10th Grade ELA – Pre-test Assessment 3 Copy

Part A

What is the meaning of the word permissive as used in paragraph 4?

Part B

Which idea referred to in paragraph 4 provides the best context for determining the meaning of permissive?

A. The idea that the action of the school authorities might have been reasonable given the circumstances.
B. The idea that some fears and apprehensions are not tied to specific disturbances but to a more general sense of insecurity.
C. The idea that some people may be hesitant to express views that deviate from the views of the majority.
D. The idea that we live in a society in which an individual has a right to express ideas that some other people may find offensive.

Part A

Which sentence best states the central argument of the majority opinion?

A. Despite the fact that the black armbands caused a general disorder in the school, the student protest is nonetheless protected by the constitutional right of freedom of expression.
B. Because the students are not yet adults, their rights to the constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression are necessarily limited.
C. Because the wearing of the black armbands was not genuinely disruptive, the student protest is protected by the constitutional right of freedom of expression.
D. Although the school authorities feared how the student protest might affect their school, the right of students to protest is always guaranteed by the Constitution.

Part B

Which two quotations from the passage directly support the central argument of the majority opinion?

A. “The problem posed by the present case does not relate to regulation of the length of skirts or the type of clothing, to hair style, or deportment.”
B. “There is here no evidence whatever of petitioners’ interference, actual or nascent, with the schools’ work or of collision with the rights of other students to be secure and to be let alone.”
C. “. . . undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression.”
D. “. . . the action of the school authorities appears to have been based upon an urgent wish to avoid the controversy which might result from the expression. . . .”
E. “It is revealing, in this respect, that the meeting at which the school principals decided to issue the contested regulation was called in response to a student’s statement to the journalism teacher in one of the schools that he wanted to write an article on Vietnam and have it published in the school paper.”
F. “It is also relevant that the school authorities did not purport to prohibit the wearing of all symbols of political or controversial significance.”

Part A

How does the reference to Sparta in paragraph 11 help to advance the argument of the majority opinion as a whole?

A. It suggests the value of an alternative form of education.
B. It highlights the importance of familiarity with ancient history.
C. It illustrates the fact that children have always rebelled against authority.
D. It emphasizes the dangers in suppressing free thinking.

Part B

Which group of people mentioned in the majority opinion is comparable to the rulers of Sparta discussed in paragraph 11?

A. The students who obeyed the school’s request to refrain from wearing black armbands.
B. The students who made hostile remarks to those wearing the black armbands.
C. The school officials who enforced the ban on black armbands.
D. The Supreme Court justices who rejected the ban on black armbands.

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