Deck 9: Making State and Local Policy

Question 1

The federal government makes grants to the states for facilities, equipment, model programs, and general aid at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels through the ________.

A)local school districts
B)National Education Association
C)educational communities
D)Department of Education
E)Department of Human Services

Answer 1

D

Question 2

After graduating from high school, Beth takes up a two-year associate's degree in an institution in her area.Her friend Amanda pursues a course in nursing in the same institution because she does not want to leave her neighborhood.Which type of institution do they attend?

A)Distance learning institution
B)Confederation
C)Eminent domain
D)Charter community
E)Public community college

Answer 2

E

Question 3

State and local governments have the primary responsibility for ________ and provide most of the money to pay for it.

A)entertainment
B)education
C)globalization
D)employee compensation
E)congestion pricing

Answer 3

B

Question 4

A(n) ________ refers to a publicly funded alternative to standard public schools in some states, initiated when individuals or groups receive charters.

A)initiative
B)charitable organization
C)charter school
D)non-profit institute
E)eminent domain

Question 5

Thomas, an American citizen, moved from a big city to the suburbs because his job required him to do so.When he approached the authorities of a nearby public school to enroll his daughter, he noticed that most of the children studying in the school were white and belonged to middle-class families.There were barely any children from other ethnicities.Which of the following terms describes this situation?

A)Race to the Top
B)de facto segregation
C)reapportionment
D)privatization
E)gerrymandering

Question 6

One of the issues often discussed about education funding is ________.

A)equity
B)feasibility
C)accessibility
D)information
E)worthiness

Question 7

High-stakes testing refers to tests ________.

A)that are basically used for ranking and comparing students' performances with one another
B)that are used to understand the learning capacity of students belonging to a particular race
C)that students must pass to go on to the next grade level or graduate from high school
D)that are conducted for students who require special education and extra attention
E)that are usually meant to assess only students who have above-average intelligence

Question 8

With regard to the voucher system, skimming refers to ________.

A)higher-achieving students opting out of public schools, leaving behind academically-struggling students
B)increased competition among students resulting in improved performance
C)the rise in demand for public schools among students who are academically good
D)the decrease in motivation faced by students who struggle academically who eventually choose to leave
E)the drastically decreasing performance of students in private schools

Question 9

________ typically receive funds from local as well as state governments and allow students to attend the first two years of college.

A)Standard charter schools
B)Local school districts
C)Public community colleges
D)Magnet schools
E)Private institutions

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true about the administration of public education?

A)The United States typically administers and funds education at the national level.
B)Each state has a state superintendent of public instruction or commissioner of education.
C)The trend is toward giving more state money to the richer communities for education.
D)In northern states, the tradition is to have fairly large school districts in terms of geography.
E)Actual operation of the public schools is the responsibility of the state officers.

Question 11

While administering public education, state money is distributed according to many formulas, but the trend is toward ________.

A)giving more money to poorer communities to equalize education spending
B)distributing money based on the communities' level of interest on education
C)giving money equally to poor and rich communities to be consistent
D)distributing money to various communities based on their future prospects
E)giving less money to the minorities and more money to the majorities

Question 12

________ involves differences in funding between school districts.

A)Equity
B)Feasibility
C)Adequacy
D)Consistency
E)Similarity

Question 13

The ________, a grant competition, invited American states to compete for extra federal funding based on their willingness to try new educational programs.

A)New Urbanism
B)Race to the Top
C)Teach to the Test
D)Honda Foundation
E)Missouri Plan

Question 14

The basic unit responsible for public elementary and secondary education in the United States is the ________.

A)federal system
B)unitary system
C)national education board
D)child welfare unit
E)local school district

Question 15

The ________ of 2002 required states to design state standards and annually test elementary school children to determine whether they are making adequate progress toward achieving those standards.

