Generally, courts have ruled that teachers may be fired for:
A.adultery.
B.using profanity and abusive language toward students.
C.private homosexual behavior.
D.unwed cohabitation.
_____ American students have the highest dropout rate of all students and are more
likely to struggle with alcohol and drug addiction.
A.African
B.Native
C.Hispanic
D.Asian
As secondary schools spread, they generally took the form of _____ academies.
A.free-for-all
B.not-for-profit
C.public, government-funded
D.private, tuition-charging
What is the evidence that U.S. students are actually doing quite well in their educational
performance?
A.The U.S middle school students score significantly higher than the Japanese students
on algebra tests.
B.Universities report a higher satisfaction with the quality of students who are entering
higher education.
C.In recent years SAT reading and mathematics scores have reached an all-time high.
D.The U.S. students are scoring comparatively higher on international tests of
mathematics and science.
Most school board members view themselves as _____.
A.trustee representatives
B.delegate representatives
C.public representatives
D.elected representatives
By beginning a lesson with a challenging riddle or an anecdote, a teacher is trying to:
A.establish clear objectives.
B.inspire motivation.
C.promote clarification.
D.create a scaffolding.
Which of the following makes for an engaging education experience?
A.Feeling that school work is a routine part of life
B.Experiencing a teacher-centered approach
C.Getting the opportunity to excel
D.Engaging in a gate-keeping role
According to Jeannie Oakes, tracking persists in schools largely because _____.
A.administrators believe that it is the most cost effective way to educate children
B.teachers think it is best way to improve test scores among their students
C.teachers expect little from the low-track students and they do little to improve student
performance
D.educators believe it is the fairest way to treat their students so that they can learn well
What was the significance of the Serrano v. Priest (1971) ruling of the California
Supreme Court?
A.It struck down the state’s financial system as unconstitutional.
B.It declared that education was a fundamental right under the California constitution.
C.It stated the property tax system upholds equal protection of right to education.
D.It implemented steps to increase the amount of tax collected by the state.
The _____ gave the federal government power to help local school districts desegregate
(Title IV) and, when necessary, to initiate lawsuits or withhold federal school funds to
force desegregation.
A.Elementary and Secondary Education Act
B.Civil Rights Act
C.Smith-Hughes Act
D.No Child Left Behind Act
One of the reasons that students in schools are more segregated today than at any time
since the Civil Rights movement is that:
A.the federal courts are no longer willing to attend to the problem of racial segregation.
B.the No Child Left Behind Act has mandated minorities to attend failing schools.
C.the economic slowdown has forced minorities to return to the cities where they grew
up.
D.the rise of charter schools has led to more segregated student demographics.
Silver Springs middle school was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a
green ribbon school. The school earned this distinction for:
A.improving comparative test scores and promoting better communication between
teachers and students’ family members.
B.providing better infrastructure and greater access to technology to students to
enhance learning.
C.promoting environmental and sustainable education, offering healthier environments
with clean air and water, and promoting outdoor activities.
D.providing a good education to economically disadvantaged students at affordable
prices.
The chief state school officer is responsible for:
A.formulating educational policy.
B.performing administrative tasks.
C.planning school activities.
D.managing school funds.
Edward is a retired teacher who taught in the United States during the colonial period.
In this scenario, which of the following is true of his preparation to teach during his
career?
A.He would attend a normal school.
B.He would attend secondary school and some college.
C.He would pass a test to measure his knowledge of important subjects.
D.He would receive virtually no formal training at all.
Which of the following statements about Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 is true?
A.This law was created to protect only female students against gender discrimination.
B.The federal government has penalized hundreds of schools for violating Title IX.
C.The law has eradicated sexism from education institutes in the U.S.
D.The law is rarely enforced, and ignorance of the law is widespread.
Demonstrating strong existential intelligence indicates that a person has the ability to:
A.classify different species of plants, animals, and understand bio-diversity.
B.analyze and respond to the emotions and moods of others.
C.form a mental model of the spatial world.
D.formulate fundamental questions about life, death, and who they are.
The development of common core state standards that have been adopted in most states
reflect the influence of:
A.education commissions and committees.
B.professional organizations.
C.special interest groups.
D.publishers.
