Deck 12: Problems in Education

Question 1

Functionalists believe that education is one of the most important social institutions because it contributes to the smooth functioning of society and provides individuals with opportunities for personal fulfillment and upward social mobility.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Conflict theorists believe that schools perpetuate inequalities based on race, class, and gender.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

High rates of illiteracy should not necessarily be blamed on immigration policies because many persons who have lived in this country since birth have this problem.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Young Americans are more likely to experience violent crime at school than at home.

Question 5

Elementary school teachers are the victims of physical attack more often than secondary school teachers.

Question 6

The average tuition and fees at public four-year institutions are about the same as at private four-year institutions.

Question 7

Affirmative action encouraged special consideration on the basis of race, sex, and ethnicity, but not religion.

Question 8

Conflict theorists argue that Head Start should be eliminated for all families.

Question 9

The self-fulfilling prophecy takes place when unsubstantiated/false beliefs lead to behavior that makes the original beliefs come true.

Question 10

As a result of the Brown v. The Board of Education, which ruled that "separate but equal"
schools are unconstitutional because they are inherently unequal, racial segregation appears to be decreasing in education.

Question 11

The social institution responsible for transmitting knowledge, skills, and cultural values in a formally organized structure is

A) family.
B) education.
C) religion.
D) economy.

Question 12

Which of the following best define manifest functions?

A) open, stated, and intended goals or consequences of activities within an organization or institution
B) hidden, unstated, and sometimes unintended consequences of activities in an organization or institution
C) compulsory school attendance
D) help for students to establish social networks

Question 13

Functionalists believe that education

A) should remain the same over time.
B) allows young people upward social mobility.
C) is one of the least important social institutions.
D) prevents the smooth functioning of society.

Question 14

Which of the following initiatives was issued by the Obama administration?

A) Learning by Standards
B) No Child Left Behind
C) Segregated Learning
D) A Blueprint for Reform

Question 15

Conflict theorists believe that education

A) challenges existing class relationships.
B) perpetuates inequalities based on race, class, and gender.
C) fails to fulfill its basic latent functions.
D) often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for students.

Question 16

Social assets that children gain from their home life and bring with them to the classroom are

A) natural skills.
B) the hidden curriculum.
C) cultural capital.
D) proof of inequality.

Question 17

Which of the following statements regarding the hidden curriculum is true?

A) It is composed of core courses that all students are required to take.
B) It does not include values and attitudes such as conformity and obedience to authority.
C) It is learned through implied demands in the everyday rules and routines of school.
D) It does not reflect the value system of the elite people in society.

Question 18

Which of the following best defines credentialism?

A) a social system in which status is assumed to be acquired through individual ability and effort
B) a process of social selection that gives class advantage and social status to people who possess academic qualifications
C) how certain cultural values and attitudes, such as conformity and obedience, are transmitted through implied demands in the everyday rules and of schools
D) a process of receiving proof of one's accomplishments that is not emphasized in American society

Question 19

The symbolic interactionist perspective

A) examines the relationship between the functions of education and problems in schools.
B) studies classroom dynamics and how practices such as labeling affect students' self-concept and aspirations.
C) focuses on how education perpetuates inequality based on race, sex, and gender.
D) fails to recognize education as an integral part of the socialization process

Question 20

According to interactionists, IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests

A) provide an accurate measure of how well students are doing in school.
B) strengthen students' feelings of self-esteem.
C) give an advantage to racial and ethnic minorities.
D) can lead to self-fulfilling prophecies regarding student performance.

Question 21

A person who is unable to read or write at the skill level necessary for carrying out everyday tasks is said to be

A) learning disabled.
B) a symbolic interactionist.
C) a dysfunctional student.
D) functionally illiterate.

Question 22

Why do some social analysts believe that illiteracy will not be a problem for the United States in the future?

A) New technology will make reading obsolete.
B) The definition of literacy has changed over time.
C) Schools have solved the illiteracy problem.
D) Fewer immigrants are moving to the Unites States.

Question 23

Which statement best describes the relationship between early immigration and education?

A) High rates of immigration in the nineteenth century brought about the free public school movement in the United States.
B) Most immigrants arriving in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries could read and write.
C) Some immigrants were required to earn a high school diploma before they were granted citizenship in the United States.
D) In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States experienced low immigration rates.

Question 24

In Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court ruled that

A) bilingual education must be offered in schools where more than 25 percent of the student body speak a language other than English.
B) affirmative action is necessary to end racial-ethnic segregation in U.S. public schools.
C) separate but equal schools are unconstitutional because they are inherently unequal.
D) school busing to achieve racial-ethnic integration should be abolished because remedial efforts are no longer necessary.

Question 25

Which of the following statements regarding racially segregated schools is true?

