Q&A Hero

Q: What is defined as a special charm or appeal that causes people to feel attracted and excited by someone (such as a sect leader or politician)? a. Amulet b. Charisma c. Talisman d. Magnetism

Q: According to the chapter, what is the basic dichotomy between churches and sects?a. Sects withdraw from the world and churches accommodate it.b. Churches withdraw from the world and sects accommodate it.c. Churches are the overarching groups and sects are small communities within a church.d. Sects are the overarching groups and churches are small communities within a sect.

Q: The chapter defines a _____ as a moral community separate from and in many ways hostile toward the secular world.a. sectb. religionc. cultd. religious retreat

Q: a. Membership is only through a conversion experience. b. The belief system is rigid with an emphasis on the purity of doctrine. c. Organization is informal and unstructured. d. There is a tendency to compromise with the larger society and its values and institutions.

Q: In Marx's view, religion is _____ because it impedes social change by encouraging the oppressed to accept their place in society. a. a wake-up call b. like bread and circuses c. the opiate of the masses d. a sacred cow

Q: According to Weber, the Calvinist belief in _____ led members to assume that economic success was an indicator of God's favor, because surely He would favor the elect in this lifetime as well as the next. a. capitalism their cultural values were different b. predestination they were denied the opportunities to earn a family wage c. evangelism divorce was more prevalent among these families. d. proselytizing women in these families were more likely to have children out of wedlock

Q: Which thinker demonstrated that Calvinism was instrumental in the development of capitalism? a. Max Weber b. Karl Marx c. Emile Durkheim d. Pat Robertson

Q: To Marx, religion promotes the status quo by teaching the powerless to accept a. a belief system in which the sacred is separate from the secular. b. that people bestow the notion of the sacred onto something, rather than that object being intrinsically sacred. c. the idea of single God in three persons. d. religious beliefs that are against their own interests.

Q: In Karl Marx's view, religion _____ societal change by making existing social arrangements seem right and inevitable. a. enshrines b. encourages c. inhibits d. moderates

Q: According to Emile Durkheim, as people meet to affirm common beliefs and values, they are bound together in a a. sect. b. moral community. c. cult. d. kinship group.

Q: Emile Durkheim's study of the role of the totem in the religion of Australian aborigines led him to the conclusion that a. people bestow the notion of the sacred onto something, rather than the object being intrinsically sacred. b. the powerless are taught to accept religious beliefs that are against their own interests. c. religion is the ultimate tool to promote false consciousness. d. religion is both a source of stability and a source of conflict.

Q: What is defined as converting or attempt to convert someone from one religion, belief, or opinion to another? a. Religion b. Theodicy c. Evangelism d. Proselytizing

Q: Which of the following religions with a global reach has the most members worldwide? a. Islam b. Hinduism c. Christianity d. Buddhism

Q: Ritual is defined as _____. It evokes shared understandings among the believers (awe, reverence, ecstasy, and fear), which lead to group unity. a. an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods ignores the harsh effects of economic conditions on the family (for example, poverty, unemployment, and downward mobility) b. symbolic actions that reinforce the collective remembering of the group's shared meanings ignores the social inequalities (racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism) c. the preaching of the gospel with the intention of converting others masks the inevitable problems that arise in intimate settings (tensions, anger, violence) d. a moral community separate from and in many ways hostile toward the secular world all of the above

Q: One of the defining qualities of religion described in the chapter is that in a religion, there is aa. book of rules to follow.b. distinction between the sacred and the secular.c. mandate to bring others into the same belief system.d. powerful attachment to nature.

Q: a. An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods. b. Symbolic actions that reinforce the collective remembering of the group's shared meanings. c. The preaching of the gospel with the intention of converting others. d. A moral community separate from and in many ways hostile toward the secular world.

Q: Since the late 1960s, there has been a rise in Christian fundamentalism. Discuss the four central features that are shared by the many variations of fundamentalists.

Q: Discuss how socioeconomic status affects church membership and participation. How does this play out at the local and denominational levels?

Q: Discuss the characteristics of the religious organization called a sect.

Q: Discuss the social consequences of a group of people having the same religious heritage and beliefs.

Q: Discuss the reasons that sociologists study religion.