A)Deficit Reduction Act
B)No Child Left Behind Act
C)Affordable Care Act
D)Elementary and Secondary Education Act
E)American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Question 16

In the United States, the argument over public school integration has shifted from race to ________.

A)socioeconomic status
B)age
C)gender
D)intelligence
E)physical ability

Question 17

Which of the following statements is true about charter schools?

A)They do not have the flexibility to hire and terminate teachers.
B)The No Child Left Behind Act did not support charter schools.
C)They are the fastest-growing form of choice in K-12 education.
D)They adhere to all the procedural requirements that are followed by traditional public schools.
E)They are subject to the collective bargaining arrangements that prevail in many public school systems.

Question 18

________ involves the absolute amount of funding provided to students in school districts.

A)Equity
B)Feasibility
C)Adequacy
D)Equality
E)Reapportionment

Question 19

Money provided by the American government to parents for payment of their children's tuition in a public or private school of their choice is known as a ________.

A)reward
B)debt
C)bill
D)benefit
E)voucher

Question 20

With regard to the course of study in schools, professional educators and civil libertarians ________.

A)want textbooks to present issues from the perspective they consider correct
B)expect facts with regard to sex education to be suppressed
C)do not encourage a positive view of labor and its role in society
D)try to isolate schools from the pressures of all outside groups
E)want family values and morality emphasized, and constraints imposed on the teaching of evolution

Question 21

Which of the following is true of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)?

A)It was replaced by the 60-year-old program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
B)States under TANF are given lesser flexibility in administering welfare policies.
C)States under TANF have to spend most of their welfare dollars on monthly cash payments to families.
D)It strengthened work requirements for recipients and limited the time that families can receive benefits.
E)States under TANF can use only public bureaucracies to administer welfare but not private agencies.

Question 22

Which of the following is true of the administration of higher education?

A)State colleges are governed only by boards appointed by the governor in all states.
B)Education boards promote the dependence of public higher-education institutions on state politics.
C)States have created boards with equal degrees of control over operations and budgets.
D)Governors have not tried to impose controls on universities and colleges.
E)Institutions of higher education have greater independence from political oversight.

Question 23

The factor that distinguishes Medicare from Medicaid is that ________.

A)Medicare served more than 62 million people, or about 20 percent of the American population in 2009
B)Medicare is not a federally funded medical benefit program
C)Medicare is a federal health care program specifically for people over the age of 65
D)Medicare is a federally funded medical benefit programs for low-income families
E)Medicare is a federally funded medical benefit programs for the pregnant women

Question 24

________ refers to a welfare strategy adopted by some states in which recipients sign a written agreement specifying their responsibilities and outlining a plan for obtaining work and achieving self-sufficiency.

A)Workfare
B)The two-track system
C)The charter system
D)De facto segregation
E)Responsibility contract

Question 25

The key provisions of the ________ Act include barring insurance companies from dropping people from coverage when they get sick and making it harder for insurance companies to deny coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions.

A)No Child Left Behind
B)Deficit Reduction
C)Affordable Care
D)American Recovery and Reinvestment
E)Morrill

Question 26

A welfare strategy adopted by some states that gives able-bodied adults who do not have preschool-age children the opportunity to learn job skills that can lead to employment is known as ________.

A)workfare
B)the two-track system
C)the child-welfare scheme
D)de facto segregation
E)responsibility contract

Question 27

Medicaid refers to the ________.

A)federally funded medical benefit programs for the needy and uninsured
B)federal health care program for people over the age of 65
C)federally funded medical benefit programs for the disabled
D)federally funded medical benefit programs for low-income families
E)federal health care program for children under the age of 18

Question 28

Which of the following statements is true of funding higher education?

A)Professors' salaries in universities have kept pace with increasing tuition.
B)The federal government is the chief supplier of student financial aid.
C)States are not making any efforts to expand their programs of student aid.
D)Because of financial aid from the federal government, the two-track system has been widely used.
E)State funding of public colleges and universities is generally stable.

