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.
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.
Multiple choice
Questions 14-16
How to attack this block: 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 14
Answer: BParagraph 1, third and fourth sentences
What does the first paragraph tell us?
Alfred Binet… was one of many 19th-century scientists who held that earlier view… Then, in the early 20th century, progressive thinkers revolted against the notion that inherent ability is destiny.
Question says → Passage says
when19th-century / in the early 20th century
ideas about the nature of intelligence began to shiftThe concept of intelligence as something innate has been supplanted / revolted against the notion that inherent ability is destiny
Why: The paragraph places the change in time: the fixed view held by 19th-century scientists like Binet, then the revolt against it in the early 20th century. That answers 'when' the ideas began to shift: B.
The trap: D is the strongest distractor, because the paragraph does describe thinkers turning away from fixed intelligence. But it never says why they did; it just says they did. A is wrong because Binet held the innate view, he didn't start it.
Question 15
Answer: CParagraph 2, third and fourth sentences
What do schools encourage students to do, according to the second paragraph?
coaxing students away from seeing failure as an indication of their ability, and towards seeing it as a chance to improve that ability
Question says → Passage says
schools encourage students toA major focus of the growth mindset in schools is coaxing students
have confidence in their potential to succeedgreat sporting heroes who simply believed their way to the top / smart is something that you can get
Why: The posters, the sporting heroes who 'believed their way to the top' and the coaxing to see failure as a chance to improve all aim at the same thing: believing you can get better and succeed. That's C.
The trap: A picks up the sporting heroes reaching 'the top', but nobody asks students to identify their own ambitions. D is wrong because the message is that ability can grow, not that students should stick to existing strengths.
Question 16
Answer: DParagraph 3, fifth and sixth sentences
What does the writer say about students with a fixed mindset in the third paragraph?
Meanwhile, the former took on only those tasks that would not risk their sense of worth. This group had inferred that success or failure is due to innate ability
Question says → Passage says
are afraidfear of failure
push themselves beyondtook on only those tasks that would not risk their sense of worth
what they see as their limitationssuccess or failure is due to innate ability
Why: The fixed-mindset group only did tasks that wouldn't threaten their sense of worth, because they believed ability is fixed. That's fear of going past the limits they think they have: D.
The trap: B tempts because 'sense of worth' sounds like self-esteem. But they were praised for their intelligence and protected that image; the passage describes fear of failure, not low self-esteem. C is wrong too: they were praised and still avoided effort.
Matching statements to people
Questions 17-22
How to attack this block: 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 17
Answer: CParagraph 5, second sentence
Who says the growth mindset research methods were too loose?
'their research designs have enough degrees of freedom that they could take their data to support just about any theory at all'
Question says → Passage says
The methodology behind the growth mindset studiestheir research designs
was not strict enoughhave enough degrees of freedom… to support just about any theory at all
Why: Gelman, a statistician, says the research designs had so much freedom that the data could prove almost anything. A design that loose isn't strict enough.
The trap: Bates (D) also criticises the research in the same paragraph, but he attacks the results (they don't replicate), not the way the studies were designed.
Question 18
Answer: BParagraph 6, second sentence
Who says the growth mindset idea has been misread?
In fact, she argues that her work has been misunderstood and misapplied in a range of ways.
Question says → Passage says
has been incorrectly interpretedhas been misunderstood and misapplied
The idea of the growth mindsether work
Why: 'Misunderstood' = 'incorrectly interpreted', and it's Dweck saying it about her own work.
The trap: Yeager and Walton (E) talk about a 'misunderstanding', but it's about the nature of teaching and learning, and that phrase is the writer's, not theirs.
Question 19
Answer: AParagraph 1, second and third sentences
Who believed intelligence can't change?
The concept of intelligence as something innate… Alfred Binet, the developer of the first intelligence tests, was one of many 19th-century scientists who held that earlier view
Question says → Passage says
Intellectual ability is an unchangeable featureintelligence as something innate / the notion that inherent ability is destiny
of each individualsought to quantify cognitive ability
Why: 'That earlier view' points back to intelligence being innate and fixed, and Binet held it. Trying to measure intelligence with tests fits the idea that each person has a set amount.
The trap: Dewey is in the same paragraph, but he argued the opposite: that every child's intelligence can be developed. He isn't one of the options anyway.
Question 20
Answer: EParagraph 7, last two sentences
Who wants growth mindset delivered so that students don't notice it?
interventions should be delivered in a subtle way to maximise their effectiveness
Question says → Passage says
should be promotedinterventions should be delivered
without students being aware of itin a subtle way / if adolescents perceive a teacher's intervention as conveying that they are in need of help, this could undo its intended effects
Why: Yeager and Walton say interventions work best when subtle, because if teenagers notice and feel they're being helped, it backfires. Subtle enough not to be noticed = without students being aware.
