View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How low does Kozol report you can purchase a home for in North Camden?

2. What does the Wall Street Journal say has remained static while per-pupil spending has increased?

3. What business entities exist in Camden but do not pay taxes?

4. What does the principal at PS79 say he will have to do if more students enroll at his school?

5. According to Kozol, what is the estimated worth of the education a child receives in the suburbs of New York?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are test scores in math and reading determined? How do the determination of these scores affect children in poor schools?

2. How does the judge respond to the class-action suit filed by the parent's of Raymond Abbot?

3. Who is Joe Clark? What role did he play in the New Jersey public school system?

4. How does the court ultimately rule in the class-action suit filed in 1981 by parents of school children in East Orange, Camden, Irvington, and Jersey City? What is the reaction of wealthier tax payers?

5. How does Kozol describe the two worlds of Washington, D.C.?

6. How do the children attending public schools in the suburbs of New York that Kozol interviews feel about sharing funding and resources with children at urban public schools?

7. How does Kozol describe the situation at Asbury Park and Irvington?

8. Why would the students at Woodrow Wilson High want to remain there rather than attending a school with better resources?

9. What similarity exist between selective schools in New York and Chicago?

10. Where does Delabian Rice-Thurston say the rich and middle class in Washington, D.C. try to send their children to school? Why don't the poor parents send their children to the same schools?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kozol refers to many major media outlets for information about public education in the urban cities. What role does the media (e.g., newspapers, magazines, TV) play in spreading information about the public school system? What information does Kozol use from the media? How does Kozol use information from the media to discuss the public school system? Please use specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Jonathan Kozol says that he wrote Savage Inequalities so that the voices of the children that attend public schools in America could be heard. In your opinion, what audience did Kozol want to read this book? Who was his target audience? Did he write his book for teachers, administrators, state leaders, government officials, etc? Why do you think he wrote the book for the audience that you have identified? Please use specific examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Kozol get mad at business leaders who have the capability to assist poor urban public schools? What do business leaders do to contribute to the systematic problems that exist in the public school system? How do legislators contribute to the problems that exist in the public school system? Please use specific examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,322 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample