Deck 13: Education

Question 1

Approximately ________ percent of the nation's population 16 years and older is functionally illiterate.

A) 2
B) 14
C) 30
D) 60

Answer 1

B

Question 2

One of the major reasons Native Americans were placed in boarding schools for 60 years was:

A) to protect them from war.
B) to socialize them to become "civilized" Americans.
C) because Native American parents were extremely physically abusive.
D) because their parents no longer wanted them after they were assimilated into "American" culture.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

At 9:05 A.M.,the bell rings and children file into their third-grade classroom.The first student to sit at his or her desk-book open and pencil ready to write-wins a star for the day.The students love this little bit of competition.This example of nonacademic socialization (which can teach students the benefit of competition)is referred to,by sociologists,as the:

A) silent curriculum.
B) hidden curriculum.
C) master curriculum.
D) invisible curriculum.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Broadly defined,education is:

A) spontaneous and unplanned exposure to cultural ideas and tools.
B) a program of formal and systematic instruction that deals only with developing academic skills.
C) instruction that serves the social function of supporting the labor market.
D) the processes through which academic,social,and cultural ideas and tools are developed.

Question 5

Studies show that ________ school students score highest on achievement tests,followed by ________ school students.

A) Catholic; secular private and public
B) secular private; Catholic and public
C) public; secular private and Catholic
D) secular private; public and Catholic

Question 6

Approximately what percentage of the nation's population age 16 years and older is innumerate?

A) 3 percent
B) 14 percent
C) 30 percent
D) 50 percent

Question 7

What was the name of the landmark court ruling that mandated desegregation of American schools?

A) Brown v.Board of Education
B) Kozol v.Board of Education
C) Coleman v.Board of Education
D) STAR v.Board of Education

Question 8

The Coleman Report was a systematic large-scale evaluation of data from students and school facilities.It concluded that differences in school characteristics explained:

A) only a small portion of educational differences between schools.
B) the racial divide in the nation as a whole.
C) gender-based disparities that are evident in adulthood.
D) differential literacy skills gained by children of different social classes.

Question 9

Results from the Coleman Report found that:

A) achievement differences between schools could be explained best by the family background of students and peers with whom children attended school.
B) black children would do best in schools that have a majority of black students.
C) genetic factors matter more than social factors in predicting school success.
D) schools enhance social capital more than academic skills.

Question 10

Jackson's parents pay for him to take private violin lessons and send him to language lessons after school.In the summer,he attends science camp.His parents try to take him on one vacation to a foreign country every year.Jackson's parents hope that these activities will build his skills and better position him to get into a competitive university.Jackson's parents are investing in his:

A) economic capital.
B) institutionalized capital.
C) human capital.
D) social capital.

Question 11

A Marxist theorist of education would critique schools for socializing children to accept the status quo,because schools:

A) are pawns of the lower classes.
B) make students class conscious.
C) teach skills that make students subordinate.
D) socialize children to rebel against dominant cultural values.

Question 12

Though she graduated from high school,Jenny does not possess the skills necessary to balance her checkbook or make change for a customer without the aid of a cash register.Jenny is:

A) undereducated.
B) unschooled.
C) innumerate.
D) functionally illiterate.

Question 13

Taking into account students' family backgrounds,________ schools tend to outperform ________ schools in preparing children academically.

A) less-expensive private; very expensive private
B) public; Catholic
C) non-Catholic private; Catholic
D) Catholic; non-Catholic private

Question 14

Steve is facing medical bills that threaten to bankrupt him.He reads an article about Kari Smith's "creative" financing of her son's college education.Steve decides to follow her example,so he:

A) consults with a financial advisor.
B) agrees to wear a corporate logo on his hospital gown in exchange for payment.
C) balances federal and personal loans and works three jobs.
D) opts out of the system and lives "off the grid" without health care.

Question 15

Which of the following is a finding of the research examining the effects of class size on educational achievement?

