Gargiulo, Special Education in Contemporary Society 5th Edition
Multiple Choice
1. In the 19th and 20th centuries, immigrants entered the United States at what location?
A) Boston
B) Ellis Island
C) Philadelphia
D) Washington, D.C.
2. The majority of general and special educators are from which of the following groups?
A) African American
B) Asian
C) Latino
D) White
3. What percentage of the U.S. population older than 5 years speaks a language other than
English at home?
A) 4%
B) 8%
C) 14%
D) 20%
4. In the past, the metaphor for the new immigrants in the United States was a melting pot.
Today, the preferred metaphor is that of a
A) Blanket
B) Flower
C) Patchwork quilt
D) Teapot
5. Which of the following describes cultural pluralism? Cultural and ethnic differences
A) Must be appreciated and respected
B) Must be abandoned
C) Need to be relinquished
D) Must be overlooked
6. Multicultural education is defined as
A) Foreign language instruction
B) Cooking techniques from other cultures
C) An educational strategy
D) The study of art history across cultures
7. Bilingual education is defined as instruction
A) Primarily in English using the native language minimally
B) Only in the native language
C) Only in English
D) In the native language while learning English
8. American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Hispanic, White, and
Black are the five racial groups recognized by the U.S. government. Which of the
following statements is not true?
A) The terms are arbitrary and represent umbrella terms.
B) Each group is homogeneous.
C) Each group is diverse.
D) The terms obscure the richness of individual cultures.
9. Ethnocentrism is defined as viewing one’s own cultural group characteristics
A) As inferior
B) As superior
C) As without value
D) With disinterest
10. Which trait does not characterize American macroculture?
A) Individualism and independence
B) Competitiveness and ambition
C) Nonassertiveness and cooperation
D) Equality and fair play
11. The number of school-age children whose primary language is not English is estimated at
more than
A) 4 million
B) 6 million
C) 8 million
D) 10 million
12. Students who are bilingual become more proficient in English by using their newly
acquired language skills with
A) Classmates, friends, and family members
B) Teachers and administrators
C) University language professors
D) Paid tutors in afterschool sessions
13. Bilingual students must obtain which level of language skills before achieving a
successful transition to a monolingual English class setting?
A) Beginning language level
B) Conversational fluency level
C) Complex language level
D) Completely proficient level
14. Bilingual special education serves students who
A) Only need instruction that addresses their documented disability
B) Only need instruction on their English language skills
C) Have a temporary disability due to their language diversity
D) Are culturally and linguistically diverse and have a disability
15. When greater numbers of children from minority groups are placed in special education
programs compared to their proportion of the general school population, this is called
A) Underrepresentation
B) Cultural pluralism
C) Overrepresentation
D) Multiculturalism
16. Which of the following statements is not appropriate for special educators to consider
when planning interventions for learners who are culturally and linguistically diverse?
A) Information about language characteristics of learners with disabilities who are
bilingual or have limited English proficiency
B) Information about cultural factors that influence educational planning and services
C) Characteristics of instructional strategies and materials that are culturally and
linguistically appropriate
D) Characteristics of a learning environment that promotes success only for
English-speaking students
17. Disproportional numbers of Native American students can be found receiving services in
which of the following programs?
A) Gifted and talented
B) Learning disabilities
C) Behavior disorders
D) Moderate disabilities
18. Disproportional numbers of Asian and Pacific Islander students can be found receiving
services in which of the following programs?
A) Gifted and talented
B) Learning disabilities
C) Behavior disorders
D) Moderate disabilities
19. Some experts believe that the use of standardized tests with children from minority
groups measures their
A) Intelligence
B) Problem-solving skills
C) Degree of cultural assimilation
D) Knowledge of sports
20. How does a lack of life experiences affect students’ responses on standardized tests?
Students are more likely to
A) Obtain a higher score
B) Achieve greater success
C) Better understand the questions
D) Give incorrect responses
21. Many standardized tests have been revised for the purpose of reducing bias. Which is not
an example of a way in which bias has been reduced in tests?
A) Eliminated all references to animals in test items
B) Reduced the number of culturally specific test items
C) Renormed, or restandardized, the tests across more diverse students
D) Reduced culturally specific language
22. Portfolio assessment emphasizes the instructional environment with a focus on the
outcomes of learning. Which of the following statements is correct? Portfolio assessment
A) Is infrequently administered
B) Provides a single testing opportunity
C) Uses only one type of work sample
D) Uses real-world tasks collected over time
23. When evaluating instructional materials, classroom teachers should consider the
perspectives and contributions of the following group.
A) Women and men from all geographic areas of the United States
B) Women and men with and without disabilities across cultures
C) Children and teenagers who are Latino or African American
D) Children and teenagers who are Latino and have disabilities
24. Classroom materials should include portrayals of women and men with and without
disabilities across diverse cultural and racial groups in which of the following roles?
A) Only active roles
B) Only passive roles
C) Active and passive roles
D) They should not be portrayed at all
25. Classroom materials should not include only the perspective of which of the following
groups?