Many people are unaware that the responsibility for educating Americans is not even
mentioned in the Constitution. Under the _____ Amendment, any area not specifically
stated in the Constitution as a federal responsibility is automatically assigned to the
states
A.Tenth
B.Fourteenth
C.Sixteenth
D.Fifth
Students were often very distracted in Agnes’s classroom. Whenever they seemed to
engage in an activity, she would just seem to say or do something totally random that
had nothing to do with the lesson assigned. For example, during a review game for the
test the following day, just when the students were getting into the activity, she blurted
out, “Does anyone know who we are playing this Friday night”? Well, of course, the
interruption stopped the game while all the students answered her question. Agnes’s
behavior would best fit the phenomenon of:
A.thrusts.
B.dangles.
C.flip-flops.
D.fragmentation.
Nationally, _____ are more likely than students of other races to attend multiracial
schools.
A.Asian Americans
B.White Americans
C.Hispanic Americans
D.African Americans
Courts have ruled that a teacher’s right to academic freedom:
A.is absolute and teaching should be free of any restrictions.
B.is absolute because censorship reduces a teacher’s effectiveness.
C.is not absolute as students should learn only appropriate subject matter.
D.is not absolute and teachers should avoid discussing ethnic and religious differences.
Identify an accurate statement about single-sex schools.
A.The advantages of single-sex schools have been proved by rigorous research.
B.Ideas that support single-sex schools fit easily into traditional belief systems.
C.Dividing students increases sexual distractions, but reduces discipline issues.
D.Girls have a better and more refined learning style, hence should be taught separately.
Which of the following statements would most likely be made by a critic of middle
school education?
A.Middle schools offer a more disciplined focus curriculum than K-8 schools.
B.Middle schools give excessive importance to academic rigor.
C.Middle schools over emphasize self-esteem building.
D.Middle schools ignore emotional and physical developmental growth of students.
Critics of middle school education argue that they should be replaced by _____.
A.single-sex schools
B.K-8 schools
C.charter schools
D.home schools
Imagine a school where teachers do not have daily contact with one another and act
independently, the school administration does not give due importance to effective
communication with the students’ families about the school’s goals and expectations.
They are vague about the goals of the school and focus on maintaining the status quo.
This represents a failure of which element of the “five-factor theory of effective
schools”?
A.Strong leadership
B.A clear school mission
C.Monitoring school progress
D.High expectations
Alice is a teacher who has just finished her fourth year of teaching. At the end of that
year, Alice was informed that she would be granted tenure. From this point, Alice can
expect:
A.iron-clad guarantee of job security.
B.protection from arbitrary dismissal.
C.recognition as a competent teacher.
D.accelerated salary increases.
A new principal is concerned with the increasing incidents of cheating and plagiarism
occurring in her school. She wants to take effective measures to reduce such incidences.
Which of the following actions might be the most effective?
A.Students who are caught cheating or plagiarizing will be suspended from school for
five days.
B.Students who are caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a grade of “zero” for
each infraction.
C.Teachers will make a report of all such incidents and repeat offenders will be expelled
.
D.Teachers will help students to develop the skills to synthesize and summarize
information, use citations properly, and develop their own insights.
A student who says, “I failed the test because the fire alarm went off in the middle of
the test” appears to exhibit:
A.an external locus of control.
B.an internal locus of control.
C.a diffuse locus of control.
D.no specific locus of control.
Which of the following is a reason for demanding radical school reform and the furor
about failing schools?
A.Adults feel that their children study harder and are learning more.
B.Americans have realistic expectations about the social and economic outcomes of
education.
C.Schools today work with large numbers of poor students, non-English-speaking
children, and special education students.
D.Teacher’s associations and tenure protect only competent teachers.
Paul Pratfall was a young teacher who meant well, but could be easily led off
taskespecially, when it came to afternoon hall duty. When the school dismissal bell
rang, Paul’s job was to make sure that the children walked safely and in a disciplined
manner from the classrooms on his hall to the waiting school buses just beyond the
front entrance. During Friday’s duty, one of Paul’s colleagues called out to him. “Hey,
Paulie, come in here and check out the article in the paper about the big game tonight.
You gotta see it!” At first, Paul hesitated, since he was on duty. Then, he went into his
friend’s classroom to read the article. After all, he figured that he would only be a
minute or two. Paul had just begun to read the article when he heard a loud crash and an
anguished cry. He and his colleague ran into the hall to find little Jeannie lying on the
floor with her leg obviously broken. Based on this scenario, Paul would most likely be
guilty of:
A.misfeasance.
B.malfeasance.
C.malice aforethought.
D.nonfeasance.
Which of the following ranked highest with students while describing their peer culture
in middle school?
A.Student-teacher camaraderie
B.Relational aggression
C.Worries about poverty
D.Gender clashes
Which of the following examples of a teacher’s speech would most likely be considered
a “matter of public concern”?
