Deck 16: Education

Question 1

The formal education system in the United States has a definite ________ bias.

A) conservative
B) liberal
C) libertarian
D) radical

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The relationship between educational performance and socioeconomic background and race is evident in the following:

A) There is a strong relationship between test scores in reading, writing, and mathematics and poverty.
B) Achievement gaps in reading, writing, and mathematics persist between minorities and white students.
C) African American, Latino, and Native American students lag behind their white peers in graduation rates and most other measures of student performance.
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Although state and federal governments finance and control education in part, most of the money and control come from ________.

A) sales taxes
B) foundation grants
C) private donations
D) local communities

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The myth of ________ encourages us to praise the system and condemn individuals who do not succeed and who we define as losers.

A) democracy
B) equality
C) pluralism
D) meritocracy

Question 5

Which of the following is not true with regard to poor students and the schools that serve them?

A) They have few computers for students, compared to many computers for students in the affluent schools.
B) They are more likely than their more affluent peers to be taught by teachers who are inexperienced.
C) They are more likely to attend schools in need of repairs, renovations, and modernization.
D) Their teachers are paid more relative to their peers in affluent schools.

Question 6

The American education system is moving toward greater ________ rather than less as more and more parents are opting to send their children to private school or to school them at home.

A) fragmentation
B) diversification
C) democratization
D) effectiveness

Question 7

The parents' ________ affects how long children will stay in school, because even public schools are costly (fees, supplies, meals, transportation, and other expenses).

A) educational attainment
B) level of affluence
C) profession
D) value system

Question 8

The ________ views of the majority (or at least the majority of the school board) may intrude in public education as is evidenced by the fact that a goal of the Christian Coalition is to win control of local school boards.

A) personal
B) political
C) religious
D) moral

Question 9

The preoccupation with ________ and ________ in schools is characterized by constraints on personal freedom and is further regimented by the dictates of the clock.

A) discipline / promptness
B) order / control
C) orderliness / punctuality
D) conformity / reliability

Question 10

A ________, or a label of social disgrace, is attached to low-track students and is destructive to their self-concept.

A) taint
B) stigma
C) stain
D) blot

Question 11

________ are a form of using public money to finance private education and are another way the educational system is fragmented.

A) Magnet schools
B) Charter schools
C) Parochial schools
D) Vouchers

Question 12

Identify which of the following is not evidence that the U.S. education system defends the status quo and resists societal change.

A) The function of schools is to teach newcomers the attitudes, values, roles, specialties, and training necessary to the maintenance of society as it is or as it is expected to be.
B) The special task of schools is to transform the culture and social organization.
C) Schools indoctrinate their pupils in ways that are culturally prescribed.
D) There is an underlying assumption that the American way is the only really right way.

Question 13

There is always an explicit or implicit assumption in U.S. schools that the American way of life is ________.

A) one of many different, yet, equally viable ways
B) the only really right way
C) traditional
D) none of the above

Question 14

Whether the ________ is weak or strong has a pronounced effect on the quality of education.

A) local tax base
B) political system
C) value system
D) parental support

Question 15

Which of the following is not an explanation of the differences in SAT scores between students from different socioeconomic classes and races?

A) Poor parents, most without health insurance, are unable to afford prenatal care, which increases the risk of babies being born at low birth weight, a condition that may lead to learning disabilities.
B) Poor children are less likely than more affluent children to receive adequate nutrition, decent medical care, and safe and secure environment, which increases the probability of their being less alert, less curious, and less able to interact effectively.
C) Poor families are less likely to enroll their children in private early development programs that are available and accessible to them.
D) Poor children are more likely to drop out of schools prematurely and go to work because school supplies, meals, transportation, and various school programs are costly.

Question 16

The ________ of school boards has overrepresented the business and professional sectors and underrepresented blue-collar workers and minority groups.

A) politics
B) skills
C) composition
D) rules

Question 17

S. commitment to ________ results in an increasing number of persons receiving formal education.

A) private education
B) free education
C) mass education
D) religious education

Question 18

From the ________ perspective, schools are of crucial importance in maintaining societal integration.

A) conflict
B) bias
C) order
D) deficiency

Question 19

There is a lack of ________ across the nation's 14,000 school districts, which means that there are wide variations in the preparation of students and difficulties for students who move from one district to another.

A) curriculum preparation
B) curriculum standardization
C) grading standards
D) teacher training

Question 20

Which of the following is not associated with the local control of the education system?

A) Quality of education varies depending on whether the tax base of the local area is strong or weak.
B) Dissatisfaction of the population with high taxes is often expressed at the local level in defeated school bonds and school tax levies.
C) Local school boards assume the responsibility of challenging the existing injustices in education.
D) Local control of education may mean that the religious views of the majority (or at least, the majority of the school board) may intrude in public education.

