. One must re-register to vote A. before each statewide election. B. if one has failed to vote in the last statewide election. C. after moving to another county. D. every 4 years. The correct answer is: C Table of Contents | Testing Home Page | Testing Calendar | Online Registration |