A.”I really think that the principal is out to get me. She always gives me the worst
planning period and the worst duties.”
B.”You know, I have heard that the football coach is secretly seeing someone other than
his wife. I think the public needs to know this.”
C.”I was reading some of the environmental data on the site where our new school is
being built. It sits right next to a chemical cleanup zone controlled by an environment
protection agency. I think people need to know about this.”
D.”I think these dress code rules for teachers are ridiculous. I think that I’ll call the
media and report. Besides, this new principal needs to be brought down to size,’ and this
is a perfect way to do it!”
In the context of emotional intelligence quotient (EQ) and intelligence quotient (IQ),
psychologist Daniel Goleman argues that:
A.IQ introduces a new gateway for measuring intelligence in adults.
B.EQ may be a better predictor of life success than IQ.
C.EQ taps into the head whereas IQ taps into the heart.
D.an IQ score is the best standard of measuring performance.
Imagine that you are a teacher in a school that the school board is considering
converting to a single-sex school. Since you are a senior member of the faculty, you
have been asked to discuss your position at the next school board meeting. What
position on single-sex schooling would you take and why? Be sure to support your
position with analysis and specific examples.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
How were schools in Colonial America funded? How is it different from the way
schools are funded currently? What is the factor that determines whether a school
district will have access to sufficient educational funds?
Why has there been such a surge in commercializing childhood? What forces have
brought about this rising trend?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
What lessons could the United States learn by looking at how other countries, such as
Finland, fund and govern their schools? If there is nothing for the United States to learn
from these other countries, explain why? Be sure to provide specific examples to
support your arguments.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Evaluate the movement toward Common Core State Standards and testing. Do you
think national standards and testing will raise the performance of students in U.S.
schools? Why or why not?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
What is your understanding of the digital divide? What are the educational implications
of an apparent technology gap? What do you think should be done to address this gap?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Imagine that you are a teacher, who wishes to reduce the growing practice of plagiarism
among your students. What sort of steps would you take to accomplish this goal?What
are the reasons that schools fail to curb the menace of plagiarism? How does plagiarism
affect learning and adversely impact students?
At times, teachers can misinterpret their fundamental right to freedom of speech as
guaranteed by the First Amendment and in some cases may not have a clear idea of
what is permissible and what is not. Can understanding the boundaries of freedom help
in avoiding legal issues? To what extent do you feel teachers should be allowed to
exercise freedom of speech while on the job? What are the important concerns about
freedom of speech for a teacher? What is your personal assessment and opinion on this
subject? Be sure to support your answer with examples and analysis.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Provide examples of where one might experience the Golden Mean in schools. What
are some of the challenges in using the Golden Mean as part of a philosophy of
education? What are some of its benefits?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Discuss the two broad categories of sexual harassment recognized under Title IX.
Mention at least one example of each category in a school environment? As a teacher,
how would you handle the issue if you found out that a colleague was sexually
harassing a student?
.
What do you feel has been Horace Mann’s influence on your education? Where have
you seen the effects of his advocacy and actions during your schooling? Be sure to
provide specific examples to support your discussion.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Imagine that you are a classroom teacher. You have identified among your students four
of the intelligences (you may determine which ones you would like to use). How would
you plan instruction to accommodate these four intelligences? What sort of factors
would you need to consider? What sort of activities would you plan? Be sure to support
your analysis with specific examples.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
How do changes in the structure of the American family influence decisions and
choices teachers must make?
Giving examples, describe how a teacher might use generalizations to aid in teaching
students in a diverse classroom. How does a teacher avoid the negative consequences of
stereotype threat?
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Describe the challenges faced by African Americans in their pursuit of education. How
did White Americans respond to the education of African Americans? Explain how the
doctrine of separate but equal affected the education of African Americans?
Discuss the importance of trust among teachers, students, parents, and principals. What
are some of the barriers in developing trusting relationships in schools? As a teacher,
what can you do to help promote trust among students, parents, administrators, and
colleagues? Be sure to provide specific examples to support your positions.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
What are your suggestions for tomorrow’s curriculum? After going through the current
educational curriculum, what do you think is missing in the educational system? What
changes would you suggest? Be sure to use specific examples to support your ideas.
Answer:
Answers will vary.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are often referred to as a “model minority.”
Provide the rationale behind this statement, and discuss how this stereotypes Asian
Americans. What problems do Asian American and Pacific Islander students face that
this label masks?
Answer:
Answers will vary