Q: For many mainline churches, the _____, which is the injunction to be an agent of social protest and social reform, is criticized because it is divisive, alienating some members who disagree with the position taken. a. comforting function b. challenging function c. libertarian role d. liberationist role

Q: Mainline churches are much more pluralistic than fundamentalist ones. Mainline churches and clergy are tasked with two roles, which can seem contradictory. Those roles are to a. raise enough money to keep the church operating while caring for the poor of the parish. b. insist on literal Biblical truth while promoting science. c. explain the Trinity in a way the average church member can understand. d. comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.

Q: Research by Kuo found that, while still focused on antiabortion and antigay marriage, the New Religious Right is _____ than the Religious Right of the early 1980s. a. even more conservative b. finding more social justice issues to protest c. not liberal, but somewhat more progressive d. significantly more liberal

Q: The Christian Right is as much a(n) _____ as a religious movement. a. economic force b. political force c. gateway to generalized spiritualism d. educational institutions

Q: The growth of _____ is served by entertaining services, weekday services, cafs, child care, youth programs, movies, and special ministries for targeted groups. a. megachurches b. community centers c. fundamentalism d. mainline protestantism

Q: The term megachurch is defined as a church with at least _____ in attendance each week. a. 20,000 b. 12,000 c. 2,000 d. 200

Q: Jane has recently joined a religious organization that focuses on evangelism and the literal truth of the Bible. Her place of worship is most likely a. liberation theologist. b. mainstream protestant. c. fundamentalist. d. Roman Catholic.

Q: The two categories of fundamentalist Christians are ________ and ________. a. Catholics; Protestants b. evangelicals; pentecostals c. Shiites; Sunis d. mainline; "small c" catholics.

Q: The term _____ means the preaching of the gospel with the intention of converting others. a. evangelism b. fundamentalism c. proselytizing d. indoctrination

Q: Since the late 1960s, there has been a rise in Christian a. peace activism. b. church attendance. c. homeless shelters. d. fundamentalism.

Q: Discuss tracking and the effects of teacher and student expectations on school achievement.

Q: Discuss the results of the way public education is funded in the United States. Why does the chapter refer to this funding as "upside down"?

Q: Discuss some of the main differences between No Child Left Behind and the Common Core.

Q: Discuss the issue of whether boys are being left behind in schools. Are boys falling behind girls? Is there more to the story?

Q: Discuss how public schools are funded in the United States. What are some of the problem associated with this practice?

Q: a. social Darwinism b. the Common Core c. the tracking system d. No Child Left Behind

Q: Which of the following has a profound effect on student performance, because when students are overrated, they tend to overproduce and when they are underrated, they underachieve? a. The Common Core b. Teacher expectations c. Accountability d. Local funding

Q: Which term refers to sorting students into different groups or classes according to their perceived intellectual ability? a. Tracking b. Segregation c. Integration d. Testing

Q: School segregation was outlawed in a series of Supreme Court decisions between the 1950s and the 1970s. Today, at every level, children tend to go to a school a. that has quotas for how many children of different races and socioeconomic classes can be enrolled. b. that has many races and socioeconomic classes. c. with diverse races of generally the same socioeconomic class. d. with others like themselves in socioeconomic status and race.

Q: Students with a middle level of resources are more likely to attend which type of college? a. Community college b. Private liberal arts college c. Public university d. Private university

Q: For most individuals, having _____ college education translates into a lifetime of lower earnings and low-mobility jobs. a. a community b. no c. a state d. a private

Q: Which type of students are five times more likely to receive special accommodations for a learning disability when they take the SAT? a. Students from New England prep schools b. African American students from the inner city c. Asian American students from Silicon Valley d. Latino students from South Texas

Q: Which statement explains why youth from families with $200,000 or more income score more than 300 points higher on the SAT than youth from families with an income of $20,000 or less? a. Social Darwinism shows that families who have high earnings are more intelligent and more deserving than families with low incomes. b. Poor White people are physically and intellectually inferior to poor minorities, therefore, they cannot raise themselves out of poverty. c. The end of No Child Left Behind means that schools in poor neighborhoods will not receive the funding they need to improve. d. The many benefits of economic privilege include better nutrition, schools, medical care, and technology.

Q: The funding of public schools through local property taxes can be considered discriminatory because a. poor children and rich children in the same district benefit equally from tax money. b. senior citizens whose children are grown must still pay taxes that support the local schools. c. rich school districts can spend more than poor ones on each student. d. rich "donor" school districts have to subsidize poor "taker" school districts.

