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| Preface | |
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| Introduction The Policymaking Process | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| The Stages of the Policymaking Process | |
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| The Dynamics of the Policy Process | |
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| Why Study Texas Government? | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| The People, Economy, and Political Culture of Texas | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| The People of Texas | |
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| Around the Nation: Immigration Reform in Arizona | |
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| The Texas Economy | |
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| Breaking News!: Texas Oil Production Is on the Rise | |
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| Political Culture | |
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| Getting Involved: Volunteering | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Texas Constitution | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| State Constitutions | |
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| Getting Involved: Joining a Student Club or Organization | |
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| Background of the Texas Constitution | |
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| Constitutional Convention of 1875 | |
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| Overview of the Texas Constitution | |
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| Constitutional Change | |
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| Individual Rights and the Texas Constitution | |
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| Around the Nation: Gay Marriage in Massachusetts | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| The Federal Context of Texas Policymaking | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Role of the States in the Federal System | |
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| Around the Nation: Healthcare Reform in Massachusetts | |
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| States, the Courts, and the Constitution | |
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| Getting Involved: Contacting Your Representative in Washington, D.C. | |
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| States and Federal Law | |
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| Federal Grant Programs | |
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| Breaking News!: States Challenge Constitutionality of Healthcare Reform | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Political Participation | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Voting Rights and Minority Participation | |
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| Breaking News!: Texas Adopts a Voter ID Law | |
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| Forms of Participation | |
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| Around the Nation: Mail Voting in Oregon | |
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| Participation Rates in Texas | |
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| Patterns of Participation | |
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| Participation and Representation | |
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| Getting Involved: Become a Volunteer Deputy Voter Registrar | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Interest Groups | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Interest Groups in Texas Politics | |
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| Getting Involved: Joining a Group | |
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| Breaking News!: Legislature Adopts Abortion Sonogram Requirement | |
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| Interest Group Strategies and Tactics | |
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| Around the Nation: Legal Prostitution in Nevada | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Political Parties | |
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| What We Will learn | |
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| The Party System | |
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| Party Organization | |
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| Getting Involved: Volunteer to Support Your Political Party | |
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| History of the Texas Party System | |
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| Breaking News!: Democratic Legislators Switch Parties After 2010 Election | |
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| The Party Balance | |
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| Voting Patterns | |
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| Interest Group-Political Party Alliances | |
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| Issue Orientation | |
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| The Future of Party Politics in Texas | |
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| Around the Nation: Minor Parties in New York | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Elections | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| The Long Ballot | |
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| Types of Elections | |
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| Around the Nation: The Blanket Primary in Louisiana | |
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| Election Districts and Redistricting | |
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| Breaking News!: Groups File Suit Against the Texas Redistricting Plan | |
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| Election Campaigns | |
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| The Voters Decide | |
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| Getting Involved: Campaigning | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Texas Legislature | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Structure | |
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| Membership | |
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| Around the Nation: Repealing Term Limits in Idaho | |
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| Organization | |
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| The Legislative Process | |
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| Breaking News!: Texas Legislature Fails to Pass Guns-on-Campus Legislation | |
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| Legislative Policymaking | |
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| Getting Involved: Contacting Your State Legislators | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Executive Branch | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| The Governor | |
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| Getting Involved: Forming a Study Group | |
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| Breaking News!: Governor Perry Runs for President | |
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| The Executive Bureaucracy | |
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| Around The Nation: California Addresses Global Warming | |
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| Administrative Oversight | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Judicial Branch | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Types of Legal Disputes | |
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| Court Procedures | |
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| The Texas Court System | |
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| Breaking News!: Texas Voters Approve Water Development Bonds | |
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| Judges | |
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| Judicial Selection | |
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| Getting Involved: Volunteer to Become a Court-Appointed Special Advocate | |
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| Around the Nation: Drug Courts in Florida | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| City Government | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Legal Status of Texas Cities | |
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| Forms of City Government | |
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| Breaking News!: Despite the Drought, El Paso Has a Stable Water Supply | |
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| Election Systems | |
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| Public Policies in Texas Cities | |
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| Around the Nation: Healthcare in San Francisco | |
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| Getting Involved: Contacting City Officials | |
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| City Politics in Texas | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Counties, School Districts, and Special Districts | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| County Government | |
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| School Districts | |
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| Breaking News!: Another School Funding Lawsuit Filed | |
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| Around the Nation: Cash for Grades in the District of Columbia | |
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| Getting Involved: Helping a Child Learn | |
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| Special Districts | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| State Budget Policy | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Revenues | |
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| Issues in State Finance | |
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| Breaking News!: Legislature Uses Accounting Gimmicks to Help Balance Budget | |
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| Policy Options for Reforming the State Revenue System | |
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| Around the Nation: Toll Road Privatization in Indiana | |
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| State Expenditures | |
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| Budget Priorities | |
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| Getting Involved: Appealing a Property Appraisal | |
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| The Budget Process | |
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| Making Budgetary Policy | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Criminal Justice | |
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| What We Will Learn | |
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| Crime Statistics | |
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| Victims and Criminals | |
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| Criminal Prosecution Process | |
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| Capital Punishment | |
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| Around the Nation: Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Criminals in Kansas | |
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| Juvenile Justice | |
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| Corrections | |
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| Breaking News!: Texas Prison System Cuts Costs by Dropping Inmate Lunches on Weekends | |
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| Making Criminal Justice Policy | |
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| What We Have Learned | |
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| Key Terms | |
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| Notes | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Photo Credits | |
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| Index | |
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| Practice Tests | |
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| Answers to Practice Test Questions | |