Deck 15: Education Policy: Reading, Writing and Reform

Question 1

President George W. Bush worked closely with Congress in 2002 to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, an educational program designed to hold schools, teachers, and students accountable. The law has

A)imposed many unfunded mandates on local school departments.
B)greatly expanded the use of "one-size fits all" standardized testing.
C)placed renewed focus on special education programs in failing school systems.
D)All of these choices.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The responsibility for establishing, supporting, and overseeing public schools is reserved for the states in the

A)Sixteenth Amendment.
B)Tenth Amendment.
C)Ninth Amendment.
D)Twenty-third Amendment.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The federal government expanded its support for local education from 4.4 percent in 1960 to 9 percent in 1980

A)and continues to support about the same percentage.
B)but dropped below 6 percent in 2002 due to the war in Iraq.
C)but increased to about 10 percent today.
D)but increased to 15 percent in 2006 due to a booming economy and a desire by the Congress to gain the support of teachers in their re-election campaigns.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The importance of education as a function performed by state and local government is demonstrated by

A)more than $850 billion spent each year on elementary and secondary schooling.
B)the sheer number of people involved, from students, parents and teachers
C)schools serving as the frontlines of battles against racial segregation.
D)All of these choices.

Question 5

Efforts to equalize funding among school districts has

A)occurred mainly in western states.
B)been based on inequities in educational tax bases rather than on the number of pupils.
C)occurred in all states.
D)been based on the instructions of court orders in states where equalization of funds is required.

Question 6

Day-to-day operating authority for public education is delegated by states to

A)the national government.
B)the state departments of education.
C)local governments in every state but Hawaii and Oregon.
D)county governments in every state but Hawaii.

Question 7

Which 2002 federal program relies on demonstrated improvements in teacher quality, academic standards, and student performance to make financial awards to local school districts?

A)Every Child Should Read
B)No Child Left Behind
C)National Performance Review Policy
D)None of these choices.

Question 8

In the San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that

A)education was a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution.
B)education was not a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution.
C)education must be considered a fundamental interest of the state.
D)education must not be considered a fundamental interest of the state.

Question 9

The trend toward greater state involvement in public education in all fifty states was brought on in recent times by

A)recognized inequalities among schools, accountability demands by NCLB, and forceful actions by governors and legislatures.
B)vastly increased political and financial pressures on the national government.
C)pressures from the educational establishment to shift the focus of efforts to that level.
D)provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

Question 10

The coalition known as the education establishment was fractured, in part, by

A)school administrators and teachers who were collectively lobbying for particular educational improvements.
B)the growing independence of local school boards from citizen opinion and pressures.
C)teachers who began to organize and lobby to protect their self-interests.
D)the growing independence of local school boards from school administrators.

Question 11

Local school boards, teachers, and school administrators, state departments of education, and parents make up what is considered

A)the education panoply.
B)the education establishment.
C)the education paradox.
D)the education elite.

Question 12

In 2010, the variation in average teacher salaries in the fifty states was from

A)about $38,000 to just over $70,000.
B)about $50,000 to just under $60,000.
C)under $20,000 to over $100,000.
D)about $50,000 to just over $70,000.

Question 13

Sociologist James S. Coleman's 1966 research (better known as the Coleman Report)on resources and student performance shows

A)that curricula, facilities, class size, and per-pupil expenditures were more important to levels of performance than family, socioeconomic background, and classmates.
B)that family, socioeconomic background, and classmates were more important than academic resources in determining levels of performance.
C)that African American students did better in predominantly black schools.
D)how faulty methodologies could later be refuted by careful analysis.

Question 14

An important principle of education policy is that state political power and control follow

A)demographic trends.
B)financial responsibility.
C)urban growth.
D)None of the above is true.

Question 15

The first federal grant of money for education was

A)the Smith-Hughes Act (1917), which financed vocational education in secondary schools.
B)the National Defense Education Act (1958), which provided funds to improve math, science, and foreign-language education.
C)the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which made a direct subsidy available for almost every school district for library acquisitions, audiovisual materials, teachers' aides, and compensatory programs for children of poor families and for the mentally and physically disabled.
D)the National Education Act of 1901, which provided a national subsidy for school lunches and money for textbooks.

