Unit 1 Exam - Study Guide

What does Gladwell mean by the phrase “lowest-common-denominator television?”

• Television involving math

• Television that appeals to the most people possible who can understand it

• Game show television

• Television that appeals to a more educated audience

The article states that the top 10 percent of people’s I.Q. test scores from 1920 would place them where they are today?

• In the middle

• In the bottom third

• In the top third

• In the top ten percent

Which curious fact did James Flynn uncover about Americans as measured by I.Q. tests?

• American intelligence is decreasing, against conventional wisdom

• American’s I.Q scores remained constant

• Americans were getting smarter, but the scoring system concealed this

• Americans I.Q. scores were going down relative to past generations

According to Flynn’s findings, how much did I.Q. scores rise by per decade?

• About 1 point

• About 3 points, as stated in the text.

• Reduced economic progress and government intervention.

• Lack of access to popular culture and increased isolation.

Identify two potential factors mentioned in the text that could explain the increase in I.Q. scores over time.

• Decreased access to education and less interest in I.Q. tests.

• Economic progress and better education

• Reduced economic progress and government intervention

• Lack of access to popular culture and increased individualism

Explain why the author refers to “the middle part of the curve” and how this group has been affected by the increase in I.Q. scores.

• It refers to the top-performing students who were affected positively.

• It represents the lowest performing group of students who showed some improvement.

• It signifies those in the middle range of I.Q. scores, who also increased.

• It refers to those who boycotted I.Q. tests.

Why does the author find Johnson’s proposal about popular culture intriguing or noteworthy?

• Because it supports what people would believe to be true about intelligence.

• The author is not interested in Johnson’s proposal.

• Because it challenges what people believe about intelligence.

• Because it is irrelevant to the text’s topic.

What does the word “deteriorating” most likely mean, as it is used in the line - “ the people who have supposedly been suffering from a deteriorating public-school system”?

• Decline

• Improvement

• Stability

• Growth

What is the main idea of the text?

• The decline of I.Q. tests.

• The impact of education on intelligence.

• The role of popular culture in raising people’s intelligence.

• The role of popular culture in lowering people’s intelligence.

Which line from the text best supports your answer to number 9?

• Twenty years ago, a political philosopher named James Flynn uncovered a curious fact.

• Steven Johnson proposes that what is making us smarter is precisely what we thought was making us dumber: popular culture.

• What’s more, the increases have not been confined to children who go to enriched day-care centers and private schools.

• But, even as that wave of change has subsided, test scores have continued to rise - not just in America but all over the developed world.