Psych 21A - Chapter 6

The average American school year is ____ days long.

180

According to evidence cited in the textbook, the ideal size of a school for adolescents is between:

600 and 900 students

Not only are schools the chief educational arena for adolescents, but they also play an extremely important role in:

All of the above; defining the young person's social word and social network, shaping psychosocial development, and the development of motivations, aspirations, and expectations.

Common treatments for ADHD include:

All of these are treatment options; stimulant medication, antidepressants, and psychological therapies.

Which of the following was not an effect of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)?

All of these are unintended consequences of NCLB; schools were "gaming the system," teachers were "teaching to the test," and school districts were reporting school averages without revealing the huge gaps between the low-achieving and the high-achieving students

Achievement is lower when:

All of these statements are true; schools are overcrowded, teachers have low expectations for their students' abilities, and students experience transitions.

According to the textbook, why do private school studies academically outperform students at public schools?

Because of the characteristics of the students who attend private schools

Which of the following statements about classroom environment is true?

Moderate, rather than strict, control in the classroom promotes positive student behavior

Which of the following statements about tracking is false?

Teaching quality is more or less the same in different tracks

What is a realistic concern with regard to requiring all high school seniors to pass a graduation test in order to earn a diploma?

The financial costs associated with failing students would create a huge incentive for states to develop exams with very low requirements for passing

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was a policy designed to ensure that all students, regardless of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic background, receive a high-quality education. Which of the following statements is false?

To prevent losing millions of dollars, some schools actually helped students cheat on standardized tests

Adolescents who have academic difficulties that can be traced to persistent and impairing symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperacitvity may have:

attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Ms. Willingham sets high standards for her students but is very responsive to their needs. What type of teaching style is this characteristic of?

authoritative

What kind of family environment most closely resembles the optimal classroom environment?

authoritative

What would Stephanie, a high school student, say is the best part about going to school?

being with friends

All of the following are factors associated with higher performance of students as a result of the social capital in Catholic schools relative to other schools, except:

better use of academic tracking

Sarah was placed in an advanced track at school. Which of the following is Sarah not likely to experience?

classroom activities that emphasize rote memorization

Specific learning disabilities are ____ and examples are ____ (impaired ability in reading or spelling), ____ (impaired ability in handwriting), and ____ (impaired ability in arithmetic).

common; dyslexia, dysgraphia; dyscalculia

During the 1920s, the ____ was designed to meet the needs of a diverse and growing population of young people.

comprehensive high school

During the school year, the rate of academic progress was equal between students with higher-socioeconomic status and disadvantaged students. During the summer months:

disadvantaged students' scores declined

Which of the following is not a factor that moved children out of the workplace?

discrimination against young workers

What two dominant characteristics distinguish the development of postsecondary education in contemporary America from that in other parts of the world?

diversity and accessibility

As discussed in your textbook, the major characteristics of good schools include all but which of the following?

emphasizing rote memorization and passive listening in classrooms

Of the students who enter college, what percent complete their degrees within six years?

fewer than 60%

Prior to the early twentieth century, high schools were designed:

for elite youngsters

Kerry and Kristie's teacher accidentally got their test scores mixed up and mistakenly thought that Kerry was the more intelligent of the two girls. At the end of the year, her records demonstrated that, indeed, Kerry had gained more and performed at a higher level than Kristie. This is best thought of as an example of:

goodness-of-fit

One study described in the textbook indicated that, among Black and Latino students, transitioning to a school where the proportion of students from the same ethnic background is lower than it had been at their previous school is associated with all of the following except:

greater engagement in school

Michelle has been placed in a school program for gifted children. She was probably selected because she:

has a high IQ

By the 1960s, after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, schools were called on to:

implement desegregation programs

As discussed in the textbook, during the 1950s, how did the United States respond when politicians felt the United States had lost its scientific edge to the former Soviet Union?

increased emphasis was placed on math and science education

Under current federal law, children with learning disabilities must be:

mainstreamed whenever possible

Although Chris is significantly delayed developmentally he goes to a regular grade school; takes classes in social studies, music, and physical education with the non-handicapped students; and goes to special classes to learn about reading and arithmetic. This situation is an example of:

mainstreaming

Mrs. Denny wants to provide the best educational opportunities for all of the students in her high school. As school principal, she should:

make sure that no class has more than 25 students

A learning disability:

may be caused by a neurological problem

Secondary education refers to:

middle school, junior high school, and high school

Today, ____ of high school graduates enroll in college immediately after graduation.

more than two-thirds

Which of the following is not a benefit that small schools offer?

more varied instruction

Taisha was discouraged from taking math classes throughout her high school years. Although she is intelligent, a likely long-term implication of this biased tracking is that Taisha will:

not pursue a college education

The gaps in achievement between Black and Hispanic students, on the one hand, and White and Asian students, on the other hand, ____.

remains very wide

The practice of moving students from one grade to the next regardless of their academic performance is known as what?

social promotion

Compared with their counterparts from previous decades, today's American adolescents:

spend more days per year in school

What is a policy that focuses on policies designed to improve achievement by holding schools and students to a predetermined set of standards measured by achievement tests?

standards-based reform

The extent to which students are psychologically committed to learning and mastering the material rather than simply completing the assigned work is called:

student engagement

Comparisons of large and small schools reveal that:

students in small schools are more likely to participate in school activities

Jacquelynne Eccles describes all of the following changes in school environment when moving from elementary school to middle school or junior high school, except that:

teachers in middle and junior high schools feel more confident in their abilities

Experts are likely to express all of the following reasons for the failure of school reform, except:

the explosion of job opportunities in inner-city communities has left many students leaving school to pursue careers

The process of separating students into different levels of classes within the same school is called:

tracking

In America today, what percentage of individuals between the ages of 14 and 17 are in school?

virtually all individuals