Question 16

The gradual decline in the quality of teachers is the result of

A)university and college education programs that place more emphasis on educational methodology (how to teach)rather than on substantive knowledge in their specialized fields.
B)changes in the jobs available to women, who once had fewer opportunities in the workplace other than teaching, nursing, or clerical work.
C)the elevated expectation for teachers.
D)All of these choices.

Question 17

Court-ordered busing to achieve school desegregation policies was mandated as a result of

A)Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Schools (1971).
B)Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
C)San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973).
D)Missouri v. Jenkins (1990).

Question 18

Business leaders have

A)depended solely on public education to prepare their workers in the current crisis.
B)been closely aligned with efforts to improve education since the early days of the nation.
C)sometimes seen education as an unnecessary expense but recently have become more involved in efforts to improve it.
D)generally opposed performance-based accountability for school activities.

Question 19

In the landmark case of Serrano v. Priest (1971), the

A)U.S. Supreme Court declared that a free public education is a fundamental right.
B)U.S. Supreme Court declared that segregation in schools is unconstitutional.
C)California Supreme Court declared that variations in spending between wealthy and poor school districts are unconstitutional.
D)U.S. Supreme Court declared that variations in spending between wealthy and poor school districts are unconstitutional.

Question 20

Some evidence of the performance of students and American schools can be seen in the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)scores and American College Test (ACT)scores, where

A)mathematics scores dropped in almost every year between 1963 and 1982, and verbal scores have remained nearly constant.
B)verbal scores dropped in almost every year between 1973 and 1992, and mathematics scores have remained constant.
C)science and mathematics total scores dropped in every year between 1983 and 2003.
D)verbal and math scores dropped almost annually from 1963 to 1982; scores were erratic in the 1980s, but the trend has generally been flat since 2000, with a slight downward trend in the late 2000s.

Question 21

Much of the alleged crisis in public education is a product of demographics. Poverty, culture, dysfunctional or unsupportive families, and poor health and nutrition affect a student's education.

Question 22

State scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), given to fourth- and eighth-graders, have shown gains since 1992 in reading and math, but little or no improvement in the scores of twelfth-grade students.

Question 23

Ninety percent of the nation's primary and secondary school systems are operated by independent school districts, but cities, counties, towns, or townships run the schools in some states.

Question 24

Regarding voucher programs, private schools generally

A)support the programs because they stand to reap substantial gains.
B)oppose the programs because they fear increased enrollment.
C)support the programs because they always provide superior education relative to public schools.
D)oppose the programs because they always provide inferior education and prefer students attend public schools.

Question 25

The No Child Left Behind Act set new standards for public schools and imposed many mandates. Fortunately for the states, Congress provided funds to pay for all of the mandates.

Question 26

As part of the effort to address the problems of education and meet public demands for educational accountability, one of the incremental reforms in standards has been

A)adoption, in all but five states, of a competency test that must be passed for high school graduation.
B)adoption of competency testing in most states before a student can graduate from high school.
C)requiring all public school teachers to pass a written competency test in the subject matters that they teach.
D)adoption of competency testing in all fifty states to monitor student progress and program effectiveness on basic skills.

Question 27

Day-to-day operating authority for public schools is delegated to local governments in all but two states.

Question 28

Focusing on standardized test scores and holding schools, teachers, and administrators accountable for students' test results is an example of

A)school-centered education
B)voucher programs
C)outcomes-based or performance-based education
D)None of these choices.

Question 29

A Nation at Risk was a report published by the National Commission on Excellence in Education that lamented the erosion of the educational foundations of American society.

Question 30

The gradual decline in the quality of teachers is partly attributable to changes in the nature of the workforce.

Question 31

Approximately fifteen percent of all teachers quit their jobs each year.

Question 32

Education consumes more of state and local governments' budgets than any other service.

