EDFN 3301 FINAL EXAM 2026/2027 – STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE QUESTIONS,
EXAM REVIEW & TEST PREP
Thomas Jefferson stated that a nation could not be free if it was... - ANS ✔✔illiterate.
Using evidence from the Introduction section, why is it important for each student to learn to read and
critically think in the grander scheme of democratic participation? - ANS ✔✔It is important for
individuals in society to be literate and read critically in order to make informed decisions in society.
What is one of the main reasons it was illegal for an enslaved person to learn to read and write? - ANS
✔✔It was believed that if an enslaved person could read/write, he/she would be less obedient.
What is the major flaw in the 1980 Bureau of the Census report stating that 99.5% of the U.S. adults are
literate? - ANS ✔✔- The testing methods were flawed because they only asked them about their school
completion.
-It was an over-simplistic view of literacy.
- The level of the literacy is not apparent in the report.
(All of these answers are correct)
Which of the following tasks could be completed if you are "functionally literate" - ANS ✔✔-Putting
together a piece of IKEA furniture
-Finding the difference between the original price of a tv and the reduced price
-Addressing an envelope
(All of these answers are correct)
What is a flaw in using functional literacy as a goal for literacy in schools? - ANS ✔✔-It only measures to
the lowest level of competency to just basic reading skills and does not attend to the requirements of a
democratic life.
-Programs for success in these have deskilled the teaching of reading.
-Programs for functional literacy disproportionately affect students in low-SES and minority schools.
(all of these are correct)
Although the author states that it has not fully been figured out by theorists how to "learn how to read
the world critically," it is suggested by Freire to teach critical literacy through the pedagogy of... - ANS
✔✔dialogue and sharing experiences to better understand inequality and oppression.
The type of literacy that appears in most dictionaries, "the ability to read and write." The most simplistic
view of literacy. - ANS ✔✔Conventional literacy
A knowledge-based checklist of names, places, events, titles and other items that all people "should"
know. - ANS ✔✔Cultural literacy
The ability to understand power relations in society, how knowledge and power are interrelated, and to
think and act reflectively against the social relations of oppression. - ANS ✔✔Critical literacy
, The ability to understand written instructions necessary for completing a task - ANS ✔✔Functional
literacy
Ideological hegemony theory states that __________________ is/are promoted in schools. - ANS
✔✔compliance, not consent
It can be argued that schools strengthen cultural hegemony through - ANS ✔✔-the uncritical use of
popular textbooks.
-social stratification within the school structure.
-hierarchical distributions of power within schools.
(All of these are correct)
Completing a lab with prescribed directions of how to move through the lab to learn how chemicals
react. - ANS ✔✔Functional literacy
Aims to help citizens understand the history and culture - ANS ✔✔Cultural literacy
Aims to help citizens into the economic role - ANS ✔✔Functional literacy
Creating a timeline of the different atomic theorists that details the dates and changes made to our
society's understanding of an atom. - ANS ✔✔Cultural literacy
Researching credible news sources and then participating in a Socratic seminar about climate change
and its affects on marginalized people. - ANS ✔✔Critical literacy
Aims to help citizens criticize and change oppression - ANS ✔✔Critical literacy
The authors between contemporary literacy issues and Thomas Jefferson's ideas are to illustrate.. - ANS
✔✔the enduring significance of literacy in education for democratic life.
Literacy rates (whether in terms of conventional, functional, cultural, or critical literacy) can be
influenced by - ANS ✔✔-access to the means of acquiring literacy.
-social class.
-gender
(all of these are correct)
Critical literacy can be judged to be effective to the extent that it - ANS ✔✔equips people to effectively
question unequal power relations.
Perhaps surprisingly, President Eisenhower's evaluation of the "military-industrial complex" might imply
his concerns were related to - ANS ✔✔Hirsch's emphasis on culture.
The authors claim that "social differences in the meaning of literacy are crucial". An example of this
concept is how - ANS ✔✔the concept "literacy" may be used differently in different contexts to mean
very different things, from the ability to sign one's name to the ability to follow complex written
instructions.