Q: According to Carey and Rosa, federal state, and local policymakers give _____ resources to students who have more resources, and _____ to those who have less. a. less; more b. more; less c. unessential; essential d. school lunch; school breakfast and lunch

Q: According to Thornburgh, "Dropping out of high school today is to your societal health what _____, an indicator of a host of poor outcomes to follow, from low lifetime earnings to high incarceration rates to a high likelihood that your children will drop out of high school and start the cycle anew." a. smoking is to your physical health b. dropping out of college used to be c. exercise is to your physical health d. joining the military has always been

Q: The term _____ is used for the percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and have not earned a high school diploma or equivalency. a. status dropout rate b. dropout rate c. nongraduation percentage d. precollege percentage

Q: Amy Chua's book _____, a comic memoir about how she tried to raise her two daughters the same way her strict Chinese immigrant parents raised her, but was forced to pull back when her younger daughter rebelled, set off a firestorm of controversy. a. The Joy Luck Club b. Cultural Differences in Parenting Practices c. The Hybrid Family d. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Q: Achievement gaps in reading, writing, and mathematics persist between minority and White students. With the exception of _____ students, minority students are much more likely to be below the basic levels of math upon entering high school. a. African American b. Latino c. Asian American d. African immigrant

Q: Assessment tests given to kids in fourth through eighth grade show that average reading and math scores are _____ for children in high-poverty schools compared to students in low-poverty schools. a. higher b. lower c. about the same d. not recorded

Q: In 2013, eighth graders eligible for _____ averaged 27 points lower in math than students who were not. a. free school lunch b. the football team c. extra tutoring d. a community-service award

Q: Data confirms that the higher the educational attainment, the a. higher the sense of self-esteem. b. more likely the next generation will not go to college. c. greater the amount of student debt. d. higher the income.

Q: One advantage to the Common Core is that if children change schools, the curriculum at their new school will be similar to their old school. In the United States, families move on average once a. in any given child's lifetime. b. every two years. c. every five years. d. every 10 years.

Q: Janie is a fifth-grader in New Hampshire whose family is moving to Nevada in the middle of the school year. Which scenario is most likely, based on the fact that both states have adopted the Common Core standards? a. Janie will be behind because her new school is ahead of her old school. b. Janie will be able to more or less pick up where she left off when she gets to her new school. c. Janie will have to repeat a grade in her new school system. d. Janie will have to repeat a lot of subject matter that her old school already covered.

Q: Contrary to popular myths about the Common Core a. schools systems and teachers can choose their own materials. b. schools systems and teachers will use standardized materials. c. schools and districts will be graded according to state-determined standardized testing. d. states will be graded according to federally determined standardized testing.

Q: Supporters of _____ argue that states have "dummied down standards" and that students should be held to a higher expectation. a. federal control of schools b. local control of schools c. No Child Left Behind d. the Common Core

Q: Critics of the Common Core argue that it a. is based on flawed assumptions. b. allows the states to make up their own standards. c. takes control away from parents. d. promotes cultural biases.

Q: Who set the standards for the Common Core, which have been adopted by 43 states and the District of Columbia? a. State education departments b. Parents, teachers, school administrators, and experts across the country c. The United States Congress d. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

Q: What is a state-driven initiative to develop international benchmarks for all states so that all students are prepared to be competitive in a globalized market? a. The Common Core State Standards Initiative b. Higher Education Opportunity Act c. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act d. No Child Left Behind Act

Q: Under NCLB, each state was permitted to set its own proficiency benchmarks to be determined by standardized tests. According to the 2007 report "The Proficiency Illusion," improvements in the passing rates on states can be largely explained by a. improved teaching at schools in danger of failing. b. setting a lower bar on the 8th grade test. c. true growth in student learning. d. declines in the difficulty of those tests.

Q: California officials predicted that by 2014, all 6,063 public schools serving _____ would be declared in need of restructuring under No Child Left Behind. a. the Central Valley b. the southern part of the state c. poor students d. chronic failures

Q: In 2009"2010, 38% of schools were labeled as _____ under the No Child Left Behind Act. a. making adequate yearly progress b. failing to make adequate yearly progress c. exceeding adequate yearly progress d. exempt from adequate yearly progress

Q: Under No Child Left Behind, a single statewide assessment system given annually to students from third to eighth grade is used to measure a. each child's adequate yearly progress. b. the school's adequate yearly progress. c. each child's advancement in learning in three key subject areas. d. which children will be left behind.