A) Schools with smaller class sizes do not benefit students more than schools with larger classes.
B) Short-term and long-term benefits of smaller classrooms are stronger for minority and low-income students.
C) Students who have been in small classes are more likely to have discipline problems when they are subsequently placed in regular-sized classes.
D) Class size in elementary school does not predict educational achievement as long as the classroom is composed of students of the same intelligence levels.

Question 16

One important finding from the Coleman Report was that:

A) when upper-class students went to school with fewer lower-class students,their grades fell.
B) when lower-class students went to school with more upper-status students,they did better academically.
C) when males and females were separated in classes,both groups' grades improved.
D) when all students were on vacation during the summer,they all lost ground with regard to knowledge.

Question 17

William,a 17-year-old high school student,chooses products in the grocery store by looking at the pictures on the labels of the goods on the shelves because he cannot read many of the words.William would be considered:

A) functionally illiterate.
B) innumerate.
C) unschooled.
D) functionally literate.

Question 18

Knowledge and skills that make someone more productive and bankable are known as:

A) human capital.
B) innumerate advantage.
C) implicit education.
D) socialization.

Question 19

Thomas transfers to a new school when his family moves to a new district,and he is placed in a classroom with students who have slightly higher average math grades than he does.Based on the research,what is the most likely outcome? Thomas will:

A) fall behind and should be moved into a classroom where he has the highest scores.
B) succeed and make academic gains when he is in the classes with other high achievers.
C) become frustrated and decide to leave school before completing his degree.
D) make stronger academic gains if he is tracked into a class with lower-achieving students.

Question 20

Dr.Shamus Khan studied one of the most elite boarding schools in the nation.Suppose that graduate student Kia Darby replicates Dr.Khan's methodology in her study of public schools in Appalachia.Kia:

A) gathers statistical data from archives.
B) compares three schools from the same region.
C) becomes a teacher at a public school in Appalachia.
D) sends a survey to district superintendents in the region.

Question 21

Which of the following is a conflict perspective argument about why education levels have continually risen in the United States over the course of the last century?

A) Competition for scarce jobs requires that Americans become overqualified for the jobs they want.
B) As education became more common for all people,social elites needed to obtain more education in order to set themselves apart from others.
C) A result of industrialization is that jobs have become more and more skilled,and a more educated workforce is required to fill these positions.
D) More education increases the amount of trust people have in others,and this tends to reduce social conflicts.

Question 22

Espenshade,Chung,and Walling (2004)studied admission to elite colleges and found that ________ were 4 times more likely than other students to gain admission,and ________ were 3 times more likely to be admitted.

A) black students; female students
B) Latino students; athletes
C) athletes; legacy students
D) black students; Latino students

Question 23

What might be a plausible reason that upper-status students score higher on SATs?

A) Their IQs are higher.
B) They are less likely to actually take the test multiple times.
C) They develop strong peer support,studying together for the SATs.
D) Their parents are better able to obtain help for them,as in SAT prep courses and extra tutoring if they are doing poorly in school.

Question 24

Marilee Jones,former dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),resigned from her position in April 2007 after it came to light that she had claimed to have academic degrees she did not have.While this is an extreme case,it illustrates the overemphasis on qualifications such as college degrees in order to be hired for a job.This is known as:

A) credentialism.
B) overeducation.
C) educationalism.
D) college bias.

Question 25

The SAT was developed in order to provide children from public schools with a chance to demonstrate their fitness for college and to show they are as able as students from private high schools.It is therefore ironic that:

A) researchers now question how meritocratic the SAT is,because the SAT may test knowledge that is biased against certain groups.
B) elite colleges and universities are increasingly deciding not to base admissions decisions on the SAT.
C) students from private schools still score higher on the SAT.
D) students from public schools are less likely to take the SAT than are students from private schools.

Question 26

Research on teacher quality demonstrates that:

A) it is difficult to identify characteristics that will make effective teachers because these characteristics are hard to quantify.
B) teachers with higher levels of education and degrees from more competitive colleges are more effective classroom leaders.
C) experience,measured by years in the classroom,is a key predictor of teachers' effectiveness.
D) teachers are most effective when they are teaching a standardized curriculum.