EXAM REVIEW & TEST PREP
Thomas Jefferson stated that a nation could not be free if it was... - ANS ✔✔illiterate.
Using evidence from the Introduction section, why is it important for each student to learn to read and
critically think in the grander scheme of democratic participation? - ANS ✔✔It is important for
individuals in society to be literate and read critically in order to make informed decisions in society.
What is one of the main reasons it was illegal for an enslaved person to learn to read and write? - ANS
✔✔It was believed that if an enslaved person could read/write, he/she would be less obedient.
What is the major flaw in the 1980 Bureau of the Census report stating that 99.5% of the U.S. adults are
literate? - ANS ✔✔- The testing methods were flawed because they only asked them about their school
completion.
-It was an over-simplistic view of literacy.
- The level of the literacy is not apparent in the report.
(All of these answers are correct)
Which of the following tasks could be completed if you are "functionally literate" - ANS ✔✔-Putting
together a piece of IKEA furniture
-Finding the difference between the original price of a tv and the reduced price
-Addressing an envelope
(All of these answers are correct)
What is a flaw in using functional literacy as a goal for literacy in schools? - ANS ✔✔-It only measures to
the lowest level of competency to just basic reading skills and does not attend to the requirements of a
democratic life.
-Programs for success in these have deskilled the teaching of reading.
-Programs for functional literacy disproportionately affect students in low-SES and minority schools.
(all of these are correct)
Although the author states that it has not fully been figured out by theorists how to "learn how to read
the world critically," it is suggested by Freire to teach critical literacy through the pedagogy of... - ANS
✔✔dialogue and sharing experiences to better understand inequality and oppression.
The type of literacy that appears in most dictionaries, "the ability to read and write." The most simplistic
view of literacy. - ANS ✔✔Conventional literacy
A knowledge-based checklist of names, places, events, titles and other items that all people "should"
know. - ANS ✔✔Cultural literacy
The ability to understand power relations in society, how knowledge and power are interrelated, and to
think and act reflectively against the social relations of oppression. - ANS ✔✔Critical literacy
, The ability to understand written instructions necessary for completing a task - ANS ✔✔Functional
literacy
Ideological hegemony theory states that __________________ is/are promoted in schools. - ANS
✔✔compliance, not consent
It can be argued that schools strengthen cultural hegemony through - ANS ✔✔-the uncritical use of
popular textbooks.
-social stratification within the school structure.
-hierarchical distributions of power within schools.
(All of these are correct)
Completing a lab with prescribed directions of how to move through the lab to learn how chemicals
react. - ANS ✔✔Functional literacy
Aims to help citizens understand the history and culture - ANS ✔✔Cultural literacy
Aims to help citizens into the economic role - ANS ✔✔Functional literacy
Creating a timeline of the different atomic theorists that details the dates and changes made to our
society's understanding of an atom. - ANS ✔✔Cultural literacy
Researching credible news sources and then participating in a Socratic seminar about climate change
and its affects on marginalized people. - ANS ✔✔Critical literacy
Aims to help citizens criticize and change oppression - ANS ✔✔Critical literacy
The authors between contemporary literacy issues and Thomas Jefferson's ideas are to illustrate.. - ANS
✔✔the enduring significance of literacy in education for democratic life.
Literacy rates (whether in terms of conventional, functional, cultural, or critical literacy) can be
influenced by - ANS ✔✔-access to the means of acquiring literacy.
-social class.
-gender
(all of these are correct)
Critical literacy can be judged to be effective to the extent that it - ANS ✔✔equips people to effectively
question unequal power relations.
Perhaps surprisingly, President Eisenhower's evaluation of the "military-industrial complex" might imply
his concerns were related to - ANS ✔✔Hirsch's emphasis on culture.
The authors claim that "social differences in the meaning of literacy are crucial". An example of this
concept is how - ANS ✔✔the concept "literacy" may be used differently in different contexts to mean
very different things, from the ability to sign one's name to the ability to follow complex written
instructions.
