The growth mindset: reading answers and analysis
The idea that intelligence can be grown replaced the older view that it's fixed. Carol Dweck's praise experiment made 'growth mindset' hugely popular in schools, but test-obsessed systems undercut it, replication attempts come up empty, and heavy-handed interventions can backfire. The writer concludes it works better as a philosophy than a classroom programme: teach real skills and praise effort.
Questions 14-26 · 13 marks · 3 question blocks
Where the answers sit
The multiple choice (14-16) covers the first three paragraphs. The people matching (17-22) spans the passage, and Dweck is the answer twice. YES / NO / NOT GIVEN (23-26) covers the last four paragraphs.
Questions 14-16
The first paragraph dates the change from fixed to growable intelligence (19th century to early 20th). The second shows schools building students' belief in their own potential. The third says fixed-mindset students avoid tasks that might threaten their sense of worth, which means they won't push beyond what they think their limits are.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | B | — |
| 15 | C | — |
| 16 | D | — |
Questions 17-22
Binet represents the old fixed view. Gelman says the research designs were loose enough to support any theory. Bates finds null results, including on grades. Yeager and Walton want interventions delivered subtly. Dweck says her work has been misunderstood and that it isn't just about making children feel good.
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | C | — |
| 18 | B | — |
| 19 | A | — |
| 20 | E | — |
| 21 | B | — |
| 22 | D | — |
Questions 23-26
The writer praises how Dweck responded to criticism (YES). He says achievement affects self-perception more than the reverse, so the second statement is NO. The media is never mentioned. The final paragraph says direct attempts to instil the aspiration don't serve it well (YES).
| Question | Answer | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | YES | — |
| 24 | NO | — |
| 25 | NOT GIVEN | — |
| 26 | YES | — |
The questions most people get wrong
D. The fixed-mindset group took on only tasks that wouldn't risk their sense of worth. B (low self-esteem) sounds related, but the passage describes fear of failure, not low esteem.
NO. The effect of achievement on self-perception is stronger than the other way round, which is the reverse of the statement.
D (Bates). Kids with a growth mindset 'aren't getting better grades', so it has no effect on achievement. Gelman criticises method, not results.
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The full Cambridge 18 Test 4 reading paper: all three passages, 60 minutes, marked the second you finish with a review of every answer. Already done it? Take it again and see if the same traps still get you.
Cambridge IELTS 18, Test 4, Reading Passage 2. The passage name belongs to Cambridge University Press. No passage text or question wording is reproduced on this page. The answers are published for self-marking, and the analysis is our own.