Question 27

Which of the following is an argument in support of tracking in schools?

A) Tracking is problematic because there are differences in the content of materials and the quality of instruction among different levels.
B) Tracking benefits students in the upper and lower tracks but does not provide benefits to students who are in a general track in between vocational and college-bound students.
C) Tracking benefits children with less-advantaged backgrounds,but only if their parents can advocate on their behalf to get them into college-preparatory tracks.
D) Children from higher social class backgrounds are more likely to be in college-preparatory tracks,even when other factors like achievement test scores are taken into account.

Question 28

Which of the following is an argument against tracking in schools?

A) Tracking is instrumental in preparing students for future positions in higher education or jobs.
B) Tracking creates a better learning environment because students' goals and skills are matched to the curricula.
C) Students who are tracked into vocational training programs are less likely to be unemployed and will enter the workforce as skilled employees.
D) Systems of tracking socialize students to the inequalities they will encounter in American society.

Question 29

Which of the following is an argument against the sorting function served by schools? The sorting function results in students being:

A) sorted in ways that reproduce existing social inequalities.
B) taught different skills and socialized in ways consistent with their likely future plans.
C) tracked into different paths according to their abilities.
D) expelled if they are not adequate.

Question 30

Rosenthal and Jacobson's 1968 study of the Pygmalion effect provided strong evidence that teacher expectations matter.Mr.Hildebrand is a teacher who reads this study and,in an effort to improve his teaching,decides to:

A) give less difficult material to learners he sees as especially promising.
B) give especially promising learners fewer opportunities to contribute,since they know the material already.
C) offer promising learners detailed and personalized feedback on their performance-not just a generic "good job."
D) avoid nonverbal signals: a nod,an encouraging smile,a touch on the shoulder.

Question 31

What is one consequence of more people obtaining college degrees?

A) People will begin to try to stay in school for life.
B) Students will begin to earn more dual majors while they are in college.
C) People will seek to differentiate themselves not only by having a degree but also by earning degrees from the most prestigious schools.
D) People will eventually give up trying to compete for jobs that require credentials of higher education,and shortages of workers will result.

Question 32

Sociologist Stephen Morgan researched students in private Catholic schools,looking for a relationship among academic achievement,religiosity,and parental involvement.His findings about the non-Catholic students at Catholic schools would lead him to encourage parents to:

A) become Catholic.
B) put their children in public schools.
C) set high goals for their children.
D) sit at the table with their children during homework time.

Question 33

Jacqui is a student at a Catholic middle school.One day she is asked by her friends from the public school to skip school.Though Jacqui wants to be with her friends and is excited by the thought of breaking the rules,she decides not to go.Jacqui is concerned that if she were seen skipping school,her actions would reflect badly on her school,her parents,and her teachers.She also does not want to undermine the trust that adults have placed in her.Her rationale illustrates how ________ in Catholic schools may influence behavior.

A) upward mobility
B) literacy
C) tracking
D) social capital

Question 34

A public school uses the approach of ________ to divide students into classes based on ability or future plans.

A) discrimination
B) remediation
C) tracking
D) innumeracy

Question 35

One of the problems with credentialism is that more and more students (with their parents' help)are attempting to attend private schools or to be placed in the best tracks in their public school.This may be one of the reasons that:

A) increasingly more employers are not asking for educational accomplishments at job interviews.
B) parents are attempting to have their children accepted at the "right" day care,sometimes even before they are born.
C) increasingly fewer boys are graduating from high school.
D) fewer people are able to perform their actual jobs.

Question 36

Which of the following statements is true about college admissions decisions?

A) Admissions decisions to colleges and universities include preferential treatment for race,ethnicity,and gender,but not other characteristics such as unusual backgrounds,leadership experiences,or having grown up in a rural area.
B) Affirmative action has significantly decreased the number of white male students attending the more selective colleges and universities.
C) Affirmative action programs at colleges and universities are designed to provide opportunities to historically underrepresented groups and to increase diversity on campuses.
D) When black and Hispanic students attend the more selective colleges and universities,they have a lower chance of graduating.