A) Children, women, and men across diverse groups
B) Male, middle-class, Western European group
C) Females and males across cultures and racial groups
D) Persons with and without disabilities groups
26. The presence of cultural differences provides an opportunity to
A) Celebrate the richness of American diversity
B) Separate groups of people
C) Exclude those who do not speak English well
D) Isolate people who eat strange foods
27. According to some authorities, the educational environment encountered by many
students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds may be
A) Welcoming, warm, and inviting
B) Inadequate, damaging, and openly hostile
C) Inclusive, nurturing, and supportive
D) All of the above
28. Multicultural education is appropriate for
A) Only young students
B) Only older students
C) Only students without disabilities
D) All students
29. What are the implications of the estimate that by the year 2020, students of color are
projected to make up almost half of the school-age population? In view of this projected
outcome, teachers should
A) Give up on fixing the problems
B) Be proactive about changes they can make now
C) Let someone else take care of these issues
D) Wait for the principal to tell them what to do
30. Approximately how many people immigrate to the United States each year?
A) 1,250,000
B) 100,000
C) 10,000,000
D) 5,000,000
31. Approximately what percentage of special education teachers are African American?
A) 84%
B) 69%
C) 11%
D) 5%
32. We define _______________ as the attitudes, belief systems, norms, and traditions
shared by a particular group of people that collectively form their heritage.
A) Religion
B) Ethnicity
C) Culture
D) Race
33. All of the following are true about multiculturalism except
A) Acknowledges basic commonalities among groups of people
B) Refers to more than one culture
C) Implies we should appreciate differences among groups of people
D) States clearly that one cannot function within more than one culture
34. Which of the following terms represents a teaching strategy that teaches students
primarily in a language other than English?
A) Multicultural education
B) Bilingual education
C) Special education
D) Multilingual education
35. A subculture refers to
A) Ethnocentrism
B) Macroculture
C) Egocentrism
D) Microculture
36. All of the following are goals of multicultural education except
A) Americanization
B) Educational equity
C) Social reconstruction
D) Human relations
37. All of the following are bilingual instructional techniques except
A) Cultural programs
B) Immersion programs
C) Transitional programs
D) Enrichment programs
38. The term double jeopardy refers to students who have
A) Linguistic differences and are chronic disciplinary problems
B) Trouble assimilating to macro- and microcultures
C) Linguistic difficulties and a disability
D) Trouble learning two or more languages
39. Which of the following groups is typically overrepresented in gifted and talented
programs?
A) Asian
B) Hispanic
C) White
D) Black
40. One major concern for disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities is
A) Underachievement
B) Unsuccessful assimilation
C) Interdependence on macroculture
D) Subcultural subversion
41. Schools in the United States are grounded in _____________, a culture that may hold
little meaning for many students whose families are poor and/or are from ethnically or
culturally diverse backgrounds.
A) African American culture and values
B) Latino culture and values
C) Asian culture and values
D) White middle-class values
42. In the early decades of the 20th century, an Objective: of the school system was to
quickly assimilate children of immigrants into American culture. The melting pot
metaphor was used to describe how differences were melted away, resulting in a similar
group of students. A preferred metaphor for the current times is a _______ that results in
colorful mix of many unique cultures and heritages.
A) Packet of seeds
B) Floral bouquet
C) Vase
D) Shovel
43. Two students from the same culture group will act _______.
A) The same in all situations
B) Differently from each other in all situations
C) According to their own unique characteristics
D) Differently from all other persons
44. Multicultural means ______________.
A) The dominant culture
B) More than one culture
C) A foreign culture
D) Macroculture
45. To avoid perpetuating ethnic and racial stereotypes, teachers should not use the words
___________ when describing their students and the students’ families.
A) All and no
B) Some and most
C) Many and few
D) All of the above
46. An equally controversial and somewhat confusing concept associated with multicultural
education is
A) Diversity
B) Cultural education
C) Bilingual education
D) English learner (EL)
47. Which is an orientation and not a specific pedagogical technique?
A) Student diversity
B) Multicultural education
C) Bilingual education
D) Multiculturalism
48. In the early decades of the 20th century, one aim of schools was to
A) Provide bilingual education
B) Screen children for disabilities
C) Ensure children were grouped according to their cultural background
D) Assimilate children of immigrants into American culture
49. __________ means limited access to health care, especially prenatal, poor nutrition, and
adverse living conditions.
A) Culturally deprived
B) Diversity
C) Severely deprived
D) Poverty
50. Eighty-three percent of U.S. teachers are _______
A) African American
B) Asian
C) White
D) Multicultural
51. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011, what percentage of Americans are native?
A) 1%
B) 5%
C) 10%
D) 18%
52. What percentage of the U.S. population older than 5 years speaks a language other than
English at home?
A) 5%
B) 10%
C) 20%
D) 22.5%
53. All of the following except __________ is an example of Gardner’s multiple
intelligences.
A) Bodily/kinesthetic
B) Telepathic
C) Naturalist
D) Interpersonal
54. Effective programs for culturally and linguistically diverse students with exceptionalities
must consider all the following except
A) Instructional environment
B) Student behaviors
C) The content
D) Student age
55. A major goal of multicultural education is for students to acquire
A) The skills needed for employment
B) Knowledge of the dominant culture
C) The knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to function effectively in each
cultural setting
D) Knowledge of other peoples and their culture