Question 33

Researchers have found that U.S. children start the first grade with greater academic skills than their Asian counterparts, whose parents give them a head start by regularly working with them at home before they enter school.

Question 34

To address the problem of teacher shortages,

A)most are taking steps to entice former teachers and education majors who are working in other fields back into the classroom, and nearly all have relaxed or set up streamlined teacher certification requirements.
B)few are taking steps to entice former teachers and education majors who are working in other fields back into the classroom, and none have relaxed or set up streamlined teacher certification requirements.
C)all are taking steps to entice former teachers and education majors who are working in other fields back into the classroom, but only a few have relaxed or set up streamlined teacher certification requirements.
D)states are simply waiting for the free market to address this as a labor shortage.

Question 35

Although SAT scores increased almost annually between 1963 and 1982, they have since steadily fluctuated-with a more recent trend tilting downward. This has motivated states to impose sweeping statewide testing standards.

Question 36

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a free, public education is every American citizen's constitutional right.

Question 37

Some argue that many schools suffer from curriculum drift, a malady that involves offering courses that deemphasize teaching basic verbal and math skills.

Question 38

Striking differences in SAT scores among the states reflect population characteristics such as race and ethnicity, immigration, poverty levels, and urban-suburban-rural population.

Question 39

Education innovation in the states has recently focused on

A)raising standards, improving student retention and performance, and increasing teacher salaries.
B)addressing economic inequality, improving student retention and performance, and increasing teacher salaries.
C)raising standards, improving student retention and performance, and reducing teacher salaries.
D)raising standards, and increasing teacher salaries, but do not address student retention.

Question 40

Currently, more than $850 billion is spent on elementary and secondary education by the states and localities.

Question 41

In 1966, the Coleman Report first discovered that family and sociological backgrounds of students were the most influential factors in education performance. These findings have been reconfirmed in over 100 additional studies.

Question 42

The concept of school choice embraces market-based principles.

Question 43

A foundation program is a means of state education funding that allocates very different levels of funding to school districts in the state.

Question 44

Equity in school funding and boosting school spending do not necessarily generate superior school performance.

Question 45

What is the proper role for the state in the provision of education? To answer the question, describe both the historical role for the states and localities, and how those roles have evolved over time. Finally, discuss the trade-offs in having the states have more power relative to local jurisdictions.

Question 46

For over fifty years there have been various crises in American education. Today, that crisis seems more real than ever. Resources (financial and people)are stretched and declining, test scores are stagnant, more students than ever have physical and mental health challenges, and parent support is waning. You are your governor's education advisor and you must develop a five point plan to improve education. What would you recommend?

Question 47

Teachers, local school boards, ​state boards of education, and state departments of education have been called 'the educational establishment.'

Question 48

Comprehensive change in public education is proposed under the term "school choice." What options related to this are under consideration or being tried? Why are so many options being offered? Why can't all students be educated in one single local school system? What are their advantages and disadvantages?

Question 49

What has been the traditional federal role in primary and secondary education? What were the reasons behind, and the nature of, the enlarged role of the national government in the field in the 1960s and 1970s? What happened in the intervening years and what did the Clinton administration do to enlarge or deemphasize that role? The Bush administration implemented the No Child Left Behind (NCLB)program. Has this program lived up to its expectations? Now President Obama and the Congress have appropriated $100 billion for local education. Will this help improve education, or will it be more of the same?

Question 50

Governors, state legislatures, the courts, the corporate community, and private schools have recently become new education policy actors.

Question 51

Voucher plans provide a certificate from the state or local school district that may be applied to subsidize tuition at a public, private, or religious school of the parents' or students' choice.

Question 52

What is the education establishment? Describe the actors and groups that make up the education establishment and how their interests interact, conflict, or align. What does the existence of this "fractured" policy subsystem imply for meaningful policy reform?

Question 53

Since education issues are high-profile matters, state governors are highly involved in education policymaking.

Question 54

The status and influence of local school boards has risen in recent years.

Question 55

State Boards of Education do not have as much political clout or power as governors and state legislatures.