Deck 8: Financing Public Education

Question 1

Which tax makes up more than 75 percent of local school revenue?

A) state income tax
C) sales tax
B) property tax
D) excise tax

Answer 1

B

Question 2

To accurately determine the degree of support a state gives education, one must look at the per-pupil expenditure and the

A) illiteracy rate.
C) per capita income.
B) income tax rate.
D) sales tax rate.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

______________taxes suggest that the greater the income or property worth, the more one should pay in taxes.

A) Progressive
C) Income
B) Regressive
D) Property

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What is the primary purpose of assessing user fees in a school environment?

A) to collect an additional tax revenue
B) to offset shrinking revenues from traditional sources
C) to replace property tax
D) because there is no other source

Question 5

Articulate what potential problems may develop when school districts rely on property taxes as school revenue sources?

Question 6

The level of government that pays the highest percentage of total school revenues is the

A) local level.
C) state level.
B) national level.
D) federal level.

Question 7

If adjacent school districts have dramatically different levels of funding for education on a per-pupil basis, this can probably best be explained by differences in

A) each district's level of commitment to the quality of public education.
B) the value of property, and the taxes assessed on real estate, within the districts.
C) personal income within the districts.
D) the sales tax rate within the districts.

Question 8

Federal aid to education initially was provided through a number of isolated, unrelated programs.More recently, under No Child Left Behind, there has been an effort to develop a broadly conceived national plan for education.What are the reasons for the federal government's becoming more involved in education? Provide examples of federally funded programs to substantiate your arguments.

Question 9

In a recent survey, local school boards responded that their number-one concern was ___________________.

A) community support for schools
C) curriculum
B) budget/funding
D) assessment

Question 10

Municipal overburden is a term used to indicate

A) high financial demands for a variety of public services.
B) providing services for high-income areas.
C) limited community involvement in the city.
D) too many administrators in the city government.

Question 11

Some of the largest growing populations of students are ___________, who often require additional funding per student in order to provide services.

A) English language learners
C) students with disabilities
B) students in poverty
D) all of the above

Question 12

State lotteries, a recently tapped funding source for schools,

A) are found in all 50 states.
B) are a progressive tax because the wealthy utilize them more than the poor.
C) contribute a minimal amount of a state's revenue for education.
D) bridge the gap whenever other sources of state revenue fall short of full funding.

Question 13

Differences in the total expenditures per pupil vary among districts in each state primarily because of differences in revenue generated from

A) income taxes.
C) sales taxes.
B) property taxes.
D) user fees.

Question 14

The level of government that relies on the property tax as the main source of income is

A) the local level.
C) the federal level.
B) the state level.
D) all of the above.

Question 15

Low-income families would consider a sales tax on food to be a

A) fair tax.
C) progressive tax.
B) municipal overburden.
D) regressive tax.

Question 16

Asbury Elementary School needs an after-school child-care center.Of the following types of revenue, which is best suited (and perhaps easiest to attain) for support of this project?

A) increased state income tax
C) user fees
B) a new sales tax
D) increased property tax

Question 17

From the 1980s to the present, citizens and governmental representatives have taken increasing interest in holding educators accountable for their actions.Discuss how educators have demonstrated this accountability, and identify related issues.

Question 18

The property tax rate is expressed in

A) dollars.
C) percentages.
B) mills.
D) ratios.

Question 19

Differences in local revenues from one school district to another, and subsequent uneven contributions to funding for public schools, can best be explained by differences in

A) property values and the rate at which real estate is taxed.
B) the average income of the citizens of the district.
C) the average age of the citizens of the district.
D) how efficiently sales taxes are collected within the district.

Question 20

Property tax accounts for more than ______________of school funding nationwide.

A) 27%
C) 77%
B) 57%
D) 17%

Question 21

The shift from categorical grants to block grants in the 1980s resulted in

A) more funding for education from the federal level.
B) funding decisions shifting from the federal level to the state level.
C) more rules and regulations from the federal Department of Education.
D) greater emphasis on funding specific federal programs.

Question 22

Your state is trying to implement a hotly contested new finance plan that would transfer funds from wealthy districts to poor ones.Those who support the plan probably base their arguments on which of the following issues?

A) equity
C) accountability
B) decentralization
D) charter schools

Question 23

When parents send their children to private schools, tuition tax credits would

A) allow parents to claim a tax deduction for part of the tuition.
B) enable public schools to claim a tax credit for the loss of enrollment.
C) maintain even funding for private and public schools.
D) require the private schools to report the total tuition generated.

Question 24

As the proportion of people over sixty-five increases, it is likely that there will be

A) decreasing emphasis on the physical education curriculum.
B) decreasing conflict about school goals.
C) increasing resistance to school budget increases.
D) increasing conflict over curricular content.

