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| 1 | |
Urban school districts suffer from municipal overburden in part because |
| | A) | municipalities are less able to raise funds through the sales tax. |
| | B) | lower property values reduce the tax revenues from property taxes. |
| | C) | states invest more money overall in rural districts. |
| | D) | federal funding is biased toward wealthy, suburban districts. |
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| 2 | |
The major share of funding for public education is paid for by the |
| | A) | federal government. |
| | B) | states. |
| | C) | local school districts. |
| | D) | private sector. |
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| 3 | |
Maryland's schools were ranked first in the nation after the implementation of "The Bridge to Excellence Program," which implemented a strategy of |
| | A) | closing and reconstituting every underperforming school in the state in order to bring in younger, less entrenched management. |
| | B) | investing heavily in new teaching technologies, including putting at least two computers in every classroom. |
| | C) | investing 80 percent of additional funding in teacher training, salaries, and hiring in order to bring down class size. |
| | D) | shifting large portions of resources of schools in wealthy districts to those in poor districts. |
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| 4 | |
An adequate education |
| | A) | guarantees construction and major repairs to schools. |
| | B) | mandates that under No Child Left Behind, students nationwide be proficient in math and U.S history. |
| | C) | results in different educational goals depending on the interpretations of "adequate education" in each state. |
| | D) | is designed to close the achievement gap between U.S. and international students. |
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| 5 | |
Serrano v. Priest (1971), a California Supreme Court decision on sources of educational funding, |
| | A) | validated the estate tax. |
| | B) | declared using the local property tax to fund education was unconstitutional. |
| | C) | declared using the local property tax to fund education was constitutional. |
| | D) | validated the sales tax. |
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| 6 | |
After the Serrano case, Proposition 13 was passed by voters in California to |
| | A) | equalize funding between poor and wealthy school districts. |
| | B) | replace the property tax with the income tax as the primary source of revenue for public schools. |
| | C) | limit increases in the property tax rate. |
| | D) | All these answers are correct. |
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| 7 | |
In San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court decided that |
| | A) | the use of the property tax to fund school districts was inherently unequal and unconstitutional. |
| | B) | education was not a fundamental right under the Constitution and that it was up to states to deal with inequities. |
| | C) | the federal government could take a larger role in ensuring that education funding in the states is distributed equitably. |
| | D) | California's state financing system was unconstitutional and that funds could be redistributed between districts. |
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| 8 | |
Marian Wright Edelman's work embraces all the following EXCEPT |
| | A) | a mission of "Leaving No Child Behind." |
| | B) | ensuring quality health care for all children. |
| | C) | training mentors to support the education of students of color and those who are poor. |
| | D) | sponsoring Freedom Schools, single-sex schools for disadvantaged students of color. |
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| 9 | |
The right to an "adequate education" is |
| | A) | guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. |
| | B) | provided for under many state constitutions and laws. |
| | C) | mandated by federal civil rights laws, including the 1964 Civil Rights Act. |
| | D) | not a protected right under law; it is a responsibility on the part of citizens. |
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| 10 | |
School boards that are run by local elites who exercise tremendous influence and power in the community tend to have a superintendent who serves as a(n) |
| | A) | adviser. |
| | B) | decision maker. |
| | C) | functionary. |
| | D) | political intermediary. |
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| 11 | |
What does the example of Horatio Alger illustrate about Americans' willingness to tolerate dramatic inequities in school funding? |
| | A) | the belief by some Americans that certain genetic groups are predisposed toward success and others toward failure |
| | B) | the American belief that wealth and success are the fruits of individual labor alone |
| | C) | the belief by some that a culture of poverty shapes the success of some and that additional funding cannot remedy it |
| | D) | the belief that rural communities should be allowed to determine their own affairs, and can make better policy choices than national or state-level bodies |
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| 12 | |
Local school boards are responsible for all of the following EXCEPT |
| | A) | issuing teacher licenses. |
| | B) | hiring and firing teachers. |
| | C) | negotiating teacher salaries. |
| | D) | Local school boards are responsible for ALL of these functions. |
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| 13 | |
A new policy requiring teachers to pass an exam to obtain or renew a license would be implemented by |
| | A) | national accreditation agencies. |
| | B) | state departments of education. |
| | C) | local school districts. |
| | D) | teacher education programs in colleges and universities. |
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| 14 | |
Advocates of equitable funding for schools believe that |
| | A) | in order to make school funding more equitable, states must assume a smaller role in providing funds. |
| | B) | federal law is broken when schools receive unequal funding. |
| | C) | poor districts should receive more assistance from the state than rich ones. |
| | D) | tax rates can differ significantly among communities as long as all schools have highly qualified teachers. |
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| 15 | |
What has driven the trend toward consolidation into larger school districts? |
| | A) | States feel they have more direct control over larger school districts. |
| | B) | They wield more political power to be able to secure state and federal funding. |
| | C) | They are considered more cost-efficient because they lower the per-pupil expenditures. |
| | D) | It is a natural consequence of the consolidation of county and municipal units. |
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