Question 37

Which of the following is an argument that would be made by a conflict theorist?

A) The system of education in America encourages equality.
B) Schools are the one place where all children,despite their family background,can move up in the world.
C) Schools are one of the few meritocratic places.
D) During elementary school,children are socialized by learning skills that will help them become adults who will be obedient workers.

Question 38

Which of the following is mentioned in your text as a criticism of using the SAT as a college admissions criterion?

A) The SAT does not predict college success well for older students who have been out of high school for some time; admission criteria need to be adjusted for adult students.
B) The SAT does a good job of predicting college performance for female students only; it does not,however,predict college success among male students.
C) Most of the time,college admissions officers would make the same admissions decisions using information only from students' high school records; furthermore,low SAT scores might disqualify from admission students who are otherwise academically talented.
D) Scores on the SAT are consistently graded incorrectly; furthermore,even correctly graded SAT tests do not correlate with other forms of academic success.

Question 39

Affirmative action practices refer to policies that:

A) promote to higher grades students who have not completed the academic requirements needed to pass to the next grade level.
B) guarantee college admission to black and Hispanic applicants.
C) encourage minority recruitment on college campuses.
D) grant preferential treatment to the disadvantaged within a population.

Question 40

Which of the following would be an example of social capital?

A) Parents volunteer to work in the library of a public school that does not have the funding to pay a librarian's salary.
B) Teachers at Catholic schools and the parents of their students may attend different churches far away from one another.
C) Teachers and students may have very different values regarding education.
D) A high percentage of students at St.Mary's Academy individually take music lessons and are taking college preparatory classes.

Question 41

With regard to the effects of families on children's educational outcomes,which of the following is true?

A) Few studies show that birth order significantly affects children's educational attainment.
B) Children born later in a family are less likely to receive parental financial support for college because parents have exhausted their resources on the older children.
C) When a family goes from two to three children,middle children are significantly more affected by the loss of family resources.
D) Only children are an at-risk group when it comes to educational attainment.

Question 42

With regard to biological or genetic differences between people,sociologists have found that:

A) differences in IQ tests between minorities and nonminorities likely result from genetic differences between groups.
B) stigmatized minorities in all countries have lower IQ scores,lower educational attainment,and lower occupational status,indicating that these minorities are biologically less able to succeed.
C) stigmatized minorities in all countries have lower IQ scores,lower educational attainment,and lower occupational status,indicating that social processes of stratification and stigmatization affect the life chances of these groups.
D) differences in educational attainment between minorities and nonminorities are due to a combination of genetics and negative stereotyping.

Question 43

Suzanne and Jessica are best friends.They have been in the same classes throughout elementary school and have performed similarly with respect to grades.Suzanne's dad owns his own company and her mom is a lawyer.Jessica's dad is a plumber and her mom works at Walmart.All other things being equal,which is a true statement?

A) Suzanne is more likely than Jessica to stay in school longer,score higher on cognitive tests,and be placed in college preparatory classes in high school.
B) Suzanne and Jessica are both equally likely to graduate from high school,go to college,and score the same on cognitive tests.
C) Suzanne is more likely to stay in school longer,but both girls are equally likely to be placed in college preparatory tracks in high school.
D) Jessica is likely to outperform Suzanne on the SAT and ACT tests.

Question 44

Research has shown that the ________ the family,the ________ the children's achievement on test scores and grades.

A) smaller; lower
B) larger; lower
C) larger; higher
D) wealthier; lower

Question 45

What is the relationship between birth weight and education?

A) Siblings who weighed less at birth exhibit lower educational attainment than their heavier siblings.
B) Children who are born heavier are more likely to be bullied in school.
C) Children with low birth weight tend to exhibit signs of attention problems,but only through preschool age.
D) Lower birth weight predicts fewer missed days of school due to health complications.

Question 46

Which of the following is an argument in favor of school vouchers?

