This self-assessment is also available as a Word file here.

Chapter Three: Social Class and Education Assessment

Based on the content of the chapter "Social Class and Education” here are 30 self-assessment questions (could be used as graded quiz).

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Historical Background

1. In colonial Virginia, Governor Sir William Berkeley's 1671 response to an inquiry about schools reflected the view that:

A) Education should be universally available

B) Learning brought "disobedience, heresy, and sects into the world"

C) Schools were essential for economic development

D) The colonial government should fund all education

________________________________________

2. The Massachusetts Old Deluder Act of 1647:

A) Established completely free and universal public schools

B) Required townships to appoint reading and writing teachers

C) Made education solely a federal responsibility

D) Prohibited education for lower classes

________________________________________

3. During colonial times, most African Americans:

A) Had equal access to education as White colonists

B) Were encouraged to attend grammar schools

C) Had little access to education, with Southern states often outlawing their education

D) Received the same education as Native Americans

________________________________________

4. Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia Academy, founded in 1751, was designed to:

A) Maintain only classical education traditions

B) Serve only the upper class

C) Provide practical studies to serve the rising American middle class

D) Replace all existing schools in Pennsylvania

________________________________________

5. Horace Mann, spokesman for common schools, believed that:

A) Social class divisions should be maintained through education

B) "Universal Education can counterwork" the tendency toward "domination of capital and servility of labor"

C) Only wealthy children should attend public schools

D) Education had no role in addressing economic inequality

________________________________________

6. The example of St. Louis public schools between 1840 and 1880 showed that:

A) All children attended school equally regardless of class

B) The majority of students continuing to high school had fathers in white collar, business, or professional occupations

C) Lower-class children had higher graduation rates

D) Social class had no impact on educational attainment

________________________________________

7. Social Darwinism, associated with Herbert Spencer, promoted the idea of:

A) Equal education for all social classes

B) Government intervention to help the poor

C) "Survival of the fittest" applied to human society

D) Universal health care and public education

________________________________________

8. The heredity thesis that emerged in the late 19th century:

A) Claimed heredity was the single most important factor determining intelligence

B) Was supported by all scholars of the time

C) Led to laws protecting educational rights

D) Had no impact on educational policy

________________________________________

9. Success literature of the late 19th century, including Horatio Alger stories:

A) Promoted social revolution

B) Emphasized hard work, frugality, and character as pathways to success

C) Advocated for extensive higher education for all

D) Rejected the corporate industrial order

________________________________________

10. The court decision in Hobson v. Hansen (1967):

A) Upheld tracking systems in schools

B) Ordered Washington, D.C. schools to abolish their tracking system

C) Expanded the use of IQ tests in schools

D) Eliminated all forms of student assessment

________________________________________

11. During the Great Depression (1929-1940):

A) School enrollment dramatically decreased at all levels

B) High school enrollment increased as jobs were difficult to find

C) Economic conditions had no impact on education

D) All schools remained fully funded

________________________________________

12. The GI Bill of Rights (1944):

A) Provided educational funding only for officers

B) Had no impact on college enrollment

C) Provided unprecedented levels of funding for millions of war veterans to pursue further education

D) Was equally accessible to all veterans regardless of race

________________________________________

13. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 was part of:

A) The Cold War defense initiative

B) President Johnson's War on Poverty

C) The Great Depression recovery efforts

D) Post-World War I reconstruction

________________________________________

14. Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of "symbolic capital" and "cultural capital" refer to:

A) Only financial assets and property

B) Social prestige, education, language command, and cultural taste that impact status

C) Government-issued currency

D) Inherited genetic traits

________________________________________

15. Between 1970 and 1998, the income of leading corporate executives:

A) Decreased significantly

B) Remained stable relative to workers

C) Increased from about 39 times to 1,000 times the average worker's income

D) Was regulated to match worker salaries

________________________________________

Contemporary Issues

 

16. As of 2022, what percentage of people in the United States lived in poverty?

A) 2.5%

B) 11.5%

C) 25.4%

D) 35.6%

________________________________________

17. "Out-of-school factors" (OSFs) that affect school success include:

A) Only what happens in the classroom

B) Low birth weight, inadequate medical care, food insecurity, and family stress

C) Standardized test scores

D) Teacher qualifications

________________________________________

18. Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities (1991) documented:

A) How all schools had equal resources

B) Deteriorating conditions of poor schools compared with wealthy community schools

C) That funding inequities had been completely resolved

D) Only suburban school conditions

________________________________________

19. According to research by Heather McGee in The Sum of Us, the legacy of slavery affected school funding because:

A) All states invested equally in education

B) Free states invested more in public services like schools, creating disparities that persist today