Question 29

Which of the following federal welfare reform policies replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children?

A)Elementary and Secondary Education Act
B)American Recovery and Reinvestment
C)No Child Left Behind
D)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
E)State Children's Health Insurance

Question 30

In the ________ Program, the federal government provides matching funds to states to help cover the costs of providing health care to children under the age of 19 who live in families with incomes up to two times the federal poverty line.

A)State Children's Health Insurance
B)Aid to Families with Dependent Children
C)No Child Left Behind
D)Deficit Reduction
E)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Question 31

The ________ Act allows American states to develop different benefit packages for different types of Medicaid recipients.

A)Deficit Reduction
B)No Child Left Behind
C)American Recovery and Reinvestment
D)State Children's Health Insurance
E)Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Question 32

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy differs from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) policy in that ________.

A)TANF imposes new restrictions on families receiving cash assistance
B)TANF does not expand the goals of welfare policy
C)states under TANF are given lesser flexibility in administering welfare policies
D)states under TANF have to spend most of their welfare dollars on monthly cash payments to families
E)states under TANF have to use only public bureaucracies to administer welfare

Question 33

In terms of funding higher education, the two-track system involves ________.

A)one set of colleges and universities for the poor and another for the rich
B)two types of teaching systems to public higher-education institutions
C)one set of courseware for public schools and another for private schools
D)different types of performance tracking systems for rich and poor colleges
E)two types of colleges and universities for students from the richer communities

Question 34

Under the ________, states provided monthly cash payments to poor families, largely to single mothers to help them take care of their children.

A)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families policy
B)American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
C)Aid to Families with Dependent Children policy
D)State Children's Health Insurance program
E)No Child Left Behind Act

Question 35

Which of the following statements is true of public health services?

A)Very few states have a department of health to supervise local health officials.
B)Medicaid is a federal health care program for people over the age of 65.
C)Thousands of local governments do not have any kind of public health program.
D)Prevention and control of disease are major state and local responsibilities.
E)Medicare was designed to enable states to fund health care for people who were poor.

Question 36

In terms of higher education in the United States, ________ at state universities has increased during the last few decades, often at two or three times the rate of inflation.

A)tuition
B)detention
C)attrition
D)privatization
E)assessment

Question 37

Which of the following refers to the "connector model"?

A)a system that involves one set of colleges and universities for the poor and another for the rich
B)a quasi-governmental authority or agency that aims to pool individuals so that they can buy insurance together at a lower rate
C)a model that connects the benefits offered by federally funded medical health care programs, namely Medicare and Medicaid
D)a framework of roads, bridges, electrical facilities, telephone wiring, and so on needed for the operation of a society
E)an approach to homeland security that addresses natural disaster as well as terrorism preparedness

Question 38

Landmark legislation called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families replaced the 60-year-old program known as ________.

A)Elementary and Secondary Education
B)American Recovery and Reinvestment
C)No Child Left Behind
D)State Children's Health Insurance
E)Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Question 39

Which of the following is true of the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) policy?

A)States determined whether a smaller or larger proportion of poor families were eligible.
B)States under AFDC were given greater flexibility in administering welfare policies.
C)States under AFDC need not spend any of their welfare dollars on monthly cash payments to families.
D)It strengthened work requirements for recipients and limited the time that families can receive benefits.
E)States under AFDC had the option to use both public and private agencies to administer welfare.

Question 40

Every state has an agency, usually known as a ________,which administers the state program and supervises local health officials,.

A)department of health
B)public health center
C)federal health care center
D)Medicaid center
E)Medicare center

Question 41

In the context of urban planning, which of the following terms refers to creating specific areas and limiting property usage in each area?

A)Skimming
B)Zoning
C)Privatization
D)Los Angelization
E)De facto segregation

Question 42

The "new urbanism" movement seeks to build planned cities in which ________.

