Expand All | Collapse All Subarea I–Visionary Leadership, Collaboration, and Educational ContextsObjective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.1. The goals that have been articulated for an elementary school include ensuring that all students have equitable access to the curriculum. Which of the following approaches would best help the principal evaluate how well this goal is being achieved?
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.2. A principal is working with staff to create and implement plans to achieve goals for improved student learning. In this context, the principal would most appropriately encourage staff members to conduct research into what other schools are doing as a way to facilitate which of the following processes?
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.3. A school's guidance counselors present the principal with a proposal for an innovative guidance program that has been used successfully in a number of schools around the region and the country. In making a decision about the proposal, the principal's first priority should be to determine whether:
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.4. A district's new vision and goals state that students will be able to use a variety of technological tools to promote their own learning. Principals throughout the district recognize that a significant amount of new hardware, software, and teacher training will be needed for this initiative to be successful and that funds currently available are entirely inadequate. Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective and appropriate for the principals to use first in their efforts to gain access to needed financial resources?
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.5. A recently appointed principal must create a new vision for a school where student performance on all academic measures has been declining for some time. The principal knows that the current level of parent/guardian and community participation in the life of the school is very low, as is overall stakeholder support for the school. The principal expects that creating and implementing a new vision in this context will be challenging. Which of the following strategies used by the principal would best help ensure that the new vision will have broad stakeholder support?
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.6. Last year a principal led teachers in implementing a plan to incorporate a specific set of research-based techniques into their instruction. The goal of the plan was to increase students' motivation and engagement in learning. This year during classroom observations, the principal sees that a few teachers have modified their use of the prescribed techniques in ways that depart somewhat from the original guidelines. The principal can best respond by first:
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.7. A school last developed a vision over ten years ago, and the existing vision has not been used in a significant way for many years. Following consultation with the district leadership, the school's new principal decides to initiate the process of developing a new vision for the school. The creation of a new vision can be expected to benefit the school most by:
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.8. A school is beginning the process of developing a new vision. A public meeting to kick off the process includes attendees reflecting many groups in the community. The principal begins the meeting with some introductory remarks and then gives attendees a brief form to complete before initiating discussion. The form includes open-ended questions such as the following.
A great school is one that ___________ A successful student is able to ___________ An effective classroom is one in which ___________ A high-quality instructional program focuses on ___________ This activity is likely to be most effective in achieving which of the following goals?
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.9. A middle school recently completed development of a mission statement that emphasizes the role of the school in achieving a variety of important goals, such as "enabling students to become confident, self-directed, lifelong learners" and "preparing students to participate actively as responsible citizens in an ever-changing society." The principal can best facilitate achievement of the goals in the mission statement by guiding stakeholders to take which of the following actions first?
Objective 0001: Understand how to develop and implement a shared school vision and associated goals and plans to promote continuous and sustainable improvement in student learning and achievement.10. In providing direction for a vision development committee, a principal should emphasize the idea that effective vision statements focus on:
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.11. Arizona's adoption of the Common Core Standards reflects most directly the state's commitment to:
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.12. An elementary school has been trying a new approach to math instruction during the past couple of years, but the results have been disappointing. The principal is putting together a team to consider this problem and identify possible solutions. At first, the team was going to include the principal, an assistant principal, teachers from different grade levels, and the district math coordinator. The principal then decided to include a representative group of parents/guardians as well. Which of the following is likely to be the most important benefit of the principal's decision?
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.13. In Arizona, a primary role of the State Board of Education is to:
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.14. The elementary school principals in a district note that kindergartners enter their schools with significant disparities in their literacy backgrounds. Some children are already proficient readers, while others have little or no prior experience with books. Which of the following actions taken by district educators would best help ensure that all young children will have an equal opportunity to be successful readers?
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.15. Following many discussions about disparities in educational results among the student groups in a school, the principal announces plans to put in place new programs designed to address this problem. During a meeting to share information about plans for change, many parents/guardians and community members express anger and dismay upon learning that the new programs will largely be funded at the expense of existing school programs. The principal can best respond by emphasizing which of the following ideas?
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.16. The members of a site council have been sharply divided in their views on how to address an important school issue, with three members holding one view and two members holding an opposing view. Discussion on the issue has now reached an impasse. The principal can best try to achieve consensus among council members by using which of the following approaches first?
