Deck 13: Improving Schools for All Children: The Role of Social Stratification in Teaching and Learning

Question 1

In her now-classic study of the work fifth-grade children do in schools representing different social classes, Jean Anyon (1980) documented the role of curriculum in preparing students for different roles in life based on their social class. In general, for children in working-class schools, work is:

A) quite often carried out independently.
B) dependent on creative and/or critical thinking.
C) procedural.
D) student-directed.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

All of the following are the characteristics of the demand model of assessment, EXCEPT:

A) students are perceived as workers who are obliged to do a better job.
B) students who do not succeed are said to have chosen not to study or not to have earned a given grade.
C) teachers are perceived as fully responsible for student achievement.
D) responsibility is removed from the teacher and attention is deflected away from the curriculum and the context under which learning is meant to occur.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a dimension of differentiation in the place of content knowledge when teaching children of different social classes?

A) emphasis on "advanced" versus "basic" skills
B) emphasis on conceptual understanding
C) emphasis on getting good grades
D) emphasis on attention to "practical" or vocational knowledge

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Identify a characteristic of the support model of assessment.

A) Attention is deflected away from the curriculum.
B) Responsibility is removed from the teacher.
C) Students are perceived as workers who are obligated to do a better job.
D) Students are assumed to be active contributors to the learning process.

Question 5

Which of the following seems to be true of American beliefs and behavior?

A) Americans believe that they live in a classless society.
B) Americans love to talk about social class differences.
C) Americans think that class is a very important identifying characteristic.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a traditional class marker in the United States?

A) family income
B) ethnicity
C) the level of schooling achieved by the family head
D) prestige of one's neighborhood

Question 7

The terms "social class" and "social status"
Can be defined in the following way:

A) social class is the hierarchical stratification of people in social groups; social status is similar, but it is tied less to one's wealth.
B) social status is the hierarchical stratification of people in social groups; social class is similar, but it is tied less to one's wealth.
C) social class refers to the economic status of all people; social status only applies to wealthy individuals.
D) social status refers to the economic status of all people; social class only applies to poor individuals.

Question 8

Which of the following is true with regard to the five social classes found in the United States?

A) The upper class is the largest of all social classes.
B) The upper-middle class consists of professionals, corporate managers, and leading scientists.
C) The middle class is very small.
D) There are no longer any blue-collar workers in the working class.

Question 9

In the context of the social classes seen in American society, the class whose members have been largely blue-collar employees or employees in low-paid service occupations is known as:

A) the middle class.
B) the upper class.
C) the working class.
D) the upper-middle class.

Question 10

Social status is usually defined as:

A) a hierarchical position determined by prestige rather than by one's income.
B) a category that no one pays attention to.
C) a category that is of little worth to a person.
D) a category that only sociologists understand.

Question 11

The No Child Left Behind Act requires public schools to implement the following, EXCEPT:

A) measuring students' progress and reporting the progress in the form of a state "report card."
B) making incremental achievements.
C) employing only highly qualified teachers.
D) developing a plan to restructure when meeting adequate yearly progress.

Question 12

Most of the cases filed with regard to school funding are based on the idea that:

A) schools do not get enough money from states.
B) schools discriminate against minorities.
C) the property tax as a method of funding schools is inequitable.
D) none of these answers are correct.

Question 13

Although the cases filed in the interest of changing the way schools are funded have had mixed results, some cases have had interesting and positive outcomes. One of these is:

A) Lau v. Nichols.
B) Rose v. Council for Better Education.
C) Brown v. Board of Education.
D) San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez.

Question 14

Which of the following may give rise to potential ethical issues in assessments?

A) when subjectivity turns into bias
B) when labeling students for special services results in the overrepresentation of a particular group of students
C) when assessments are made too quickly based on too little information
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 15

The belief that all children can and should learn is, in essence, at the heart of the idea of multiple forms of assessment.

Question 16

Central to the idea of the Educate America Act of 1992 was the conviction that high standards of achievement should be set by the federal government.

Question 17

In the demand model of assessment, teaching and learning become child-centered.

Question 18

The federal role in educational accountability and standards changed with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001.

Question 19

Students from different social class backgrounds often leave public schooling with similar educations.

Question 20

The term "underclass"
is a designation that refers to people who have been in poverty for so long that they seem unable to take any advantage at all of mobility options and thus lie nearly outside the class system.

Question 21

In predominantly working-class schools, following directions often includes some figuring out, some choice, and some decision making.

Question 22

In the demand model of assessment, students are perceived as workers who are obliged to do a better job.

Question 23

When teachers expect students to do poorly and they, in fact, do well, the phenomenon is known as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 24

Discuss briefly the arguments for and against standardized testing.

Question 25

Discuss the characteristics of a culturally responsive teacher listed by Villegas and Lucas (2007).

Question 26

Discuss briefly the definition of social class, and explain how the assignment to social class categories is accomplished.

Question 27

Describe the major social classes in American society, their relative size in the society, and the differences among them.

Question 28

Describe briefly the role of teacher expectations in student achievement. Why might this be particularly important when dealing with students across a wide spectrum of social class?

Question 29

Discuss briefly the major requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act passed in 2001.