The trap: The writer's own conclusion (posters and talks are often a waste of time) is about how direct interventions fail, which sounds similar. But the statement must match a person, and the 'subtle' delivery idea is Yeager and Walton's.
Question 21
Answer: BParagraph 6, last sentence
Who says the growth mindset is more than making students feel good?
'For me the growth mindset is a tool for learning and improvement. It's not just a vehicle for making children feel good.'
Question says → Passage says
is not simply aboutIt's not just a vehicle for
boosting students' moralemaking children feel good / the self-esteem movement
Why: Dweck says it's a tool for learning, 'not just' about feeling good. 'Boosting morale' = 'making children feel good'. That's her second answer.
The trap: The writer's last paragraph also criticises telling students 'how unique they are', which is morale-boosting. But that's the writer, and the statement needs one of the listed people.
Question 22
Answer: DParagraph 5, last two sentences
Who finds that growth mindset makes no difference to grades?
Kids with the growth mindset aren't getting better grades, either before or after our intervention study.
Question says → Passage says
Research showswho has been trying to replicate Dweck's work, is finding
has no effectthe results are repeatedly null
academic achievementbetter grades
Why: Bates tried to replicate Dweck's work and keeps getting null results: no better grades before or after. 'Null' means no effect, and grades are academic achievement.
The trap: Gelman (C) is in the same paragraph and also attacks the research, but he criticises the design, not the effect on grades.
YES / NO / NOT GIVEN
Questions 23-26
How to attack this block: 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 23
Answer: YESParagraph 6, first sentence
Does the writer think Dweck dealt with criticism well?
Much of this criticism is not lost on Dweck, and she deserves great credit for responding to it and adapting her work accordingly.
Question says → Passage says
handled criticisms of her workresponding to it and adapting her work accordingly
in an admirable wayshe deserves great credit
Why: 'Deserves great credit' is clear praise, and what's praised is how she responded and adapted. That's handling criticism admirably. YES.
The trap: The paragraph before is full of harsh criticism of her research, so some students think the writer is against her. Criticising the research and praising her response are two different views.
Question 24
Answer: NOParagraph 8, second sentence
Does the writer think self-perception drives confidence more than real achievement?
there is evidence to suggest that the actual effect of achievement on self-perception is stronger than the other way round
Question says → Passage says
actual achievementthe actual effect of achievement
a more effective driveris stronger than the other way round / more powerfully motivating
Why: The writer says achievement affects self-perception more than self-perception affects achievement. The speech example backs this: real achievement is more motivating. The statement reverses the direction, so NO.
The trap: The paragraph opens with 'what drives students is their innate beliefs and how they perceive themselves', which seems to support the statement. Keep reading: the 'but' sentence gives the writer's actual view.
Question 25
Answer: NOT GIVENParagraph 9, first sentence
Does the writer say the media has covered the recent evidence unfairly?
Recent evidence would suggest that growth mindset interventions are not the elixir of student learning that its proponents claim it to be.
Question says → Passage says
Recent evidence about growth mindset interventionsRecent evidence would suggest that growth mindset interventions
Why: The writer discusses the recent evidence, but the media isn't mentioned anywhere, and nor is any coverage, fair or unfair. NOT GIVEN.
The trap: 'Proponents claim' can sound like public hype or coverage. Proponents are supporters of the idea, not journalists.
Question 26
Answer: YESParagraph 9, fourth and fifth sentences
Can direct efforts to make students aim high backfire?
that aspiration is not well served by direct interventions that try to instil it. Motivational posters and talks are often a waste of time, and might well give students a deluded notion of what success actually means
Question says → Passage says
Deliberate attempts to encouragedirect interventions that try to instil it / Motivational posters and talks
may have a negative effectnot well served by / might well give students a deluded notion
Why: The writer says direct interventions don't serve the aspiration well, and that posters and talks may give students a false idea of success. A deluded notion is a negative effect, so YES.
The trap: 'A waste of time' alone would only mean no effect, which might push you to NO. The writer goes further: 'deluded notion' is actual harm.
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.
D (Bates). Kids with a growth mindset 'aren't getting better grades', so it has no effect on achievement. Gelman criticises method, not results.
Words from this passage worth keeping
supplanted(Paragraph 1)
replaced something older
innate(Paragraph 1)
present from birth, not learnt
coaxing(Paragraph 2)
gently persuading
inferred(Paragraph 3)
concluded from evidence
impediments(Paragraph 4)
things that get in the way
conflated(Paragraph 6)
wrongly treated two different things as the same
elixir(Paragraph 9)
a magic cure for everything
deluded(Paragraph 9)
believing something that isn't true
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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 and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full text, or sit the test on Langujet.