A) Racially segregated schools do not usually have high teacher-student ratios.
B) Segregated schools mirror race- and class-based residential segregation.
C) Efforts to bring about racial desegregation or integration have been extremely fast in this country.
D) More experienced teachers are sent to racially segregated schools where they are needed most.

Question 26

Which of the following occurs at a cram school?

A) Students discuss the state of U.S. education.
B) Students spend a whole day on basic subjects.
C) Students take standardized tests for scholarships.
D) Students learn material in their native language.

Question 27

Which of the following best describes "report card framing"?

A) The media gives students, teachers, and schools grades based on test scores.
B) Schools tend to focus attention and funding on students who perform well.
C) Parents tend to over-reward their children for receiving good grades.
D) The government only tracks the grades of the best-performing students, teachers, and schools.

Question 28

The practice of assigning students to specific courses and educational programs on the basis of their test scores, previous grades, or both is known as

A) the hidden curriculum.
B) tracking.
C) meritocracy.
D) functional illiteracy.

Question 29

In regard to school financing, which of the following pays for the bulk of public education in the United States?

A) the U.S. Congress
B) state and local governments
C) parents and guardians
D) the U.S. Department of Education

Question 30

Which of the following statements regarding affirmative action policies and colleges and universities is true?

A) Affirmative action programs in higher education have been the subject of debate over the past few decades.
B) Affirmative action programs are unnecessary because there is equality of opportunity in colleges and universities.
C) Affirmative action programs in higher education are illegal because race can have no bearing on college admissions.
D) Affirmative action programs are ineffective in creating more opportunities for minority students.

Question 31

What percentage of PhDs were earned by Hispanic students in the 2007-2008 school year?

A) under 1 percent
B) about 4 percent
C) about 20 percent
D) more than 50 percent

Question 32

Which of the following is a manifest function of education?

A) training students for specific jobs in government
B) teaching immigrant families basic life skills
C) transmission of political beliefs
D) teaching students good values

Question 33

Which of the following statements best explains why Obama's educational reform ideas were unsuccessful?

A) The American people voted against changing the Bush administration's educational reform act.
B) Obama's plan called for unnecessary testing of students.
C) The American economy failed to provide enough funding for educational reform.
D) Obama's plans failed to address the lowest performing schools.

Question 34

According to conflict theorists, elites use a hidden curriculum to

A) help students learn job-related skills.
B) maintain their power in society.
C) teach students to question authority.
D) save money on public education.

Question 35

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the effect that the hidden curriculum has on students in the United States?

A) All students are equally affected by the hidden curriculum.
B) Middle- and upper-class students are most adversely affected.
C) Working-class and poverty-level students are most adversely affected.
D) Researchers cannot determine which students are most adversely affected.

Question 36

Which of the following ideas about student performance in the classroom is true?

A) Students labeled "losers" might come to view themselves in a negative way.
B) Standardized tests do not disadvantage racial and language minorities in the U.S.
C) Students are not typically affected by their teachers' expectations of them.
D) Unsubstantiated beliefs of teachers have no bearing on student performance.

Question 37

Which of the following statements regarding literacy is true?

A) People are considered illiterate if they read at an eighth-grade level.
B) Most prison inmates are better than average readers and writers.
C) The rate of functional illiteracy is higher among minority group members.
D) Three-quarters of all American adults are considered functionally illiterate.

Question 38

School voucher systems

A) give students government money to purchase education at the school of their choice.
B) help students excel on state proficiency tests in reading and math.
C) require students to travel outside of their home school district.
D) are considered unconstitutional because parents can give the money to religious schools.

Question 39

In the early 1900s, you are a teacher in a classroom that is mostly made up of immigrants. You give a test to students to measure their current skill level. The students with the highest scores are most likely from which country?

A) Italy
B) Poland
C) Russia
D) Norway

Question 40

According to the symbolic interactionist perspective, how can teachers help reduce student learning problems?

A) lower their expectations for all students
B) double the amount of funding to public schools
C) eliminate all private and religious schools
D) help students be more self-confident

Question 41

Explain the concept of a latent function and then list three latent functions of education not described in the book. Explain how these functions are carried out in schools.

Question 42

Compare the rates of illiteracy between whites, African-Americans, and Latinos/as. Propose changes that could be made to help reduce the rates of illiteracy in these groups.

Question 43

Argue for or against the functionalist perspective of education. Include in your argument your opinions on the functionalist way of solving education problems.

Question 44

Create a graphic depiction that shows how race, class, and gender affect educational opportunities. It could be a bar graph, a pie chart, or another graphic of your choosing. Explain your results in a short paragraph.

Question 45

Argue for or against the symbolic interactionist perspective of education. Include in your argument your opinions on the symbolic interactionist way of solving education problems.