Question 25

The No Child Left Behind requirement that teachers be highly qualified is frustrating to state and local school authorities because

A) the requirements are so extreme that very few teachers can meet the standard, thus creating teacher shortages.
B) state departments of education cannot agree on what is meant by "highly qualified."
C) the new requirements apply only to new teachers.
D) federal funding to states has lagged behind what the states need to cover the cost of implementing the requirements.

Question 26

Additional taxes that can be applied to education include

A) excise, gift tax, severance tax, and corporate income tax.
B) excise tax and corporate tax.
C) gift and excise tax.
D) severance tax.

Question 27

Teachers and administrators are being held accountable for their actions because of pressure primarily from

A) parents.
C) school boards.
B) principals.
D) students.

Question 28

The largest portion of revenue for the schools is generated from _____________________.

A) personal income tax
C) property tax
B) sales tax
D) assessment tax

Question 29

Districts with a high number of students with special needs would lobby for state educational funding based on the

A) flat-grant model.
C) power-equalization plan.
B) foundation plan.
D) weighted student plan.

Question 30

Currently, ____________states have sales tax that contributes to the public school system.

A) 16
C) 36
B) 26
D) 46

Question 31

The school infrastructure consists of the

A) community support for schools.
B) personnel in the state department of education.
C) physical facilities of the school.
D) tax base that supports the school.

Question 32

Many state courts have ruled that inequities in educational expenditures in districts throughout the state are

A) to be remedied by the state department of education.
B) created by the sales tax.
C) unconstitutional.
D) all of the above.

Question 33

Research data on student performance in large and small classes indicates that student performance is

A) about the same in both large and small classes.
B) better in large classes.
C) better in small classes.
D) none of these; that is, it is impossible to say because results are contradictory.

Question 34

School financing arrangements are most vulnerable to being declared unconstitutional in

A) State 1, where taxpayers claim they cannot afford any further increases in property taxes.
B) State 2, where there is no state income tax.
C) State 3, where annual revenues in all districts fall below projected needs.
D) State 4, where there are substantial differences in districts' average spending per student.

Question 35

State court decisions affecting financial support of public education have sent the message that

A) if budgets reflect blatant discrepancies from one district to another within a state, the federal government may intervene.
B) discrepancies in quality of education are not related to funding.
C) the level of financial support for public education clearly does make a difference in the quality of education.
D) a national system of providing for the financial support of public education is necessary to alleviate discrepancies in funding.

Question 36

Given the history of federal funding of education, it is most accurate to say that

A) the federal government has never had a noticeable impact on public schools through allocation of financial support.
B) the federal government has always supported public education financially, but this has only recently been noticed because of budget cuts.
C) federal funding of public education has generally been tied to special projects, special legislation, or issues of national concern such as desegregation and, more recently, academic achievement.
D) states have consistently been able to refuse federal financial support of public education rather than face the intrusion of the federal government in a state responsibility.

Question 37

One of the increasing trends in funding for education is the growth of the ___________ population, who may no longer have a vested interest in increasing taxes for school.

A) bilingual
C) young couples
B) senior citizen
D) migrant

Question 38

The purpose of educational vouchers is to

A) encourage educational reform in private schools.
B) facilitate the collection of taxes used to support schools.
C) initiate tax reform in the states.
D) provide a choice of schools for students.

Question 39

Taxpayer resistance has called for educators to be more

A) accountable for the success of programs.
C) innovative in program design.
B) cautious in talking with legislators.
D) realistic about teacher salary increases.

Question 40

Recent reform efforts in school funding, such as tuition tax credits, voucher plans, and choice plans, are evidence that

A) there is growing concern that tax revenues will never be high enough to fund public schools adequately.
B) no tax plan is fair, and the public should have the freedom to dictate where tax revenues are spent.
C) private schools are inherently better than public schools.
D) there is growing attention to, and public support for, competition among schools so that parents can identify and support the best schools and exert more control over where their children go to school.

Question 41

What are the criteria for evaluating a tax? Why are these criteria so important?

Question 42

How is property tax calculated?

Question 43

What are the positive features of the sales tax?

Question 44

What benefits do contracts for exclusive products rights have on a district?

Question 45

How might an increasingly larger proportion of elderly people affect educational funding?

Question 46

What failures may occur with the current method of calculation of property tax?

Question 47

The _____________ Supreme Court declared that the entire state educational system of funding schools with property tax was unconstitutional, which prompted significant reform.

A) California
C) New York
B) Michigan
D) Kentucky

Question 48

Elementary and secondary education represents approximately ______percent of the nation's annual gross domestic product.

A) 4
C) 16
B) 8
D) 32

Question 49

What are the arguments against educational vouchers?

Question 50

Why is the flat-grant model of state aid to local schools characterized as "the most unequal" method of financing schools?

Question 51

What conclusions can be drawn from court rulings about the financing of public education?

Question 52

Why do some large cities have difficulty financing education?

Question 53

One of the driving forces behind the federal government increasing funding for education was the __________________.

A) launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957
C) launch of the Space Shuttle
B) segregation legislation
D) Civil Rights Act of 1964