Lesson 4.1.1.4

4.1.1.4 Educational policy, selection and marketisation Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.1.1.4, Educational policy, selection and marketisation: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 1: Education with Theory and Methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. The 1944 Education Act in England and Wales established a tripartite system of secondary schooling. Which three types of school made up this system?

    • Grant-maintained schools, city technology colleges and independent schools
    • Grammar schools, secondary modern schools and technical schools
    • Comprehensive schools, academies and free schools
    • Primary schools, middle schools and sixth-form colleges

  2. What was the main aim of the move to comprehensive schools from the 1960s onwards in the UK?

    • To remove the national curriculum so that schools could set their own content and assessment
    • To privatise secondary education so that parents could choose schools competing for funding
    • To increase the number of selective grammar schools so that more pupils could take the 11-plus
    • To provide secondary education for all pupils in one school regardless of ability, to reduce selection and promote equality

  3. Which concept describes a policy that gives every pupil an equal chance of success by removing barriers, but does not guarantee equal results?

    • Marketisation, which uses competition and parental choice to raise standards across all schools
    • Privatisation, which transfers the ownership of schools from the state to private companies
    • Equality of outcome, which seeks to ensure that all groups achieve similar results in education
    • Equality of opportunity, which seeks to remove barriers so that all have a fair chance to compete

  4. Which change introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988 gave schools the power to opt out of local authority control?

    • The introduction of the 11-plus examination for all state pupils at the age of eleven
    • The creation of comprehensive schools, which admitted pupils of all abilities within their catchment areas
    • The creation of sixth-form colleges, which replaced school sixth forms in every local area
    • The creation of grant-maintained schools, funded directly by central government rather than local authorities

  5. Which policy is most associated with the introduction of academies in England from 2000 onwards?

    • Independent schools, sponsored by businesses or charities, with greater control over admissions and curriculum
    • Restoration of the tripartite system, with grammar schools reintroduced to replace comprehensives
    • Abolition of all selection in secondary schools so that pupils attend their local comprehensive
    • Compulsory transfer of all schools to local authority control to ensure consistent national standards

  6. Which statement best describes marketisation in education?

    • The introduction of a single national curriculum that prevents any choice of subjects by pupils
    • The provision of free school meals to all pupils from low-income families within a local authority area
    • The state takeover of all independent schools so that they are funded from general taxation
    • The application of market mechanisms, such as competition and parental choice, to the running of schools

  7. Which concept describes the transfer of state-run services, such as school buildings or support services, to private companies?

    • Privatisation, in which state-provided services are transferred to private providers
    • Selection, in which pupils are allocated to schools on the basis of their examination results
    • Tripartitism, in which pupils are divided between three different types of secondary school
    • Equality of opportunity, in which all pupils are given fair access to education by law

  8. Which argument is most often made by critics of league tables in education?

    • League tables prevent schools from selecting pupils, which removes the risk of creaming and skimming
    • League tables ensure that all pupils achieve equal results, since schools are compared on the same measures
    • League tables provide parents with accurate information about the quality of teaching in every individual classroom
    • League tables encourage schools to focus on pupils near the grade boundaries, neglecting others who are less likely to pass

  9. Which feature is characteristic of a grammar school within the tripartite system?

    • It admitted pupils of all abilities, with a broad curriculum that did not separate academic and vocational routes
    • It admitted pupils through parental choice alone, with no examination or assessment of ability at any point
    • It admitted pupils who passed the 11-plus, offering an academic curriculum designed to lead to university
    • It admitted pupils who had not passed the 11-plus, offering a practical curriculum focused on manual skills

  10. Which sociologist's work on education policy argued that marketisation and the new middle-class parental choice produced a 'new' form of inequality?

