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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to Jim Trelease, what kind of portrayal is Educating Esme, with respect to American education?
(a) Satirical.
(b) Hyperbolic.
(c) Sentimental.
(d) Realistic.

2. What does JoEllen ask Codell during sexual education?
(a) JoEllen wonders what her mom meant by the term "abortion."
(b) JoEllen wonders if sex has to take place underwater.
(c) JoEllen wonders if sex involves goldfish.
(d) JoEllen wonders if she will eventually lay an egg.

3. Why does B. B. start to misbehave around 1:20 PM every day?
(a) B. B. knows he is missing his favorite cartoon show at that time.
(b) B. B. is faced with the prospect of going home to his wheelchair-bound father.
(c) B. B. never has anything to eat at lunch.
(d) Codell never figures out why he suddenly changes at this time.

4. What gift does Codell receive from her students on the last day of school?
(a) A sari.
(b) A pop-up greeting card with all the children's signatures.
(c) A golden scarf with all the children's signatures.
(d) A beautiful crystal serving tray.

5. According to the end of Part II, what is Codell's ultimate career aspiration?
(a) She wants to be a school librarian.
(b) She wishes to become a school principal.
(c) She wishes to remain a teacher of fifth-graders.
(d) She wishes to join the teachers' union full-time.

6. Why does B. B. sleep over at Codell's apartment one night?
(a) B. B.'s mother threw him out, and he is homeless for one night before becoming a ward of the state.
(b) Codell is rewarding B. B. for winning a game show contest in class.
(c) B. B. celebrates his birthday with a half dozen other kids who also stay the night.
(d) B. B.'s mother fears violence from her abusive boyfriend.

7. What kind of school did Esme transfer to after the school of her first year of teaching?
(a) A technical trade college.
(b) A suburban school with mostly minorities.
(c) A white, suburban school.
(d) A black, inner-city school.

8. What important test does Codell's class take on May 13th?
(a) The Federal Standardized Exam.
(b) The Iowa Standardized Test of Basic Skills.
(c) The California Assessment of Learning.
(d) The Illinois Standardized Test of Academic Proficiency.

9. Which student does Codell believe has the potential to become a children's book illustrator?
(a) Shira.
(b) Ashworth.
(c) B. B.
(d) Serena.

10. What is one of the songs Codell hears in her mind when Mr. Turner is frustrating her?
(a) "Control Yourself" by Jackie and Roy Kral.
(b) "Perpetuum Mobile" by Novacek.
(c) "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones.
(d) "Nothing from Nothing" by Billy Preston.

11. What does Jim Trelease blame for poor reading scores in "a certain western state"?
(a) Inner-city crime.
(b) Lack of library funding.
(c) Lazy students.
(d) Lazy teachers.

12. According to Codell, what is "education's best-kept secret"?
(a) Teachers being personally invested in their teaching methods make them accountable.
(b) If parents were more involved in teaching, it would actually make things worse.
(c) Principals do absolutely nothing to help teachers.
(d) A sticker award system will make fifth-graders more motivated to learn than anything else.

13. Why do Ozzie's grades plummet?
(a) His mother's ex-boyfriend is verbally and physically abusive.
(b) Ozzie has joined a gang.
(c) Ozzie has developed dyslexia.
(d) Ozzie is malnourished.

14. According to the educational chiropractor, how many units can a teacher teach per school year?
(a) 9.
(b) 5.
(c) 25.
(d) 14.

15. What ultimate fear does Codell express about Melanie?
(a) Melanie will likely have to repeat the fifth grade.
(b) Melanie may be expelled from the district after a hearing.
(c) Melanie may grow up to become a felon.
(d) Melanie will fail as a storyteller, and ruin the Storyteller Festival.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Codell's reading group method, what role does the "language lover" play?

2. In the Afterword, how does the chairman of the State Board of Education act when he visits a school?

3. Why is Codell impressed with her students when they have a field trip to the Historical Society?

4. What unusual request does Ms. Coil make of Codell?

5. Of her thirty-one students, how many graduate from middle school at the ceremony Codell witnesses?

(see the answer keys)

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