In 1964 the United States Federal Government began attempts to eliminate Racial Discrimination in Employment and Wages

Reading Passage Question

In 1964 the United States federal government began attempts to eliminate racial discrimination in employment and wages: the United States Congress enacted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, prohibiting employers from making employment decisions on the basis of race. In 1965 President Johnson issued Executive Order 11,246, which prohibited discrimination by United States government contractors and emphasized direct monitoring of minority representation in contractors’ work forces.

Nonetheless, proponents of the “continuous change” hypothesis believe that United States federal law had a marginal impact on the economic progress made by black people in the United States between 1940 and 1975. Instead they emphasize slowly evolving historical forces, such as long-term trends in education that improved segregated schools for black students during the 1940s and were operative during and after the 1960s. They argue that as the quality of black schools improved relative to that of white schools, the earning potential of those attending black schools increased relative to the earning potential of those attending white schools.

However, there is no direct evidence linking increased quality of underfunded segregated black schools to these improvements in earning potential. In fact, even the evidence on relative schooling quality is ambiguous. Although in the mid-1940s term length at black schools was approaching that in white schools, the rapid growth in another important measure of school quality, school expenditures, may be explained by increases in teachers’ salaries, and historically, such increases have not necessarily increased school quality. Finally, black individuals in all age groups, even those who had been educated at segregated schools before the 1940s, experienced post-1960 increases in their earning potential. If improvements in the quality of schooling were an important determinant of increased returns, only those workers who could have benefited from enhanced school quality should have received higher returns. The relative improvement in the earning potential of educated black people of all age groups in the United States is more consistent with a decline in employment discrimination.

An additional problem for continuity theorists is how to explain the rapid acceleration of black economic progress in the United States after 1964. Education alone cannot account for the rate of change. Rather, the coincidence of increased United States government antidiscrimination pressure in the mid-1960s with the acceleration in the rate of black economic progress beginning in 1965 argues against the continuity theorists’ view. True, correlating federal intervention and the acceleration of black economic progress might be incorrect. One could argue that changing altitudes about employment discrimination sparked both the adoption of new federal policies and the rapid acceleration in black economic progress. Indeed, the shift in national attitude that made possible the enactment of Title VII was in part produced by the persistence of racial discrimination in the southern United States. However, the fact that the law had its greatest effect in the South, in spite of the vigorous resistance of many Southern leaders, suggests its importance for black economic progress.

“In 1964 the United States federal government began attempts to eliminate racial discrimination in employment and wages”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 6 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analysing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

Question 1
According to the passage, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act differs from Executive Order 11. 246 in that Title VII

(A) monitors employers to ensure minority representation
(B) assesses the work forces of government contractors
(C) eliminates discriminatory disparities in wages
(D) focuses on determining minority representation in government
(E) governs hiring practices in a wider variety of workplaces

Question 2
Which one of the following statements about schooling in the United States during the mid-1940s can be inferred from the passage?

(A) School expenditures decreased for white schools.
(B) The teachers in white schools had more time to cover material during a school year than did teachers in black schools.
(C) The basic curriculum of white schools was similar to the curriculum at black schools.
(D) White schools did not change substantially in quality.
(E) Although the salaries of teachers in black schools increased, they did not keep pace with the salaries of teachers in white schools.

Question 3
The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) explain why an argument about black economic progress is incomplete
(B) describe the impact of education on black economic progress
(C) refute an argument about the factors influencing black economic progress
(D) describe black economic progress before and after the 1960s
(E) clarify the current view about the factors influencing black economic progress

Question 4
Which one of the following best states the position of proponents of the “continuous change” hypothesis regarding the relationship between law and racial discrimination?

(A) Individuals cannot be forced by legal means to behave in nondiscriminatory ways.
(B) Discriminatory practices in education have been effectively altered by legal means.
(C) Legislation alone has had little effect on racially discriminatory behavior
(D) Legislation is necessary, but not sufficient, to achieve changes in racial altitudes.
(E) Legislation can only exacerbate conflicts about racially discriminatory behavior.

Question 5
The author concedes that “correlating federal intervention and the acceleration of black economic progress might be incorrect” (lines 58-60) primarily in order to

(A) strengthen the overall argument by anticipating an objection
(B) introduce another factor that may have influenced black economic progress
(C) concede a point to the continuity theorists
(D) change the overall argument in light of the views of the continuity theorists
(E) introduce a discussion about the impact of federal intervention on discrimination

Question 6
The “continuous change” hypothesis, as it is presented in the passage, can best be applied to which one of the following situations?

(A) Homes are found for many low-income families because the government funds a project to build subsidised housing in an economically depressed area.
(B) A depressed economy does not cause the closing of small businesses in a local community because the government provides special grants to aid these businesses.
(C) Unemployed people are able to obtain jobs because private contractors receive tax incentives for constructing office buildings in an area with a high unemployment rate.
(D) A housing shortage is remedied because the changing state of the economy permits private investors to finance construction in a depressed area.
(E) A community’s sanitation needs are met because neighbourhood organisations lobby aggressively for government assistance.

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