A) If parents cannot pay for their children to go to private schools,the state should pay.
B) Spots at the best schools would be given to students who are not educationally prepared.
C) If schools competed for students,the quality of education would suffer.
D) In order for schooling to be equal for all children,parents should be able to decide where their children go,regardless of their ability to pay.

Question 47

Which of the following examples would be supported by the research findings on the influence of home characteristics on education?

A) The activities of summer camps,community programs,and home environments are not important factors in the academic achievements of higher-social-class children who are performing well during the school year.
B) During the summer,children from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds make educational gains,while children from lower socioeconomic status families experience greater summer setbacks.
C) During the summer,low-income children do not experience summer setbacks in achievement but high-income children do experience educational gains.
D) Many of the differences in black-white educational achievement gaps can be explained by racial differences rather than social class differences.

Question 48

Which of the following is a factor affecting the strong academic performance of Asian Americans?

A) Asian Americans are biologically and genetically smarter than whites.
B) All Asian American groups are more socioeconomically advantaged; therefore,social class does not work against these groups.
C) Asian Americans have not faced a history of discrimination and prejudice.
D) There is a high degree of social capital in Asian American communities,and the community reinforces norms regarding education and parenting.

Question 49

Boys are more likely to engage in risky behaviors and experience problems at school; boys are also more likely to ________ than girls.

A) take math and science AP classes and score higher
B) take foreign language AP tests but score lower
C) take foreign language AP tests and score higher
D) score higher on AP math and science tests but lower on SAT math and science tests

Question 50

Which of the following is a sociological criticism of the idea that IQ affects educational outcomes?

A) Standardized IQ tests do not measure socioeconomic status,which determines educational success regardless of intelligence.
B) If there is a relationship between innate intelligence and educational performance,then there is no need to look at social factors.
C) IQ tests are culturally biased against some groups.
D) It is easy to measure innate intelligence,but IQ tests are not administered to all students as often as they should be.

Question 51

Contrary to popular belief:

A) girls and boys score about the same in national math tests.
B) boys are stronger readers than girls.
C) boys attend college in greater numbers than girls.
D) women and men with equal educational levels earn the same amount of money.

Question 52

Which of the following scenarios best illustrates "stereotype threat"?

A) Lesley,a Jewish high school senior,has applied to a number of colleges and universities,including two well-known Christian universities.She is concerned that she will be defined by her Jewish identity if she attends a university with a large Jewish student body.
B) Antoine,a black student at Yale University,is nervous about taking the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).He fears that if his score is low,he will confirm negative perceptions about the intelligence of black men.His fear then affects his performance,and he scores lower on the actual test than he did on practice tests.
C) Jack,a white student seeking admission to Harvard,is concerned that he will not be admitted to the university despite his high class rank and SAT scores.He thinks that he will be passed up by the admissions committee in favor of a student from a minority background.
D) Lee-Ann,a young black woman,decides not to apply to college despite her strong performance in college preparatory classes and good SAT scores.Her family cannot afford the tuition at a historically black university,and she is sure that she will be treated unfairly because of her race at a university that does not have a large minority student body.

Question 53

Modern-day schools tend to reward which of the following parenting techniques?

A) using more directives and teaching children to be more obedient than inquisitive
B) asking children many questions and reasoning with them
C) free-range parenting,with no structure or rules
D) strict parenting that teaches children to be "seen,not heard"

Question 54

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of cultural capital?

A) Mark,a 23-year-old welder,returns to school,completes several degrees,and eventually becomes a college professor.His sister,Jane,does not attend college and works in a retail position.
B) Chantal,a high school senior,is able to spend the summer working as a nanny for a wealthy family on Cape Cod because her mother also worked for the family.Her friends,however,remain in their hometown for the summer.
C) Joshua and Sam have both earned bachelor's degrees from a local university and are now interviewing for the same job.When Joshua goes into the job interview,he is able to discuss art,architecture,and travel experiences he had while growing up.Sam has not had these same experiences and is not able to have the same kind of conversations with the interviewers.
D) Cesar is one of only a few Hispanic students in his high school.He does not spend time with other Hispanic students,preferring to join teams with all white students.

