Sociology Chapter 13 Quiz

Approximately ________ percent of the nation's population 16 years and older is functionally illiterate.

14

Based on recent research, which of the following statements is true with regard to preferential admissions to colleges and universities?

Admissions preference for athletes has risen steadily, surpassing that of minority students.

Which of the following statements is true about college admissions decisions?

Affirmative action programs at colleges and universities are designed to provide opportunities to historically underrepresented groups and to increase diversity on campuses.

Taking into account students' family backgrounds, ________ schools tend to outperform ________ schools in preparing children academically.

Catholic; non-Catholic private

Which of the following is an argument that would be made by a conflict theorist?

During elementary school, children are socialized by learning skills that will help them become adults who will be obedient workers.

Which of the following examples would be supported by the research findings on the influence of home characteristics on education?

During the summer, children from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds make educational gains, while children from lower socioeconomic status families experience greater summer setbacks.

Which of the following trends in current educational achievement is supported by research evidence?

Girls from all backgrounds have performed well since the 1960s.

The embodied cultural capital that parents have may work with institutional cultural capital. Which of the following illustrates this?

If a parent has confidence in social settings, he or she may be better able to advocate for children in front of the school board or at parent-teacher meetings.

Which of the following is an argument in favor of school vouchers?

In order for schooling to be equal for all children, parents should be able to decide where their children go, regardless of their ability to pay.

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of cultural capital?

Joshua and Sam have both earned bachelor's degrees from a local university and are now interviewing for the same job. When Joshua goes into the job interview, he is able to discuss art, architecture, and travel experiences he had while growing up. Sam has not had these same experiences and is not able to have the same kind of conversations with the interviewers.

Which of the following is mentioned in your text as a criticism of using the SAT as a college admissions criterion?

Most of the time, college admissions officers would make the same admissions decisions using information only from students' high school records; furthermore, low SAT scores might disqualify from admission students who are otherwise academically talented.

Which of the following would be an example of social capital?

Parents volunteer to work in the library of a public school that does not have the funding to pay a librarian's salary.

Which of the following is an argument against tracking in schools?

Systems of tracking socialize students to the inequalities they will encounter in American society.

Which of the following is a factor affecting the strong academic performance of Asian Americans?

There is a high degree of social capital in Asian American communities, and the community reinforces norms regarding education and parenting.

Which of the following is an argument in support of tracking in schools?

Tracking benefits children with less-advantaged backgrounds, but only if their parents can advocate on their behalf to get them into college-preparatory tracks.

With regard to research on the effects of race and social class on education outcomes, which of the following is true?

When social class characteristics are controlled for, test score gaps between black and white students shrink, black students have a higher high school graduation rate, and black students are less likely to be held back a grade.

A paradox of the American education system is that education is:

a social institution that stratifies students based on the characteristics of their backgrounds even though it is intended to provide equal opportunity.

Steve is facing medical bills that threaten to bankrupt him. He reads an article about Kari Smith's "creative" financing of her son's college education. Steve decides to follow her example, so he:

agrees to wear a corporate logo on his hospital gown in exchange for payment.

Espenshade, Chung, and Walling (2004) studied admission to elite colleges and found that ________ were 4 times more likely than other students to gain admission, and ________ were 3 times more likely to be admitted.

athletes; legacy students

Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), resigned from her position in April 2007 after it came to light that she had claimed to have academic degrees she did not have. While this is an extreme case, it illustrates the overemphasis on qualifications such as college degrees in order to be hired for a job. This is known as:

credentialism.

William, a 17-year-old high school student, chooses products in the grocery store by looking at the pictures on the labels of the goods on the shelves because he cannot read many of the words. William would be considered:

functionally illiterate.

Knowledge and skills that make someone more productive and bankable are known as:

human capital.

Research has shown that the ________ the family, the ________ the children's achievement on test scores and grades.

larger; lower

The Coleman Report was a systematic large-scale evaluation of data from students and school facilities. It concluded that differences in school characteristics explained:

only a small portion of educational differences between schools.

Jacqui is a student at a Catholic middle school. One day she is asked by her friends from the public school to skip school. Though Jacqui wants to be with her friends and is excited by the thought of breaking the rules, she decides not to go. Jacqui is concerned that if she were seen skipping school, her actions would reflect badly on her school, her parents, and her teachers. She also does not want to undermine the trust that adults have placed in her. Her rationale illustrates how ________ in Catholic schools may influence behavior.

social capital

Which of the following is an argument against the sorting function served by schools? The sorting function results in students being:

sorted in ways that reproduce existing social inequalities.

With regard to biological or genetic differences between people, sociologists have found that:

stigmatized minorities in all countries have lower IQ scores, lower educational attainment, and lower occupational status, indicating that social processes of stratification and stigmatization affect the life chances of these groups.

Thomas transfers to a new school when his family moves to a new district, and he is placed in a classroom with students who have slightly higher average math grades than he does. Based on the research, what is the most likely outcome? Thomas will:

succeed and make academic gains when he is in the classes with other high achievers.

A Marxist theorist of education would critique schools for socializing children to accept the status quo, because schools:

teach skills that make students subordinate.

One of the major reasons Native Americans were placed in boarding schools for 60 years was:

to socialize them to become "civilized" Americans.