A)the necessary roads, sewers, and schools need not be in place before development proceeds.
B)there is no strategy for environmental protection, or management of water and other resources.
C)local roads are built and repaired without the direction of city, township, and county officials.
D)long-distance commercial transport will be conducted mainly by canal and railroad.
E)people live within walking distance of work, shopping, and cultural resources.

Question 43

A(n) ________ approach to homeland security addresses natural disasters and terrorism or other man-made incidents.

A)environmental
B)centralized
C)remediation
D)emergency management
E)all hazards

Question 44

Sprawling urban growth without much planning for transportation, environmental protection, or management of water and other resources is known as ________.

A)zoning
B)skimming
C)Los Angelization
D)de facto segregation
E)industrialization

Question 45

Of the four steps in emergency management, remediation involves ________.

A)getting the right people to the site in question as quickly as possible
B)prepositioning supplies and equipment and making sure that first responders are trained in what to do when an emergency occurs
C)everything that occurs immediately after an emergency event such as the cleanup of debris and the restoration of traffic patterns
D)changing the design of communities and buildings to make them less vulnerable to future incidents
E)educating people and providing them with adequate information

Question 46

In the context of emergency management, response involves ________.

A)getting the right people to the site in question as quickly as possible
B)prepositioning supplies and equipment and making sure that first responders are trained in what to do when an emergency occurs
C)everything that occurs immediately after an emergency event such as the cleanup of debris and the restoration of traffic patterns
D)changing the design of communities and buildings to make them less vulnerable to future incidents
E)educating people and providing them with adequate information

Question 47

Today, all states have ________ programs based on the belief that employees should not have to bear the cost of accidents or illnesses incurred because of their jobs.

A)de facto segregation
B)consumer protection
C)workers' compensation
D)health and safety
E)child labor

Question 48

In 2008, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York proposed ________ that would levy additional fees on cars entering lower Manhattan during high traffic times of the day.

A)congestion pricing
B)de facto segregation
C)skimming
D)privatization
E)redistricting

Question 49

________ refer(s) to the underlying framework of roads, bridges, electrical facilities, telephone wiring, and so on needed for the operation of a society.

A)Infrastructure
B)The connector model
C)The two-track system
D)Zoning
E)Environmental regulations

Question 50

Which of the following is true about environmental regulation?

A)In the early 1970s, pressure on the federal government to develop and implement national environmental standards decreased.
B)One area in which states are increasingly responsible for environmental policy is waste management.
C)State and local policies do not cover toxic sites that do not qualify as Superfund sites.
D)Economically hard-pressed states have regulated waste management less aggressively than states whose economies are growing.
E)An area in which states are losing interest is energy use and sustainability.

Question 51

In the context of waste management, the ________ cleans up the most contaminated toxic dump sites.

A)Morrill Act
B)Environmental Protection Agency
C)Health and safety legislation
D)all hazards approach
E)Superfund Act

Question 52

The inherent powers of state governments to pass laws to protect public health, safety, and welfare are referred to as ________.

A)police powers
B)the two-track system
C)reserve powers
D)de facto segregation
E)supervisory powers

Question 53

________ is divided into four steps-readiness, response, recovery, and remediation.

A)Gentrification
B)Privatization
C)Emergency management
D)Zoning
E)Gerrymandering

Question 54

The ________ requires states to have proper heating, lighting, ventilation, fire escapes, and sanitary facilities in work areas.

A)health and safety legislation
B)worker's compensation program
C)consumer protection movement
D)Environmental Protection Agency
E)Superfund Act

Question 55

The ________ delivers a report card on U.S.infrastructure every four years.

A)American Society of Civil Engineers
B)U.S.Department of Transportation
C)Bureau of Transportation Statistics
D)Transportation Security Administration
E)National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission

Question 56

In terms of emergency management, readiness involves ________.

