Interest groups and how public policy is made

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D on the size of a political unit. Card A, "Extend the sphere" (Federalist No. 10 (James Madison, 1787; text of the Library of Congress guide and the Avalon Project, Yale, read Nov 14, 2026; exact)): "Extend the sphere, and you take in a greater variety of parties and interests; you make it less probable that a majority of the whole will have a common motive to invade the rights of other citizens;" Card B, "Two places" (invented, for practice): In the town of Alder, the Alder Merchants include 70 percent of households. In the state of Marlow, the largest group, the Marlow Farm Bureau, includes 12 percent of households, and 40 other organized groups exist. Card C, "Two readings" (invented, for practice): Reading 1: a larger unit makes it less likely that one interest controls the outcome. Reading 2: a larger unit also makes it harder for a small group with a real complaint to be heard. Card D, "An idea" (summary in our words, not a quotation): Some political scientists note that a group with few members, each with a large stake, often organizes more easily than a large group.

2. 1.

   Ari sets Card B beside Card A. How do the numbers relate to Madison's claim?

   • They show Marlow's groups are weaker, since the largest one has 12 percent of households
   • They establish it: any large unit protects other citizens' rights from each majority faction
   • They illustrate it: the larger unit has no group near a majority, but two places are no proof
   • They contradict it: Alder's single group shows a small unit protects rights better
3. 2.

   Marlow merges with its neighbor Brook, doubling its households and adding 20 groups, and the largest group falls to 9 percent. Bo uses Card A. What follows?

   • Nothing changes, since Card A concerns the size of a group rather than the size of a unit
   • Rights are now secure, since no group holds more than 9 percent of households
   • A majority's common motive becomes less probable; the cards do not say if small groups are heard
   • A majority faction is now more probable, since doubling households adds more people with shared interests
4. 3.

   Esme reads this claim: 'Marlow's largest group has only 12 percent of households, so no group there can dominate policy.' What is the strongest objection?

   • The objection is that 12 percent of households is too large a share to be called small
   • Alder has a group with 70 percent of households, which shows Marlow must have one too
   • Share is not influence: Card D says a big stake helps a small group organize
   • Large units favor small groups, so the largest group in Marlow must be weak
5. 4.

   Jun reads Madison's sentence: a larger sphere makes a common motive among a majority less probable. What does it assume?

   • That each person in a larger sphere shares one interest with the neighbors among whom the person lives
   • That each group in the sphere has about the same number of members as the others
   • That no group in a larger sphere can influence government, whatever its stake
   • That more territory brings new kinds of interests, not just more people with one interest

6. Use this

   Cards A to C on a policy over time. Card A, "The policy cycle" (summary in our words, not a quotation): The stages are agenda setting, drafting options, adoption by a vote, implementation, and evaluation. Card B, "A later start in Alder" (invented, for practice): Citizens for a Later School Start get the Alder school board to put start times on its agenda. A committee drafts three options. The board votes 4 to 3 to start 45 minutes later next fall. The district changes bus routes and bells, and one route has a driver shortage. After a year the district reports that first-period tardies fell from 14 a day to 9 a day across its six schools. A new attendance app launched in the same year. Card C, "Two readings" (invented, for practice): Reading 1, from the parent group: the later start cut tardiness. Reading 2, from a board member: the new attendance app did.

7. 5.

   Luz wants to separate the two readings in Card C. Which added evidence would help most?

   • The district's own report again, since it already gives the drop from 14 to 9 a day
   • The 4 to 3 board vote, since a close vote shows the later start was weak
   • Tardy counts at schools with one of the two changes, or before and after each
   • A count of how many parents attended the board meetings before the vote was held
8. 6.

   Milo reads this claim: 'The parent group's agenda win shows it swung the 4 to 3 vote.' What is the strongest objection?

   • The parent group had no influence, since agenda setting does not count as a stage
   • A 4 to 3 vote is too close to have been influenced by any group, whatever it did
   • Agenda setting is a first stage; the cards do not show who changed a vote
   • The bus-driver shortage in Card B shows the policy was poorly planned

9. Use this

   Cards A to C on friends of the court. Card A, "Amicus briefs" (summary in our words, not a quotation): A friend-of-the-court brief is filed by someone who is not a party to the case. It offers information or arguments the judges may use. The judges decide whether to read it, and it does not make its author a party. Card B, "Brook v. Alder Transit" (invented, for practice): The court received 14 amicus briefs supporting Alder Transit and 3 supporting the riders. The court ruled for the riders. Card C, "Two readings" (invented, for practice): Reading 1: amicus briefs do not affect outcomes. Reading 2: the 3 briefs for the riders gave the court information it needed.

10. 7.

    Pia reads Cards A to C. What do the briefs and the ruling show about influence?

    • The court read the 14 briefs alone, since Card A says judges decide whether to read them
    • The briefs had no effect on the ruling, since the side with 14 briefs lost the case
    • The briefs worked, since the riders had friends of the court and the riders won the case
    • In one case fewer briefs won, so the count did not decide it; briefs may still help
11. 8.

    An association wants to be heard in a case in which it is not a party. Ren reads Card A. What can it do?

    • Join as a party by filing a brief, which makes it one of the two sides in the case
    • Require the judges to read its brief, since it offers information they might use
    • File a friend-of-the-court brief; the judges may read it, and the filer is not a party
    • Give testimony at the trial, since an amicus brief is a spoken statement to the judges
12. 9.

    Tala reads this claim: 'The 14 briefs lost, so amicus briefs are useless.' What is the strongest objection?

    • The claim is wrong, since Alder Transit was a party to the case and briefs come from others
    • The claim is wrong, since the 3 briefs for the riders show each brief matters
    • One case cannot show briefs are useless; they may inform judges on other points
    • The claim is right, since Card B shows the side with more briefs lost the case
13. 10.

    Zee reads this claim: 'Fourteen briefs against three means Alder Transit had stronger support.' What does the claim assume?

    • That the three briefs for the riders were not read by the judges
    • That the court read each brief on both sides before it ruled
    • That Alder Transit paid for each of the briefs filed on its side
    • That every brief carries about the same weight as any other