AP U.S. Government and Politics · Past multiple choice · Question 9, Effective Fall 2014
A landmark education case
Recall the principle the Supreme Court set in a required case about public schools.
Lessons this question tests
1 Read the question
The question is College Board's: sample question 9 in AP Government and Politics: United States Course Description. It starts on page 18 of the PDF.
Open Question 9 (PDF, page 18)
2 Pick your answer
3 Check the explanation
Why the answer is D open once you have picked
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) held that racially segregated public schools violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court reasoned that separating children by race marks one group as inferior, so separate schools are inherently unequal even when buildings and teachers are equally good. Brown overturned the separate but equal doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) for public education.
Each choice
- A. Searches of students are a Fourth Amendment issue from a later case, not anything Brown decided.
- B. Compulsory schooling ages are set by state law. Brown dealt with segregation, not how long students must attend.
- C. Tax treatment of private school tuition is a question about aid to religious schools under the establishment clause, not Brown.
- D (correct). Brown held that segregating students by race violates equal protection even when the schools are otherwise equal.
- E. School prayer is an establishment clause matter, as in Engel v. Vitale. Picking this confuses one famous school case with another.
Question and answer key: College Board. The title and summary are ours, and so is the explanation.