A)getting the right people to the site in question as quickly as possible
B)prepositioning supplies and equipment and making sure that first responders are trained in what to do when an emergency occurs
C)everything that occurs immediately after an emergency event such as the cleanup of debris and restoration of traffic patterns
D)changing the design of communities and buildings to make them less vulnerable to future incidents
E)educating people and providing them with adequate information

Question 57

Which of the following is true of zoning?

A)Zoning regulations help a city or county government coordinate services with land use.
B)A zoning ordinance is much better than its enforcement.
C)In most cases, a zoning or planning commission cannot amend ordinances.
D)It involves creating specific areas without any limitations in terms of property usage.
E)City planners are not concerned with the quality of life of the residents.

Question 58

Of the four steps in emergency management, recovery involves ________.

A)getting the right people to the site in question as quickly as possible
B)prepositioning supplies and equipment and making sure that first responders are trained in what to do when an emergency occurs
C)everything that occurs immediately after an emergency event such as the cleanup of debris and the restoration of traffic patterns
D)changing the design of communities and buildings to make them less vulnerable to future incidents
E)educating people and providing them with adequate information

Question 59

Which of the following statements about managing transportation is true?

A)Much of the money for creating transportation facilities comes from the state and local governments.
B)The federal government only builds highways, public buildings, airports, parks, and recreational facilities.
C)States do the planning, estimate the costs, and arrange for the construction work, even when they receive federal assistance.
D)States need not necessarily submit their plans to the U.S.Department of Transportation in order to receive any support.
E)The function of road building was gradually transferred from the federal government to local governments.

Question 60

The federal government has developed the ________ to facilitate the local, state, and federal governments working together in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.

A) National Association of Emergency Managers
B)all hazards approach system
C)emergency management system
D)National Incident Management System
E)National Recovery Platform

Question 61

Low- and moderate-income families will have greater access to public higher education because the burden of paying for college is being shifted from students to the state.

Question 62

Although actual operation of the public schools in the United States is the responsibility of the local community, state officers have important supervisory powers and distribute financial assistance to the communities.

Question 63

In the United States, state and local governments have the primary responsibility for education and provide most of the money to pay for it.

Question 64

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics delivers a report card on U.S.infrastructure every four years.

Question 65

Under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, states were given greater flexibility in designing and administering welfare policies.

Question 66

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families differs from Aid to Families with Dependent Children in that it imposes new restrictions on families receiving cash assistance.

Question 67

State funding of public colleges and universities is unstable, rising when state revenues are growing but declining sharply during economic downturns.

Question 68

In early 2006, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which includes many new options for states trying to reduce the growth of Medicaid spending.

Question 69

Pressure to reform the welfare system decreased among both Democrats and Republicans in the last decades of the twentieth century.

Question 70

During the 1970s and 1980s, in many places, people lived in segregated neighborhoods, which meant that eliminating overt segregation at neighborhood-centered schools would produce racially diverse schools.

Question 71

In education funding, equity involves the absolute amount of funding provided to students in school districts while adequacy involves differences in funding between school districts.

Question 72

Under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, nearly all states, with federal help, have increased their spending on child care for low-income working families.

Question 73

Education can easily be fully separated from politics because most people have the same idea about how schools should be run.

Question 74

In some states in the U.S., officials have the authority to set the course of study in schools-that is, to determine what must be taught and what may not be taught.

Question 75

Publicly funded colleges and universities usually cannot control teaching loads, hiring and promotion, and the allocation of funds among internal units.

Question 76

Zoning laws help stabilize property values by preventing, for example, garbage dumps from being located next to residential areas.

Question 77

A landmark legislation called Aid to Families with Dependent Children replaced the 60-year-old program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Question 78

State and local officials are regularly "first responders" when terrorism or natural disaster hits.

Question 79

Adding roads or lanes often leads more people to drive and may ultimately result in new traffic patterns that are no better than the old ones.

Question 80

Charter schools are intended to interject the competition of the marketplace into elementary and secondary education.