How is public policy made, and who is involved at each level of government?
Explain how a variety of entities within the three branches and at all levels of government address domestic and foreign policy, and how individuals and organizations help determine public policy (Ohio AG content statements 21 and 22: Public Policy).
An Ohio American Government EOC answer on the public policy process: how the three branches at all levels address domestic and foreign policy, the steps of the policy process, and how individuals and organizations help determine policy, with worked EOC-style questions.
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What this topic is asking
Public policy is what the government decides to do (or not do) about problems, and the EOC wants you to know how it is made and who is involved. Content statements 21 and 22 (the Public Policy topic) cover how the three branches at all levels address domestic and foreign policy, and how individuals and organizations help determine policy. Expect a scenario naming a policy action and a question on which actor or step is involved.
What public policy is
Who makes policy: the three branches at all levels
Content statement 21 stresses that many entities make policy, not just one.
The steps of the policy process
Policy often moves through a rough sequence, useful for the EOC even though real politics is messier.
How individuals and organizations shape policy
Content statement 22 adds the crucial point that policy is not made by officials alone.
This ties the whole course together: the civic skills from Module 1, the branches from Module 3, and the channels from Module 5 all feed into how policy gets made, on issues that include government and the economy.
Try this
Q1. Explain the difference between domestic policy and foreign policy. [2]
- Cue. Domestic policy deals with issues inside the country (such as health, education, the economy); foreign policy deals with relations with other countries.
Q2. Name two steps in the public policy process. [2]
- Cue. Any two of: agenda setting, formulation and adoption, implementation, evaluation.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of ODEW exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Ohio Am. Government EOC1 marksA federal agency writes detailed regulations to carry out a law passed by Congress. This is part ofShow worked answer →
A single-select item assessing how policy is made and carried out (content statement 21).
Correct answer: the public policy process, in the executive branch.
Credit is given for recognizing that agencies in the executive branch carry out and add detail to laws through regulations, which is part of how public policy is made and implemented. A distractor saying this is the courts deciding a case, or the legislature passing a law, names the wrong branch; the trap is forgetting that the bureaucracy in the executive branch is a major policy actor.
Ohio Am. Government EOC2 marksExplain how individuals and organizations can help determine public policy.Show worked answer →
A short constructed-response style item on the role of individuals and organizations (content statement 22).
A complete answer explains the channels. Sample: "Individuals and organizations help determine public policy in several ways. Individuals can vote, contact officials, testify at hearings, sign petitions, and shape public opinion, which pressures leaders to act. Organizations such as interest groups lobby lawmakers, run advertisements, fund campaigns, and mobilize members to push for a policy. Both bring issues to the agenda and influence which solutions government chooses, so policy is shaped not only by officials in the three branches but also by people and groups outside government." Credit is given for explaining that individuals act through voting, contacting officials, and shaping opinion, and that organizations act through lobbying and mobilizing, to influence policy.
Related dot points
- Explain how the federal government uses spending and tax policy (fiscal policy) to maintain economic stability and foster growth, and how regulatory actions carry economic costs and benefits (Ohio AG content statement 23: Government and the Economy).
An Ohio American Government EOC answer on government and the economy: how the federal government uses fiscal policy (spending and taxes) to stabilize and grow the economy, and how regulation carries economic costs and benefits, with worked EOC-style questions.
- Explain how the Federal Reserve System uses monetary tools to regulate the nation's money supply and moderate the effects of expansion and contraction in the economy (Ohio AG content statement 24: Government and the Economy).
An Ohio American Government EOC answer on the Federal Reserve and monetary policy: how the Fed uses monetary tools to regulate the money supply and moderate economic expansion and contraction, and how it differs from fiscal policy, with worked EOC-style questions.
- Explain how interest groups and the media create opportunities for civic involvement, including the functions of lobbying and the media's roles of informing, acting as a watchdog, and setting the agenda (Ohio AG content statement 2: Civic Involvement).
An Ohio American Government EOC answer on interest groups and the media: how interest groups lobby and influence policy from outside, and how the media informs, acts as a watchdog, and sets the agenda, creating opportunities for civic involvement, with worked EOC-style questions.
- Explain what public opinion is and how it is measured, and analyze how individuals and organizations engage in the political process to shape public policy (Ohio AG content statements 1 and 22: Civic Involvement; Public Policy).
An Ohio American Government EOC answer on public opinion and civic engagement: what public opinion is, how polls measure it, and how individuals and organizations engage in the political process to shape public policy, with worked EOC-style questions.
- Describe how a bill becomes a federal law, including introduction, committee review, debate and votes in both chambers, and the president's signature or veto, and how a veto can be overridden (Ohio AG content statement 12: Structure and Functions of the Federal Government).
An Ohio American Government EOC answer on how a bill becomes a federal law: introduction, committee review, debate and votes in the House and Senate, the president's signature or veto, and how Congress can override a veto, with worked EOC-style questions.
Sources & how we know this
- Ohio's Learning Standards for Social Studies (American Government) — Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (2018)
- American Government End-of-Course Test — Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (2024)