Question 21

People in the United States have a faith in education based on the assumption that

A) all people are created equal.
B) a democratic society requires an educated citizenry.
C) American attitudes are the most enlightened.
D) the culture needs to be changed.

Question 22

The written and spoken language in the schools is expected to be ________.

A) lower class
B) middle class
C) upper class
D) reflective of local dialects

Question 23

________, also known as ability grouping, sorts students into different groups or classes according to their perceived current (not potential) intellectual ability.

A) Sorting
B) Grading
C) Tracking
D) Evaluation

Question 24

From the ________ perspective, schools are of crucial importance in maintaining societal integration.

A) conflict
B) bias
C)
D) social
Order

Question 25

S. schools reflect an assumption, implicit or explicit, that the American way

A) is the only really right way.
B) should be thoughtfully examined.
C) needs critical examination.
D) is one of several equally good ways of life.

Question 26

Sorting students by ability is based primarily on the results of ________, which are plagued with their own class biases.

A) socioeconomics
B) personality tests
C) flexible assessments
D) standardized tests

Question 27

Evidence that the educational system in the United States is moving toward greater fragmentation is

A) the increase in private school enrollments.
B) the decline in home schooling.
C) the disappearance of charter schools.
D) the judicial outlawing of vouchers.

Question 28

Schools have a ________ that teaches students to follow orders, to be quiet, and to please people in authority regardless of the situation.

A) hidden curriculum
B) secret agenda
C) double standard
D) conformist agenda

Question 29

Between 2006 and 2008, about ________ percent of people in the United States over the age of 25 had completed high school.

A) 54
B) 64
C) 74
D) 84

Question 30

An explicit goal of the Christian Coalition is to

A) re-establish religious diversity in the schools.
B) encourage the teaching of evolution.
C) win control of local school boards.
D) alter the property tax base in impoverished neighborhoods.

Question 31

Racial minorities are more likely to attend ________ than members of other racial groups are.

A) state universities
B) graduate school
C) technical schools
D) community colleges

Question 32

A common curriculum means that

A) there is agreement about what students ought to know.
B) the linkage between curriculum and assessment is ruptured.
C) there is wide variation in the preparation of students.
D) all of the above

Question 33

A serious problem with local control is

A) its composition of working-class and blue-collar members.
B) its anti-religious tenor.
C) the politicized agenda of its many left-wing ideologues.
D) the lack of curriculum standardization across the fifty states.

Question 34

The voucher system allows parents to choose schools based on what they want for their children, such as

A) better discipline.
B) teaching the fundamentals.
C) religious instruction.
D) all of the above

Question 35

From the ________ perspective, the educational system reinforces the existing inequalities in society.

A) deficiency
B) conflict
C) bias
D) order

Question 36

The U.S. schools tend to be segregated by ________.

A) social class
B) race
C) ability grouping
D) all of the above

Question 37

Vouchers

A) eliminate competition for students by schools.
B) set up an educational "free market".
C) can be used only in public schools.
D) were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2002.

Question 38

While ________ is an important variable, it is ________ that places college students in the stratified education system, in which colleges differ in degrees of prestige and in their focus.

A) money / ability
B) gender / ability
C) ability / money
D) SAT scores / race

Question 39

A ________ is an event that occurs because it was predicted and people altered their behavior to conform to the prediction.

A) self-fulfilling prophecy
B) social prediction
C) performance forecast
D) scholastic track

Question 40

Many Americans share a strong fear of ________ education.

A) dumbing down of
B) communist influences in
C) centralization of
D) spreading culture values through

Question 41

The competitive nature of the schools teaches the individual to

A) fear failure.
B) cultivate intellectual curiosity.
C) enhance his/her knowledge.
D) work cooperatively with one's fellow students.

Question 42

Schools tend to be segregated by

A) social class.
B) race.
C) ability grouping.
D) all of the above

Question 43

The sorting process in education is based on two criteria, a child's ability and his/her ________ .

A) grades
B) teacher evaluations
C) IQ scores
D) social class background

Question 44

As a result of the voucher system, public schools will see

A) an increase in involved parents.
B) an increase in striving students.
C) an increase in the concentration of disruptive students.
D) an increase in the pressure for improvement in teaching.

Question 45

Equal opportunity in education has not been accomplished nationwide because of

A) federal cutbacks in financial aid.
B) local declines in property taxes.
C) the ability of wealthy states to pay more per pupil than the poor states.
D) the entry into school boards of Christian fundamentalists.

Question 46

A strong relationship exists between poverty and test scores in

A) reading.
B) writing.
C) mathematics.
D) all of the above

Question 47

The most important avenue to later success is

A) a person's family's connections.
B) race.
C) a college degree.
D) the existence of a stable family.

Question 48

The language gap in the United States is

A) increasing with immigrants from Europe and Africa.
B) decreasing due to a reduction in immigration.
C) unchanged.
D) increasing with immigrants from Asia and Latin America.