Question 55

The embodied cultural capital that parents have may work with institutional cultural capital.Which of the following illustrates this?

A) If a parent has confidence in social settings,he or she may be better able to advocate for children in front of the school board or at parent-teacher meetings.
B) A parent may have more money to be able to send his or her child to private tutorials,and the child may then earn higher test scores.
C) A parent has a higher level of education and is therefore able to talk to principals and school administrators as a peer.
D) If a parent does not have time to volunteer in school,teachers may think that he or she does not care about the child.

Question 56

With regard to research on the effects of race and social class on education outcomes,which of the following is true?

A) White students appear to do better than minority students until social class characteristics are controlled for; then white students have lower educational achievements than minority students.
B) When social class characteristics are controlled for,the same gaps in test scores between black and white students remain; black students are still less likely to graduate from high school and are more likely to be held back a grade.
C) White students do better than Asian American,Hispanic,and black students when social class characteristics are taken into account.
D) When social class characteristics are controlled for,test score gaps between black and white students shrink,black students have a higher high school graduation rate,and black students are less likely to be held back a grade.

Question 57

Based on recent research,which of the following statements is true with regard to preferential admissions to colleges and universities?

A) Admissions preference for athletes has risen steadily,surpassing that of minority students.
B) Affirmative action programs have taken spots away from white students at elite colleges and universities.
C) Preferential admissions for minority students have taken spots away from white students at the least-selective colleges and universities only,but not at elite universities.
D) Affirmative action programs have not significantly increased diversity on college and university campuses.

Question 58

If affirmative action programs were eliminated,which group would most likely see an increase in chances of admission to elite colleges and universities?

A) black students
B) female students
C) Hispanic students
D) Asian students

Question 59

Which of the following trends in current educational achievement is supported by research evidence?

A) Girls from all backgrounds have performed well since the 1960s.
B) Only girls whose parents are college-educated achieve as much as boys.
C) The boy-girl educational gap has a limited effect on lower-class children.
D) Boys perform better in school than girls,on average.

Question 60

According to Espenshade and Chung (2005),eliminating affirmative action programs would do which of the following?

A) sharply lower the number of legacy admissions at elite colleges and universities
B) decrease black and Hispanic admission acceptance rates by one-half to two-thirds
C) increase by one-third the number of women admitted to elite universities
D) not change the percentage of minority students at elite colleges and universities

Question 61

Discuss at least three criticisms of the SAT as a criterion for college admission.

Question 62

What are the pros and cons of the tracking function (also called the sorting function)used schools?

Question 63

Discuss how tracking creates differences among students within the same schools that may be significantly greater than differences between schools.

Question 64

Provide definitions of social capital and cultural capital.Create a scenario in which social capital and cultural capital work together to help a student succeed.Create a different scenario in which social capital and cultural capital combine to diminish a student's chances of success.

Question 65

A paradox of the American education system is that education is:

A) the only social institution that not all people have access to even though all people pay for it.
B) a social institution that provides everyone with equal opportunities even though students come from a variety of backgrounds.
C) a social institution that stratifies students based on the characteristics of their backgrounds even though it is intended to provide equal opportunity.
D) a social institution that reinforces existing social inequalities of race and ethnicity but equalizes opportunities for male and female students and for students of different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Question 66

List and describe three factors inside classrooms that can affect students' learning experiences.

Question 67

Explain how gender and social class intersect and may account for educational differences between males and females.

Question 68

Describe two important ways in which the American ideology of equal opportunity for all is undermined by the persistent inequalities present in the American education system.

Question 69

Briefly outline Rosenthal and Jacobson's 1968 study of the Pygmalion effect.Then discuss how teachers' expectations of students could positively and negatively affect students' academic achievement.

Question 70

Explain how race and social class intersect to affect education outcomes.

Question 71

The Coleman Report (1966)came 12 years after Brown v.Board of Education.Did the study uphold the idea that schools were "separate and unequal"? Explain.