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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Kozol say is the biggest employer in East St. Louis?
(a) Drug trade.
(b) Prostitution.
(c) Public education.
(d) Pfizer Chemical Co.

2. How does the Post-Dispatch describe East St. Louis, Illinois?
(a) America's Soweto.
(b) America's Somalia.
(c) America's Cuba.
(d) America's Bosnia.

3. What happened to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home in Lawndale after he moved?
(a) It was declared a historical site.
(b) It was renovated by the new owner.
(c) It was bulldozed.
(d) It was sold to the city government.

4. According to Kozol, why is eighth-grade graduation highly celebrated in North Lawndale?
(a) Because there is no high school prom in North Lawndale.
(b) Because parents put as much emphasis on eighth grade as they do on the twelfth grade .
(c) Because most students drop out in the ninth grade.
(d) Because many of the students will not graduate from high school.

5. How much money does Irl Soloman earn at East St. Louis High each year after teaching for nearly 30 years?
(a) $32,000.
(b) $38,000.
(c) $34,000.
(d) $36,000.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Kozol think the most enthusiastic and skilled teachers will not be attracted to urban schools, like Mary McLeod Bethune Schools?

2. Approximately how many neighborhoods did Kozol visit?

3. What are the two sources of lead in East St. Louis named in the Life on the Mississippi chapter?

4. In what year did Kozol set off to visit schools and speak with children about education in urban areas?

5. In the chapter entitled "Life on the Mississippi," what office is described as the largest office in Illinois?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Kozol describe the township of Sauget?

2. What does the media, parents, and teachers think the issue is with public education?

3. How does the pre-desegregation of schools compare to the post-desegregation?

4. Compare Baldwin's experience teaching in the urban school district in Boston and the suburban school district west of Boston.

5. How does Kozol describe the neighborhoods in which the urban schools he visited were located?

6. How the suburban public schools funded compared to the urban public schools?

7. Why, in most cities, do the influential people that Kozol meets show little inclination to address the segregation in the pubic school system?

8. Why is employment limited in East St. Louis?

9. What problem exists at Lathrop Elementary School, and what is the source of this problem?

10. Compare the two court decisions, Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson.

(see the answer keys)

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