Final Exam Flashcards
Grade inflation findings
findings in 2020 based on an analysis of colleges that collectively enroll about 1 million students, with a wide range of competitiveness in admissions represented among the institutions (IV league schools, mid majors etc.)
What are the key findings from the grade inflation study?
-GPA’s in 4 year colleges are rising at the rate of 0.1 points per decade and have been doing so for the past 30 years
-“A” grades are by far the most common grade (MODEL GRADE) on both 4 year and 2 year college campuses (more than 42% of grades are A’s across the country)
-At 4 year schools, awarding of A grades has been going up 5-6% points per decade and A grades are now 3 times more common than they were in 1960
-in the recent years, the percentage of D and F grades at 4 year colleges has been stable and the increase in A grades is not associated with the D and F grades, the increase is associated with fewer B and C grades
-Community college grades appear to have peaked
what was the graduation rate for community colleges and 4 year colleges?
CC -18%
4YR - a little over 50%
What is the difference between the official curriculum and the hidden curriculum?
Official curriculum is what is expressly offered in an educational program. (what is learned in a classroom
Hidden curriculum is the most important and is things you learn outside of the classroom, including learning time management, money management, how to interact with other cultures (asian culture with clock example, symbol of death), independence, self-confidence, and learning how to handle adversity
What does the argument against education “Education is a credentialing mechanism” say?
-Diplomas may become more important than classroom content
-Credentials may reinforce social structure
What is cultural capital?
it is the advantages that well-to-do parents (upper socio-economic class) usually provide their children due to schools being contested spaces and cultural capital may help some groups get entrance into primary and secondary schools and colleges - that are not as available to other groups
What was James Colemans 1966 study of between school effects in American education?
It was the result of the civil rights act of 1964, required the commissioner of education to prepare a report on educational inequalities coming from differences in ethnic background, religion and national origin. James Coleman was the appointed director of the research program
What was the population of Colemans study?
500,000 students, 60,000 teachers in 4,000 schools
What did Coleman find in his study?
The outcome was a study based on one of the most extensive research projects ever carried out in sociology
He found that:
-there are still highly segregated schools
-schools were more similar than expected in terms of resources
-a gap in standardized achievement tests by race
achievement depends on condition of home, neighborhood, and peer environment
what is IQ?
it is a score attained on tests of symbolic and/or reasoning abilities
it is a score derived from a collection of tests which rank academic achievement within a certain age group
What is intelligence?
it is the level of intellectual ability, particularly as measured by IQ (intelligence quotient) tests
What is considered to be “average” intelligence?
A IQ score of 100
What is the Mensa Club?
its a club open to individuals who have attained a scored within the top 2% of the general population of an approved intelligence test that has been properly administered and supervised
-there is no other qualifications or disqualifications for initial membership eligibility
What are the alternative measurements of intelligence that were NOT covered by the IQ tests?
Emotional intelligence, or the ability to identify, assess and control one’s emotions have been considered equally as important
Creativity and Practical intelligence, otherwise known as “street smarts”
what is tracking?
it is diving students into groups that receive different instruction on the basis os assumed similarities in ability or attainment (NOT always explicit)
What is the Labeling theory in this chapter?
Tracking is a form of labeling, which may lead to self-fulfilling prophecy
Why is there an achievement gap?
what are the 4 reasons behind it?
because there is a disparity on a number of educational measures (such as, standardized tests and high school graduation rates) between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status
- Over and over again it seems like your zip code matters
the class-based achievement gap is 30-40% larger in 2017 than it was for children born in the 1970’s
the class-based gap in 2017 is nearly 2 times as larger as the black-white achievement gap
4 reasons growing achievement and sockionomic gap:
1.Middle class parents tend to invest more heavily in their children cognitive development
2.The income gap is widening
- Co-residential married parents may have more time to engage in their children in reading and writing
4.Wealthier families can afford homes in safer neighborhoods with better schools
what is the gender gap in this chapter?
it is the difference between women and men, especially as reflected in social, political, intellectual, cultural, or economic attainments or attitudes
-girls are more likely than boys to attend a 4 year college immediately following up high school graduation, and this gap is particularly announced among African Americans
-e.g, in 2015 (or 2017), 46% (or 50.3%) of girls who completed high school enrolled in a 4 year school compared to 42% (or 37.2%) of boys
Since the mid 1990’s a higher amount of women than men have have graduated from 4 year colleges each year (todays gender gap places girls ahead of boys in terms of intelligence since they are doing better in schools today
What is information poverty?
when people have little or no access to information technology, like computers. these individuals are known as “the information poor”
Chapter 17
What is religion?
it is a set of beliefs adhered (followed) by the members of a community, incorporating symbols regarded with a sense awe or wonder together with ritual practices
-it is a form of culture
-it is a social institution
-its an example of social stratification
-its an example of in vs. out groups
-it is a cultural universal
What are some general categories of where we spoke about religion before?
Theism
- A belief in god
-Monotheism: belief in 1 god
-Polytheism is belief in more than 1 god
Social Solidarity
- Study of suicide
Sociologists who study religion…
- are especially concerned with the social organization of religion
- are not concerned with whether religious beliefs are true or false
- have often viewed religion as a major source of social solidarity in that they offer believers common norms and values (what holds people together)
-find that if a societies members adhere to competing religions, religious differences may lead to destabilizing social conflicts (what drives people apart)
-explain the appeal of religion in terms of social forces rather than personal, spiritual or psychological factors
what were the 3 stages in which Aguste Comte seen societal development developing in?
- Theological: human beings rely on supernatural agencies to explain what they can’t ( Least rational and scientific stage)
- Metaphysical: human beings attribute effects to abstract ideas but poorly understood the causes
- Positive: human understanding is based on scientific observation, evidence, and rational inquiry (leads to progress and social harmony and is the most rational and scientific stage)
what did Karl Marx think about religion?
He believed:
-religion is them “opium of the people” (serves as a drug)
-it numbs people to the truth about society
-it gives people hope in their hopeless lives
-the powerful (bourgeoisie) use religion to press the working class (proletariat)
is marxism a religion?
People who followed Marx seen it as one although Marx did not
What were the functions of religion according to Emile Durkheim
Social Solidarity (Study of Suicide)
- the more communally religious, the less likely a person is to commit suicide
Social Control
- religion defines norms, values, and specific boundaries
-religion influences behavior
-religion is one of the social institutions
Emotional Support
-support in terms of crisis
-its a reference point for answers and the meaning of life
Profane (comes from the word profanity)
-something that belongs to mundane, everyday world
Scared
-something that inspires attitudes of awe or reverence among believers in a given set of religious ideas
What did Max Weber believe about religion?
He believed Protestantism supports capitalism
-he argued that the religious ideas of groups such as the Calvinists played a role in creating the capitalistic spirit
