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How Big a Wonk Are You? Your Education Reform Pop Quiz!

By Anthony Cody — July 27, 2009 2 min read
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How closely have you been following education reform this year? Here is a pop quiz to see if you are on your toes and following the latest trends. The answers will appear in the first comment below. If you want to do some research, there is a link to the source in each question. After you take the quiz, please share any surprises, insights or ideas that came to you as a result. Better than 50% makes you an official EduWonk!

1. How many of the sixty individuals involved in writing education standards for the nation’s fifty million students are classroom teachers?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 7
d. 23

2. What technological advance is education leader Bill Gates excited about?

a. Educational computer games
b. Virtual teacher collaboration
c. Videotaped lectures
d. Online student portfolios

3. How do charter schools compare with public schools in their math scores?

a. 26% the same, 52% (of charters) better, 22% worse
b. 46% the same, 17% better, 37% worse
c. 74% the same, 20% better, 6% worse
d. 38% the same, 44% better, 18% worse

4. How much greater is the percent of charter school teachers who quit the profession compared to teachers in traditional schools in the same state?

a. 20% more
b. 40% more
c. 100% more
d. 230% more

5. The United States, with 5% of the world’s population, has what percent of the world’s prisoners behind bars?
a. 5%
b. 10%
c. 18%
d. 25%

6. What percent of the nation’s prisoners are Black or Hispanic?
a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 40%
d. 60%

7. Percent of the Bill and Melinda Gates’ Foundation three member Board of Directors that is of color:

a. 0%
b. 33%
c. 66%
d. 100%

8. Percent of Latino children that lack healthcare:

a. 5%
b. 12%
c. 20%
d. 32%

9. Percent of California K-12 students that are Latino:

a. 14%
b. 25%
c. 33%
d. 49%

10. Percent of California students that qualify for free/reduced lunches:

a. 12%
b. 22%
c. 31%
d. 50%

11. Ranking of California’s spending on education in 2008 (prior to recent cuts)

a. 22nd in the nation
b. 37th in the nation
c. 49th in the nation
d. 46th in the nation

12. Amount California spends per year to keep a juvenile inmate incarcerated:

a. $19,000
b. $27,000
c. $53,000
d. $115,000

13. Amount the State of California plans to cut from Education funding this fall to balance the budget without raising taxes (per k-12 student):

a. $1 billion ($165 per child)
b. $2 billion ($330 per child)
c. $4 billion ($660 per child)
d. $6 billion ($1000 per child)

14. Amount the state has already cut from education funding to balance the budget over the past two years:

a. $2 billion ($330 per child)
b. $4 billion ($660 per child)
c. $6 billion ($1,000 per child)
d. $12 billion ($2,000 per child)

15. Proportion of California schools expected to fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress according to NCLB goals in 2010:

a. 1/2
b. 1/3
c. 3/4
d. 1/4

The first “comment” below will contain a list of the correct answers.

Any surprises? Does this give you any new thoughts about education reform? Any further facts or figures we should be aware of?


(special thanks to Jim Horn at the Schools Matter blog for bringing many of these things to light.)

The opinions expressed in Living in Dialogue are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.