Question 49

On the surface, the racial and social class gaps in academic achievement reinforce ________ assumptions.

A) social Darwinist
B) melting pot
C) Marxist class
D) pluralistic

Question 50

A parent's rationale for sending a child to private school would be

A) religious reasons.
B) the selectivity in the student population.
C) the avoidance of integrated student populations.
D) all of the above

Question 51

It is ________, not ________ , that places college students in this stratified system.

A) inherited wealth / money
B) money / ability
C) IQ scores / high school averages
D) family name / money

Question 52

A child's ascribed status has a pronounced effect on the child's degree of success in school. An illustration of ascribed status would include

A) family.
B) race.
C) religion.
D) all of the above

Question 53

The number of minorities attending college are

A) less than in 1990.
B) less than ever.
C) more than white students.
D) more than ever.

Question 54

The development of academic skills among poor children is more difficult due to lack of access to

A) libraries.
B) planetariums.
C) museums.
D) all of the above

Question 55

The use of local property taxes as a source of funding public education has resulted in

A) suburban students being more advantaged than inner-city students.
B) districts with agricultural enterprises being favored over districts with business enterprises.
C) districts with few resources being compensated with more Federal dollars compared to districts with natural resources.
D) all of the above

Question 56

The ability to pay for college reinforces the class system by

A) shutting out the poor from the possibility of college.
B) focusing on the student's ability to compete.
C) creating scholarships for the lower class.
D) none of the above

Question 57

The main difference between excellent schools and inadequate schools is

A) involved parents.
B) qualified teachers.
C) money.
D) enlightened administrators.

Question 58

Education is presumed by many people to be the ________ in the United States.

A) assimilation model
B) great equalizer
C) pluralistic model
D) hotbed of social Darwinism

Question 59

Chinese parents spend approximately _______ times as long every day drilling academic activities s with their children.

A) two
B) five
C) seven
D) ten

Question 60

If a person teaches in a school serving poor students, s/he can expect

A) higher pupil/teacher ratios.
B) well-paid teachers because they volunteered to teach in this school.
C) a school in good repair.
D) to be teaching in her/his major field.

Question 61

A fundamental implication of the results of Rosenthal and Jacobson's study is that

A) poverty crushes people.
B) the culture is the critical factor in the outcome of educational success or failure.
C) teacher expectations have a profound impact on student performance.
D) none of the above

Question 62

There is a lack of teacher training across the nation's 14,000 school districts, which means that there are wide variations in the preparation of students and difficulties for students who move from one district to another.

Question 63

The tracking system

A) produces a good product.
B) develops students based on ability.
C) nurtures the gifted student.
D) increases inequality.

Question 64

Rosenthal and Jacobson's study involved an experimental group, called ________, and a control group.

A) late bloomers
B) chronic failures
C) late starters
D) spurters

Question 65

Rosenthal and Jacobson's 1968 study, though controversial, demonstrated the power of

A) tracking.
B) the self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) segregation in the public schools.
D) all of the above

Question 66

The low-tracked students are tracked to fail

A) because of high teacher expectations.
B) in spite of state-of-the-art education resources.
C) because of negative labels.
D) despite faculty salaries that draw the best teachers to this track.

Question 67

The tracking system is closely linked to the

A) stratification system.
B) system of meritocracy.
C) democratic ethic.
D) American value system.

Question 68

Whether the local tax base is weak or strong has a pronounced effect on the quality of education.

Question 69

________ should hold themselves accountable if students fail.

A) Students
B) Teachers
C) Parents
D) School administrators

Question 70

Americans no longer have a basic faith in education.

Question 71

The effect of self-fulfilling prophecy is closely related to

A) age.
B) race.
C) stigma.
D) social class.

Question 72

Racial and economic segregation is especially prevalent at the ________ level.

A) elementary school
B) junior high school
C) senior high school
D) college

Question 73

The system that sorts students according to perceived intellectual ability is called

A) organizing.
B) tracking.
C) functional assessing.
D) none of the above

Question 74

The formal system of education in U.S. society is liberal.

Question 75

Students labeled as low ability tend to be taught

A) with greater care.
B) in an enriched curriculum.
C) a dumbed-down curriculum.
D) by more dedicated teachers.

Question 76

Education is the great equalizer in U.S. society, the process by which the disadvantaged get their chance to be upwardly mobile as is evident from the fact that people with the same educational attainment receive the same economic rewards regardless of race and gender.

Question 77

Unequal financing of schools in the United States results in public schools being more successful in educating children in middle-class communities, but often failing children in poor neighborhoods.

Question 78

The function of schools is to teach newcomers the attitudes, values, roles, specialties, and training necessary to the maintenance of society as it is or as it is expected to be.

Question 79

The sorting of students into different groups is based on

A) grades.
B) teacher judgments.
C) standardized tests.
D) all of the above

Question 80

Although local communities finance and control education in part, most of the money and control come from state and federal governments.