Q: Which of the following was a principal aim of the No Child Left Behind Act? a. Make schools accountable for the success or failure of their students. b. Ensure the gaps that plague education in the United States. c. Create a common core of standard before the states did. d. Increase teachers' flexibility to teach however they think best.

Q: What education act was signed by George W. Bush in 2001 in an effort to standardize public education in the United States? a. Higher Education Opportunity Act b. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act c. The Common Core d. No Child Left Behind

Q: In 1991 Albert _____, former president of the American Federation of Teachers, pointed out that unlike many other countries, in the United States "there is little connection between what students are supposed to learn, the knowledge on which they are assessed, and what we expect our teachers to know." a. de Salvo b. Einstein c. Shanker d. Schweitzer

Q: In the United States there are 14,000 school districts across the 50 states. However, until the current millennium, there had been no attempt to a. measure graduation rates. b. develop a standardized curriculum. c. reduce the percentage of truant children. d. research educational theory.

Q: Despite the arguments about whether boys or girls are being failed more by the schools, the fact remains that for every statistic that indicates a gender gap, there is an even larger gap by a. social class and race. b. earning power. c. age. d. gender identity.

Q: Which of the following is a statistic the chapter cites as support of the idea that schools serve girls better than boys?a. On average boys are a year and a half behind girls in math and science.b. Each year men receive more bachelor and master degrees than women.c. Boys are less likely to be held back a grade, drop out, and be suspended from school.d. Boys are less likely than girls to graduate from high school .

Q: In the 1990s, studies conducted at Wellesley and by the American Association of University Women argued that _____ were being shortchanged by schools. In the 21st century, other researchers say that _____ are the ones who are not being well-served by schools. a. Latinos; Blacks b. Blacks; Latinos c. girls; boys d. boys; girls

Q: According to the chapter, school is analogous to a conveyer belt with people of all social classes getting on at the same time. They leave the conveyer belta. by social classthe lower the class, the longer the ride.b. by social classthe lower the class, the shorter the ride.c. with all the necessary skills and abilities that prepare them to be citizens of a democracy.d. with all the necessary skills and abilities that prepare them for college.

Q: Kathy, a student in a typical U.S. school, is not a competitive person. Which of the following is NOT an area in which her participation is determined by competetion among her classmates? a. Enrolling in Freshman English b. Playing on a varsity athletic team c. Being cast in a lead role in a play d. Playing first trumpet in the marching band

Q: Which of the following is a negative lesson that can be learned by children in schools with a competitive environment? a. A rising tide lifts all boats. b. Their classmates are their friends. c. They should be motivated by curiosity. d. They should be motivated by fear of failure.

Q: What is one of the problems related to local control of public schools identified in the chapter?a. Schools are funded with state taxes, so local control means some taxpayers have no say in how their money is spent.b. Schools are funded with federal taxes, so local control means some taxpayers have no say in how their money is spent.c. Schools are funded with local taxes, so wealthier areas have better schools than poorer ones.d. Schools are funded with local taxes, so poorer areas have better schools than they deserve.

Q: Public schools are primarily controlled at the _____ level. a. federal b. state c. local d. family

Q: Critics of educational reforms such as private schools, charter schools, and voucher systems point out that these trends are working against a. segregation and home-schooling. b. inclusiveness and desegregation. c. high-quality learning. d. the separation of church and state.

Q: According to the National Center for Education Statistics in 2010, _____ million children were being home-schooled rather than attending public or private schools. a. 1.5 b. 2.9 c. 6.0 d. 11.0

Q: According to Zuckerman, the system of American education is no longer relevant because a. the subjects have not been updated for the 21st century. b. democracy no longer requires an educated citizenry. c. it is no longer focused on preparing people to work in factories. d. it is a factory-based school system for an information age.

Q: In Mrs. Clark's third-grade classroom in a Wisconsin suburb, subjects begin and end _____. This is an example of the preoccupation with order and control in American schools. a. whenever Mrs. Clark wants them to. b. when all the kids agree that it is time to move on to something new. c. at the same time. d. sometime before lunch.