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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A Head Start teacher earns half as much annually as what?
(a) A public school teacher.
(b) A McDonald's server.
(c) A trash collector.
(d) A timber cutter.

2. Which ethnicity generally tests better than whites in the ECLS?
(a) Blacks.
(b) Arab-Americans.
(c) Asians.
(d) Hispanics.

3. Which of the following is not among the universities listed as names chosen by parents in California in the 1990s?
(a) Stanford.
(b) Yale.
(c) Princeton.
(d) Harvard.

4. What does Levitt credit with the rise of distinctly black names in the twentieth century?
(a) The Voting Rights Act.
(b) The rise of hip hop.
(c) The Black Power movement.
(d) The northern migration.

5. According to child-mortality statistics, what is ten times more dangerous than a gun?
(a) A television set.
(b) A squirt gun.
(c) A plastic bag.
(d) A swimming pool.

6. Judith Rich Harris claims in her book, THE NURTURE ASSUMPTION, that parental influence is generally overwhelmed by what?
(a) Peer pressure.
(b) Some unknown guiding instinct.
(c) Teachers.
(d) Popular culture.

7. According to the authors, what must one balance to reach a new perspective?
(a) Hope and fear.
(b) Intelligence and intuition.
(c) Ego and uncertainty.
(d) Skepticism and faith.

8. Which of the following is not an action the authors regularly recommend in order to reach unexpected conclusions?
(a) Move to a major city.
(b) Examine incentives.
(c) Remain objective.
(d) Ask many questions.

9. In what country is every adult male issued a gun by the government to keep at home?
(a) South Africa.
(b) Uzbekhistan.
(c) Switzerland.
(d) Singapore.

10. As of 2004, roughly how many fetuses have been aborted in America?
(a) 46 million.
(b) 12 million.
(c) 37 million.
(d) 72 million.

11. Where does most of the data regarding children's names come from?
(a) California.
(b) Texas.
(c) Illinois.
(d) New York.

12. Which is a Hebrew name that the authors suggest may catch on en masse in the years to come?
(a) Oona.
(b) Zev.
(c) Zofia.
(d) Aviva.

13. On what religious holiday were the dictator of Romania and his wife executed?
(a) Easter.
(b) All Saint's Day.
(c) St. Valentine's Day.
(d) Christmas.

14. Which of the following factors is revealed not to have a correlative effect on a child's school performance?
(a) The child has many books in his home.
(b) The child's parents have a high socioeconomic status.
(c) The child's parents speak English at home.
(d) The child is regularly spanked.

15. To what technology do the authors compare the system they use for determining regression analysis?
(a) A switchboard.
(b) An assembly line.
(c) A graphing calculator.
(d) A computer spreadsheet.

Short Answer Questions

1. In a per-hour study of likelihood of dying in a plane versus a car crash, how do they compare?

2. In the authors' hypothetical comparison of two boys' lives, where does the poor black boy grow up?

3. What often catalyzes a big-city mayor's decision to hire more police?

4. According to a quoted study in FREAKONOMICS, by what percentage is an aborted child more likely to have grown up in poverty than one that is born?

5. What final factor do the authors say affects the way a child develops?

(see the answer keys)

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