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.17. A middle school principal would like to encourage greater participation by diverse groups in the school's site-based planning and management. As a first step, which of the following actions by the principal would most likely be effective in addressing this goal?
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.18. A high school's "no pass, no play" policy requires that student athletes maintain a specified minimum level of academic performance to participate in team sports. The principal is aware that this policy has been increasingly ignored in recent years, and he wants to make sure that it is enforced consistently in the future. He plans to ask the school's site council to address this issue at an upcoming meeting. Which of the following best describes the principal's most appropriate role in regard to the site council's deliberations on this issue?
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.19. A school principal could best use a press release to the local media to communicate about a decision to:
Objective 0002: Understand the political, social, economic, and cultural contexts of education and how to use effective communication and collaboration skills to build positive, productive relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the school.20. In recent decades, which of the following factors has been most responsible for decisions to place greater emphasis on developing students' problem-solving and decision-making skills across the curriculum?
Subarea II–Fiscal and Operational Management and Legal/Ethical GuidelinesObjective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.21. A district's decision to realign several school attendance areas has significantly increased student enrollment in one particular school, resulting in a need for more instructional space. Teachers at the school, who are concerned about space issues and potential increases in class size, have lobbied strongly to maintain the status quo as much as possible. The principal knows that much space currently used for noninstructional activities will have to be turned into regular classroom space. In responding to this challenge, the principal's most important initial priority should be to:
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.22. Each year, school districts and charter schools in Arizona are required to report their Average Daily Membership (ADM) from the prior year. The information provided is used to help:
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.23. A school with significant funding problems and a severe shortage of high-quality technological tools wants to increase its access to technological resources for teaching and learning. The school's leadership can best promote achievement of this goal by taking which of the following actions first?
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.24. Which of the following actions is consistent with accepted school accounting procedures?
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.25. After receiving many complaints about various school maintenance issues, a principal decides to initiate a review of current school maintenance practices. In conducting this review, the principal should be aware that long-term maintenance of the physical plant is likely to be most cost effective and least disruptive if school staff emphasize which of the following approaches?
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.26. In recent years, a school has had a poor record of compliance with safety requirements and procedures. Which of the following actions by the new school principal would be most appropriate and effective for promoting greater staff compliance in this area?
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.27. A principal will be leading a team in updating the school's outdated emergency response plan so that members of the school community will know what to do in case of a natural disaster or a human-caused emergency situation. Which of the following steps would be most useful to take first in this effort?
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.28. Midway through the fiscal year, a middle school principal is informed that due to cutbacks in state funding the school budget will be reduced by 15 percent. Which of the following would be the most appropriate first step for the principal to take in responding to this unanticipated problem?
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.29. A parent volunteer group informs the principal that the group has raised over $5,000 for the school library. When including this revenue in the budget, the principal should be aware that these funds should be:
Objective 0003: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the school's educational goals.30. After a boiler explosion at a high school, the principal ensures that all facts about the accident are conveyed to students, staff, and families as soon as they can be established. This is an appropriate response on the principal's part mainly because it:
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.31. The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) specifies that schools receiving certain federal funds for Internet access must do which of the following?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.32. Which of the following is the primary legal consideration for school staff when determining a classroom assignment for a student with disabilities?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.33. A school includes many students who have a first language other than English. Which of the following is a right of these students according to federal law?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.34. A high school principal is meeting with a parent who is unhappy about instruction relating to world religions that is included in her child's current social studies course. Which of the following teacher practices described by the parent in regard to this content should be of most concern to the principal on ethical grounds?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.35. Which of the following would best demonstrate a principal's commitment to ensuring the provision of effective and equitable learning opportunities for all students?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.36. Which of the following actions by a principal would most likely be considered unethical?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.37. Which of the following situations most clearly illustrates a principal modeling principles of transparency?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.38. Which of the following provisions of the U.S. Constitution has most often served as the primary basis of constitutional rights suits against public educational institutions in the United States?
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.39. It would be most important for a high school principal to work closely with the district's legal advisor when developing a school policy to:
Objective 0004: Understand laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for principals.40. A high school principal receives a call from a prominent municipal leader who is upset about several recent editorials in the school's student newspaper that were highly critical of local officials. The municipal leader says the editorials were personally offensive and suggests that the principal should enforce limits on the types of articles published in the school newspaper. The principal could best respond by:
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