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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Rodriguez aware of when he visits his rich friends?
(a) There are dark-skinned servants, but he is a friend, not a servant.
(b) His friends talk about skin color differently than his family does.
(c) His friends are fascinated by his skin color.
(d) His friends treat him differently because of his skin color.

2. As an adult, what do people think his complexion says about him?
(a) That he is unhealthy.
(b) That he spends a lot of time indoors.
(c) That he is poor and works in the sun all day.
(d) That he is rich and lives a life of luxury.

3. What is Rodriguez's complexion like?
(a) He is dark-skinned.
(b) He looks like a white boy.
(c) He is light-skinned.
(d) He has bad acne.

4. Where did Rodriguez teach in the 1960s and 1970s?
(a) Harvard.
(b) UCLA.
(c) UC Berkeley.
(d) Stanford.

5. What happens at the swimming pool to make Rodriguez aware of his skin color?
(a) A pretty girl laughs at him.
(b) He realizes everyone else in the pool is light-skinned.
(c) A group of boys makes fun of him.
(d) His mother tells him to cover up.

6. What is one thing that Rodriguez says happened to black students promoted through affirmative action?
(a) Some of them failed because they did not have a strong educational background.
(b) They succeeded beyond anyone's expectations.
(c) They were a great example for future generations of black students.
(d) They did not do any better than students who "earned" their way in.

7. How does Rodriguez say that the white students react to affirmative action?
(a) They complain about it.
(b) They are sympathetic to it.
(c) They blame him for it.
(d) They protest against it.

8. According to Rodriguez, what did some sympathetic professors do for black students who were struggling?
(a) They helped the students cheat on tests.
(b) They tutored them outside of class.
(c) They gave the students passing grades they had not earned.
(d) They helped the students with their homework.

9. Now that he is a teacher, what does Rodriguez blame white students for?
(a) They think they are smarter than the professors.
(b) They do not make an effort to help poor white students get an education.
(c) They are rude to the minority students.
(d) They are arrogant and selfish about their grades.

10. How does Rodriguez's sister feel about her children's complexions?
(a) She is relieved when they are light-skinned.
(b) She is relieved when they are dark-skinned.
(c) She wants them to take care of their skin so they are more attractive.
(d) She is disappointed that they do not look more like her.

11. What does Rodriguez think about how the meaning of a person's complexion has changed?
(a) His dark skin used to be unpopular, but now is popular.
(b) People used to ignore his complexion, but now they make a big deal about it.
(c) Nobody pays any attention to complexion any more.
(d) His dark skin used to be popular, but now is unpopular.

12. When he is a child, what do people say about Rodriguez's complexion?
(a) They tell him he is handsome.
(b) They tell him to see a doctor to get help.
(c) They tease him.
(d) They joke with him about how light his skin is.

13. What example does Rodriguez offer of a program that can help minority students?
(a) Students who took a remedial reading course.
(b) Students he knew in graduate school who went for extra tutoring.
(c) Students who went to college for five years instead of four.
(d) His own experience: a strong educational background.

14. According to Rodriguez, who does affirmative action help?
(a) White students who want an excuse for not getting into school.
(b) White college professors who feel guilty about the Civil Rights Movement.
(c) All minority students.
(d) Minority students who already have some advantages.

15. What does Rodriguez's editor say about his idea for a book?
(a) Writing it will be a lonely experience.
(b) It could be a best-seller.
(c) It is not an interesting idea.
(d) He will upset a lot of people.

Short Answer Questions

1. At what stage in their academic career does Rodriguez believe students need help?

2. What term does Rodriguez's mother ask him to explain?

3. How does Rodriguez feel about writing a book on his family?

4. When he was a child, what did his parents say he looked like?

5. How does Rodriguez's sister's friend challenge his ideas about complexion?

(see the answer keys)

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