Agricultural Literacy 2011-2012
Installment #14
To be used with the article entitled
“Learning That Works” by Joe Klein of Time Magazine
Students can retrieve this article from
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2113794,00.html
Name: ______Date: ______Class Period: _____
“Learning That Works” by Joe Klein of Time Magazine
Agricultural Literacy
Directions: After reading the online article, determine the BEST answer for each of the following questions. Write the letter of the best answer in the blank provided.
1. _____ Which one of the following statements about Clyde McBride and Harry Martin is CORRECT?
A. As an English teacher, Martin understood the importance of vocational education from the start.
B. McBride promised Martin that state test scores would improve if the veterinary program was put in place.
C. Martin runs a small veterinary practice on weekends.
D. McBride’s persistence led to the veterinary program on the Navajo reservation.
2. _____ How have the agricultural and technical sciences programs affected test scores?
A. Students not in vocational programs outscore the students who are in vocational programs.
B. Students who are in vocational programs outscore the students who are not in vocational programs.
C. Over half of the non-vocational students now pass the state tests.
D. Poor test results have convinced Harry Martin that students need to be drilled in basic skills.
3. _____ Why, at one time, were vocational programs seen as a segregation issue?
A. In Northern cities, minority students were often placed in vocational programs.
B. In Northern cities, non-minority students were the only ones permitted to be in vocational programs.
C. Supposed “misfits” were placed in vocational programs.
D. In rural Southern schools, white students were place in vocational education programs.
4. _____ When vocation programs didn’t work well over 40 years ago, what was the reaction?
A. Educational leaders sought to increase funding for mechanics programs.
B. Educational leaders encouraged every student to go to a four-year liberal arts college.
C. Educational leaders tried to make vocational programs more common.
D. Parents demanded that more tax money be given to vocational education programs.
5. _____ According to the article, which of the following statistics is CORRECT?
A. About one half of high school graduates not in school are unemployed.
B. Of all the students who begin college, 60% graduate.
C. Less than one fourth of new job openings require a Bachelor of Arts degree.
D. Of all the students who begin a two year college, 40% graduate.
6. _____ The article says, “It’s not rocket science…It’s just finding something they like and teaching it with rigor. Rigor means
A. enthusiasm and energy B. strictness and difficulty C. creativity and flexibility
7. _____ Why would a student in Arizona consider a career in auto mechanics?
A. The state will waive the student’s school loans.
B. These students are more likely to graduate high school.
C. Mechanics can make over $100,000 per year and are in high demand.
D. Phoenix auto dealers provide these students with a car to drive while in college.
8. _____ Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a job in high demand in the United States?
A. welders B. auto mechanics C. video game designers D. glaziers (glass fitters)
9. _____ According to the article, which of the following statements is CORRECT?
A. Students at East Valley in Arizona are full time vocational students and no traditional classes are required.
B. Many students at East Valley were discouraged from enrolling in vocational classes by their local high school.
C. Most vocational students at East Valley plan to get a training certificate instead of going on to higher education.
D. Students at East Valley are required to give up extracurricular activities.
10. _____LITERATURE CONNECTION. A simile compares two different types of things and uses a comparison word such as like or as to make the comparison. Which of the following statements is NOT a simile?
A. Getting support for vocational programs is like walking in a hurricane. You know where you want to be going, but the winds keep pushing you off course.
B. McBride has a body like a giant sack of flour perched on tiny toothpick legs.
C. A world-class education for students is as important as good nutrition for a race horse.
D. Getting students to be involved in their own education is just a matter of finding something they like and teaching it with rigor.
11. _____ From the last paragraph of the article, a reader can infer that “soft skills” are
A. skills that do not depend on acquired information.
B. skills that are genetic, not learned.
C. skills that make a worker kind and easy-going in stressful situations.
D. feelings of happiness and satisfaction.
12. _____ Which of the following statements BEST summarizes the main idea of this article?
A. Although traditional ideas about education overlook the important of vocational education, today’s career and technical programs prepare students for higher education and the world of work.
B. Limited funding has made it impossible for most states to have high school veterinary programs like the one in Kayenta, Arizona.
C. Until the United States Department of Education studies employment statistics, career and technical programs will be outdated and will not influence students’ futures.
D. In spite of career and technical programs like the ones in Arizona, most high school students are better off getting a four-year liberal arts degree.
OPEN RESPONSE
Using information from the article, describe four specific ways individuals or groups have supported the career and technical education programs in Arizona.
KEY
1. D
2. B
3. A
4. B
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. C
9. B
10. D
11. A
12. A
OPEN RESPONSE RUBRIC
4pts. Using specific information from the article students describes four ways individuals or groups have supported the career and technical education programs in Arizona.
3pts. Using specific information from the article students describes three ways individuals or groups have supported the career and technical education programs in Arizona.
2pts. Using specific information from the article students describes two ways individuals or groups have supported the career and technical education programs in Arizona.
1pt. Using specific information from the article students describes one way individuals or groups have supported the career and technical education programs in Arizona.
POSSIBLE ANSWERS:
1.Clyde McBride bugged the superintendent of the Navajo reservation school until the superintendent agreed to support the agricultural sciences building.
2. Phoenix auto dealers donated 40 late model cars and auto equipment to East Valley.
3. Veterans Affairs gave 1.5 million dollars to run a program for surgical assistants.
4. State education superintendant John Huppenthal works to “sell” vocational education to state education establishments.
5. Veterinarians from around the country visit the reservation and work with 226 students in the vet program.