EDUC 142 Final Exam.
Spring 2021
Please take some time and carefully read and think about these questions and what they are inviting you
to respond to. The essay questions have been put together with great care to afford you the opportunity to
explore particular areas of US education history.
If you use external research, please ensure that you acknowledge that research in your response. It is not
necessary to use a formal citation style, simply use a parenthetical acknowledgement – for example:
(Goodridge, P. 123.)
Your responses are due to be uploaded to Canvas by midnight on June 4th.
Short Answer Questions (12 Points)
Please answer 3 of the following questions; each question is worth 4 points. Point form is fine as long as
you satisfy the question.
1. Identify and explain three prominent issues that A Nation at Risk Addressed.
2. Please explain three ways that the Cold War affected Education policy.
3. Please identify three ways that the era of community control resembles the charter school
movement.
4. By 1980 there were three features of federal education funding that became apparent, please
identify them.
5. What was the NDEA and how is it related to the 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite, Sputnik?
6. Please identify and explain 4 traits that define -or should- define the legacy of Horace Mann
Essay: (25 Points)
Please respond to one of the following in a well-developed, 3 to 4 double spaced page, font 12 essay
1. “In a variety of ways, A Nation at Risk was responsible for the emergence of the charter school
movement.” Please critically assess the validity of this statement.
2. How has the Brown decision shaped and influenced public education in the United States?
3. The Cold War proved to be a force in changing the face of American Education; please critically
assess the ways that the Cold War affected public Education.
4. In the wake of the Brown decision, Goldstein (chapter 6) notes that the African American scholar,
W.E.B Du Bois rejoiced that “Another battle of the Civil War has been won.” Combining
Goldstein’s critique of Brown with what we have discussed in class, defend or refute the
following statement: “The Brown decision remains a major victory for educational equity in the
United States.”
5. “There is a philosophical link between the agenda of the Redeemers, during Reconstruction, and
the inability of education policy to deliver on the Promise of the Brown decision”: Please
critically discuss this statement.
6. In Chapter 1, Goldstein makes the point that “The US Constitution did not mention education as a
ight (it still doesn’t)…” Based on the lessons drawn from our historical exploration of American
education, defend or refute the proposition that it is time that the United States created a
Constitutional Amendment to explicitly make education an equitable, and fundamental right for
all.