    • Stephen Ball, whose work on education markets showed how parental choice can reinforce existing social advantage
    • Talcott Parsons, whose work on the pattern variables argued that achievement replaces ascription in modern societies
    • Emile Durkheim, whose work on the division of labour argued that schools create organic solidarity
    • Max Weber, whose work on the Protestant ethic argued that economic success reflects moral merit

  11. Which policy would a New Right supporter most likely favour?

    • Expansion of comprehensive schools with the abolition of parental choice and any form of league tables
    • Introduction of greater school choice, competition between schools and autonomy for head teachers
    • Strengthening of the local authority role in running all schools, with central control over admissions
    • Abolition of the national curriculum so that schools can teach any subject with no assessment at all

  12. Which evaluation of selection in education is most consistent with sociological research?

    • Selection has no effect on the social mix of schools, because all pupils have equal access to the same resources
    • Selection can entrench social inequality, since early tests often reflect differences in social class and cultural capital
    • Selection removes all inequality from education, because pupils are placed according to their abilities alone
    • Selection by ability is always fair, because it places pupils according to their proven potential rather than background

  13. Which policy is most closely associated with the aim of achieving greater equality of outcome in education?

    • Expansion of the independent sector, in which fee-paying schools are funded to take in more pupils
    • Academy sponsorship, in which businesses gain greater control over the admissions of their schools
    • Open enrolment, in which all schools admit pupils purely on the basis of parental preference
    • Positive discrimination programmes, such as extra funding for schools in deprived areas

  14. Which example best illustrates the impact of globalisation on educational policy?

    • A government abolishing all examinations so that pupils can learn at their own pace without national assessment
    • A government adopting international benchmarking, such as the OECD's PISA tests, to compare its performance with other countries
    • A government banning foreign languages from the curriculum to focus on national history and traditions
    • A government restoring the 11-plus to reflect the traditional values of the local community in each area

  15. A government introduces a policy that allows parents to choose any state school, with funding following the pupil. Which sociological concept is most relevant?

    • Marketisation, because schools compete for pupils and funding is linked to enrolment
    • Tripartitism, because pupils are sorted into three types of school according to ability
    • Cultural relativism, because each school's values are judged only by standards within the school
    • Compensatory education, because extra resources are targeted at the most disadvantaged pupils

  16. Which argument best explains why privatisation of education may increase inequality?

    • Private provision is always regulated by the state in identical ways, so all pupils have the same access
    • Private provision removes the need for any examination, so pupils are no longer sorted by ability or background
    • Private providers always offer free education to all families, so access becomes universal and equal
    • Private provision may depend on the ability to pay, so families with fewer resources may be excluded from the best options

  17. Which term describes the process by which schools accept pupils who are likely to achieve high results and avoid those who might lower a school's league table position?

    • Streaming, in which pupils are placed in ability groups within a school for individual subjects
    • Setting, in which pupils are placed in ability groups within a school for each individual subject
    • Tracking, in which pupils are followed through their school careers by a personal tutor
    • Creaming, in which schools select pupils most likely to succeed, leaving others with fewer options

  18. Which statement best describes the effect of the 1988 Education Reform Act's national curriculum?

    • It introduced a separate curriculum for each school, with no common standards applying across the country
    • It set out a common framework of subjects and assessment for state-maintained schools in England and Wales
    • It ended all assessment of pupils below the age of sixteen, so that learning could be informal
    • It removed the requirement for schools to teach core subjects so that teachers could choose all content

  19. Which group is most likely to benefit from a system of parental choice in education, according to critics of marketisation?

    • Families with the knowledge, time and resources to research schools and manage transport and application processes
    • Families with no interest in education, who are happy to accept any school allocated to their children
    • Pupils in the most deprived areas, who are guaranteed a place in their preferred school by the market
    • Pupils with the greatest special educational needs, who are given first choice of school by statute

  20. Which evaluation of the view that selection is necessary for social mobility is most supported by sociological debate?

    • Selection has no possible effect on mobility, because all social classes are equally represented in every school
    • Selection is irrelevant to mobility, because only family income influences the careers that young people enter
    • Selection may not increase mobility overall, since advantages in early testing often reflect social background
    • Selection always increases mobility, because the most able pupils from every background are identified and rewarded

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