C) Southern states had better schools than Northern states

D) Funding was always equally distributed

________________________________________

20. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was intended to:

A) Support schools and districts serving low-income students

B) Provide funding only to wealthy districts

C) Eliminate all federal involvement in education

D) Close all charter schools

________________________________________

21. School districts serving the largest populations of students of color receive:

A) The same funding as districts serving White students

B) 13 percent more per student in state and local funding

C) 13 percent less per student in state and local funding

D) Twice as much funding per student

________________________________________

22. Milton Friedman, credited with proposing school vouchers, argued that:

A) All students should attend neighborhood public schools

B) Families should receive vouchers to choose their children's schools based on free market principles

C) Private schools should be illegal

D) Education should be controlled entirely by the federal government

________________________________________

23. Critics of school choice argue that:

A) All forms of choice are equally beneficial

B) Many forms of school choice exacerbate rather than address inequities

C) Parents have too much information to make decisions

D) Transportation is always provided across district lines

________________________________________

24. Research on voucher programs over two decades has found that:

A) Test scores dramatically improved for all students using vouchers

B) Test scores of students using vouchers differ very little from non-voucher peers

C) Vouchers solved all educational inequality

D) No research has been conducted on voucher programs

________________________________________

25. Charter schools are:

A) Privately funded and completely independent of government oversight

B) Publicly funded but operate with more independence than district schools

C) Required to follow all the same regulations as traditional public schools

D) Only available in a few states

________________________________________

26. Between 2010 and 2021, public charter school enrollment:

A) Decreased by half

B) Remained stable

C) Almost doubled (from 1.8 to 3.7 million students)

D) Was eliminated entirely

________________________________________

27. Tracking in secondary education refers to:

A) Monitoring student attendance only

B) Separating students into particular curriculum programs such as general, vocational-technical, and college preparatory

C) GPS systems for school buses

D) Teacher evaluation systems

________________________________________

28. Research on ability grouping has shown that:

A) All students benefit equally from the practice

B) Upper-track students receive pedagogically superior methods while lower-track students experience stigmatization

C) It eliminates all social class differences

D) It has no effect on student outcomes

________________________________________

29. Studies of tracking found that:

A) Low-income and minority students are equally distributed across tracks

B) Low-income and minority students are over-represented in lower tracks and under-represented in higher tracks

C) Tracking benefits lower-income students most

D) Social class has no relationship to track placement

________________________________________

30. The phrase "great equalizer" in reference to public schools means:

A) Schools make all students identical

B) The belief that education can counteract the influence of social class

C) Schools should only serve one social class

D) Education has no relationship to social mobility

________________________________________

Answer Key




1. b: Learning brought "disobedience, heresy, and sects into the world"
2. b: Required townships to appoint reading and writing teachers
3. c: Had little access to education, with Southern states often outlawing their education
4. c: Provide practical studies to serve the rising American middle class
5. b: "Universal Education can counterwork" the tendency toward "domination of capital and servility of labor"
6. b: The majority of students continuing to high school had fathers in white collar, business, or professional occupations
7. c: "Survival of the fittest" applied to human society
8. a: Claimed heredity was the single most important factor determining intelligence
9. b: Emphasized hard work, frugality, and character as pathways to success
10. b: Ordered Washington, D.C. schools to abolish their tracking system
11. b: High school enrollment increased as jobs were difficult to find
12. c: Provided unprecedented levels of funding for millions of war veterans to pursue further education
13. b: President Johnson's War on Poverty
14. b: Social prestige, education, language command, and cultural taste that impact status
15. c: Increased from about 39 times to 1,000 times the average worker's income
16. b: 11.5%
17. b: Low birth weight, inadequate medical care, food insecurity, and family stress
18. b: Deteriorating conditions of poor schools compared with wealthy community schools
19. b: Free states invested more in public services like schools, creating disparities that persist today
20. a: Support schools and districts serving low-income students
21. c: 13 percent less per student in state and local funding
22. b: Families should receive vouchers to choose their children's schools based on free market principles
23. b: Many forms of school choice exacerbate rather than address inequities
24. b: Test scores of students using vouchers differ very little from non-voucher peers
25. b: Publicly funded but operate with more independence than district schools
26. c: Almost doubled (from 1.8 to 3.7 million students)
27. b: Separating students into particular curriculum programs such as general, vocational-technical, and college preparatory
28. b: Upper-track students receive pedagogically superior methods while lower-track students experience stigmatization
29. b: Low-income and minority students are over-represented in lower tracks and under-represented in higher tracks
30. b: The belief that education can counteract the influence of social class