This publication, the result of a series of workgroup meetings that culminated in a conference of 45 educators held in San Diego, California, in November 1989, is a guide to assessing the competence of prospective history and social science teachers in the California public schools. The guide was developed as part of a state-wide response to legislated entry and exit standards for teachers in elementary and secondary schools. An introduction describes the regulations and Executive Orders which are the basis for the guide, and the conference at which it was developed. Following this is a section on the elements of assessment in history and social sciences that outlines and describes unity of purpose among the diversity of programs, the importance of multiple measures, assessment design, and scheduling. the next section, on areas of competence, establishes two categories--first, generic competencies, which are fundamental to all disciplines and, second, competencies specific to the social sciences and history, which cover the following topics: knowledge of world, American, and California history; geography; government and political science; economics; anthropology, psychology, and sociology; ethnic studies; and women's studies. The next section, on sources of information for assessments, discusses the diverse academic backgrounds of prospective teachers, general guidelines and instruments of assessment. The third section offers two model assessment formats with diagrams. Recommendations related to resource and administrative issues are presented next. A final section offers recommendations for advising. Contains eight references. (JB)