Chapter 6 Education in the United States
Exercises
I. Explain the following in English:
1. Elementary school
2. Boards of education
3. Higher education
4. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act
5. Affirmative action program
II. Fill in the blanks:
1. About____ percent of American students go to___ schools and ___ percent
attend private schools.
2. The Puritans introduced ____ education for all children and public taxation
for ___ in the 17th century.
3. The goal of education in the United States is to achieve universal
and provide individuals with ___and__ necessary to promote the welfare for
individuals and the general public.
4. Every state in America has its own laws abou__ and all states require young
people to ___. Thus,every child in America is guaranteed up to___years of
education.
5. Every year more than ____ million students graduate from secondary schools,
only about ____ million students go on for_____.
6. Public and private colleges depend on three sources of income:_____,
endowments and______.
7. Some colleges in America are small and others are large. A small one has fewer
than__ students, but a 1arge university has a total enrollment of ____ students.
8. After earning a certain number of credits (about 120) in four years of college,
the undergraduate student gets a____degree. The other two higher degrees are__ and_____.
9. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act promised to give financial aid to____
after the end of World War II.
10. Some of the programs to equalize educational opportunities for all groups were
called_______.
11. About 25% of all schools of higher education in America are privately
operated by_______.
12. The State University of New York had more than 60 _____in different parts
of the state.
13. By 1955, more than two million veterans of World War 11 and of the Korean
War had used their_______ to go to college, as they believed that a college would improve their chances for a good job in the postwar economy.
III. Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions:
1. Which of the following subjects are NOT offered to elementary school
students?
A. Mathematics and languages.
B. Politics and business education.
C. Science and social studies.
D. Music and physical education.
2. The expenditure in American public schools is guided or decided by_____
A. teachers
B. students
C. headmasters
D. boards of education
3. In the United States school systems, which of the following divisions is true?
A. Elementary school, grammar school.
B. Elementary school, junior high school.
C. Elementary school, secondary school.
D. Junior high school, senior high school.
4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in American higher education?
A. Universities and colleges
B. Research institutions
C. Technical institutions
D. Undergraduate institutions
5. Three of the following factors have contributed to the flourishing of large
universities in America, which is
exception?
A. Large universities offer the best libraries and facilities for scientific
research.
B. Large universities provide students with "mainframe" computers.
C. Large universities offer scholarships to all students.
D. Large universities attract students with modern laboratories.
6. Nearly all students want to get into more desirable institutions because_______.
A.they find it easy for them to get jobs after having graduated from one of them.
B they enjoy the high prestige of these institutions
C. they like the teachers and surroundings in these institutions
D. they prefer to have the Scholastic Aptitude Tests
7. In order to go to university, secondary school students must meet the following
requirements except that_______.
A. they have high school records and recommendations from their teachers
B. they make good impressions during the interviews
C. they get good scores in the Scholastic Aptitude Tests
D. they pass the college entrance examinations
8. Three of the following universities have large endowments from wealthy benefactors. Which is the exception?
A. Harvard University
B. the State University of New York
C. Yale University
D. Princeton University
9. Both public and private universities depend on the following sources of income
except______.
A. investment
B. student tuition
B. endowments D. government funding
10. To get a bachelor's degree, an undergraduate student is required to do the following except
A. attending lectures and complete assignments
B. passing examinations
C. taking certain subjects such as history, language and philosophy
D. earning a certain number of credits at the end of the four years at college
Questions for Thought
1. What is the goal of education in the United States? Discuss the similarities and differences in Great Britain, the United
States and China concerning the goals of education.
2. How did American education begin to develop?
3. What do you think some of the characteristics in education that are particularly American?
Chapter 6
I[. Explain the following:
1. elementary school:
In the United States, elementary school usually means grades kindergarten (k) through 8. But in some places, it includes only k-6. Many Americans refer to
elementary grades as "grammar school". Elementary schools teach mathematics, language, arts, social studies and some other subjects.
2. Boards of education:
Boards of education refer to groups of people who make policies for schools at the state and/or district level. They also make decisions about the school curriculum, teacher standards and certification, and the overall measurement of student progress.
3. higher education:
It refers to American education on the college level. American higher education includes four categories of institutions. They are the university, the four-year undergraduate institution( the college),the technical training institution and the two-year or community college. Some are supported by public funds and some by private funds. Many universities and colleges have won reputations for provi6imtheir students with a higher quality of education. The great majority are generally regarded as quite satisfactory. A few other institutions provide only adequate education.
4. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act:
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act was passed in 1944. It was soon popularly called the "GI Bill of Rights". GI was a nickname for the American soldier. The nickname came from the abbreviation for "Government Issue" - the uniforms and other articles "issued " to a soldier. The Act promised financial aid, including aid for higher education to members of the armed forces.
5. Affirmative action programs:
Affirmative action programs were first advocated by some colleges in the 1960s.
The purpose of the program was to equalize educational opportunities for all groups and to make up for past inequality by giving special reference to members of minorities seeking jobs or admission to college.
II. Fill in the blanks:
1. 85; public ; 15
2. compulsory; schools
3. literacy; the knowledge; skills
4. education; go to school; 13
5. three; one; higher education
6. student tuition; government funding
7. 100; 100 000
8. bachelor's; master's degree; doctor's degree 9 . members of the armed forces
10. affirmative action programs 11. religious organizations
12. campuses
13. GI Bill of Rights; degree
III. Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions:
1.B
2. D
3. C
4. B
5. C
6.A
7. D
8. B
9. A 10. C