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Study Guide

Field 280: Superintendent: Subtest II
Sample Selected-Response Questions

Practice Questions

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Subarea III–Organizational and Human Resource Management

Objective 0005: Understand principles and practices of organizational management that support district improvement and help ensure success for every student.

1. In a district with an aggressive school improvement plan, the superintendent has directed principals to conduct frequent brief walkthroughs in their school's classrooms. The superintendent meets with the principals on a regular basis to discuss what they have been observing. One purpose of these activities is to help the superintendent monitor changes occurring in district schools. The walkthroughs are likely to be most effective in serving this function if the superintendent first:

  1. helps each principal develop and use a metric for quantifying the pace of change taking place in his or her school.
  2. provides the principals with a checklist of specific variables or issues on which to focus their observations.
  3. works with each principal to identify teachers or classrooms that require the most frequent walkthroughs.
  4. has the principals use a four-point rating scale to summarize their observation results during a given time period.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0005: Understand principles and practices of organizational management that support district improvement and help ensure success for every student.

2. A school board recently began discussing a proposal to implement a new program that would provide students and their families with substantial access to social and health-related services through the district schools. The proposal is causing significant conflict among the board members, with three members strongly opposed to the proposal and two members strongly in support of it. The superintendent personally supports the proposal and would like to see it adopted. In this situation, the superintendent can best respond to conflicting views among the board members by taking which of the following actions first?

  1. attempting to negotiate with the board a compromise involving the creation of a less costly and/or less comprehensive program
  2. providing the board members with objective information on benefits and challenges of similar programs used in other districts
  3. offering encouragement to school and community supporters of the program to increase their advocacy activities with the board members who are currently in opposition
  4. communicating to the board an acknowledgement that they all want the best for students and emphasizing how collaboration rather than conflict will support this outcome
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0006: Understand principles and practices of human resource management that drive improvement in the effectiveness of building level administrators, teachers, and other staff and that help ensure success for every student.

3. A superintendent has been hired to lead a school district in Arizona in which student achievement has been mostly stagnant or declining in recent years and some schools have experienced a growing achievement gap. After reviewing principal evaluation results for the past three years, the superintendent should focus most attention on addressing which of the following findings?

  1. Principals throughout the district are classified as highly effective or effective in nearly all aspects of their job performance.
  2. Principals' performance as reflected in survey data often differs substantially from their performance as reflected in state assessment results.
  3. Evaluators frequently use similar types of evidence to evaluate principals on a variety of ISLLC leadership standards.
  4. Evaluators consistently emphasize instructional leadership over general organizational management skills in judging overall principal performance.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0006: Understand principles and practices of human resource management that drive improvement in the effectiveness of building level administrators, teachers, and other staff and that help ensure success for every student.

4. Last year a large school district with high teacher turnover initiated a comprehensive two-year induction program for beginning teachers who enter the district. The program includes a two-day orientation before an inductee's first school year begins, a mentoring component, opportunities for inductees to observe in the classrooms of successful veteran teachers, a variety of workshops, and study groups where new teachers can network and support one another. Which of the following steps taken by the superintendent of the district would be most appropriate and effective for providing administrative support for the induction process?

  1. meeting regularly with each inductee and his or her mentor to gather information on progress to date
  2. overseeing the publication of an "induction newsletter" to keep district faculty and staff informed about the program
  3. ensuring adequate release time for new teachers and their mentors to engage in program activities
  4. modifying the standards and rubrics used for the annual evaluation of program participants to reflect their participation
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

Subarea IV–Fiscal and Operational Management and Legal/Ethical Guidelines

Objective 0007: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the district's educational goals.

5. Before the start of the new school year, a recently hired superintendent is reviewing procedures currently being used for district financial reporting and accounting. In conducting this review, the superintendent's most important initial priority should be to:

  1. work with key stakeholders to identify potential areas of vulnerability.
  2. evaluate the current system of fidelity checks to ensure the adequacy of safeguards.
  3. consult with other district leaders to seek feedback regarding system accountability.
  4. ensure that all mandated compliance measures are being followed.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0007: Understand fiscal and operational management and their use in promoting achievement of the district's educational goals.

6. A new superintendent finds that the previous superintendent often dealt with budget constraints by diverting resources from routine maintenance to address other needs, such as purchasing new computers for an elementary school, updating curriculum materials, and building a professional development library. In deciding whether to continue this practice, the new superintendent should consider which of the following?

  1. Instructional needs should almost always take precedence over routine maintenance and other noninstructional needs.
  2. Funds allocated for a particular budget category cannot generally be used to meet expenses in any other budget category.
  3. Routine maintenance should only be deferred in an emergency since deferral can cost more money in the long run.
  4. Maintenance funds can be reallocated only to meet other facilities-related needs, such as security equipment or building upgrades.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0008: Understand state and federal laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for superintendents.

7. A superintendent becomes aware of behavior by a teacher that is in violation of the faculty code of conduct. The superintendent prepares to document the violation as well as corrective measures that will be taken. In keeping with due process, the superintendent should take which of the following additional steps at this point?

  1. having the school district's attorney confirm the legality of the administration's planned actions in the matter
  2. allowing the teacher to meet with the school board in a closed session to present his or her case
  3. alerting the teachers union about the alleged violation and any actions the administration plans to take
  4. providing the teacher with a copy of the documentation and an opportunity to respond
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0008: Understand state and federal laws, regulations, and judicial decisions affecting education in Arizona and ethical guidelines and behavior expectations for superintendents.

8. A district's middle school has established a student assistance team that includes school staff and representatives of various social service and juvenile justice agencies. The team meets routinely to discuss preventative services for students who are at risk for placement in the juvenile justice system due to their behavior. Which of the following requirements must be met before a member of the middle school staff may legally present a student's case before the team?

  1. a legal order from a mental health professional or family court judge
  2. signed consent from the student's parents/guardians
  3. a referral notice from a local social service or juvenile justice agency
  4. prior notification to the student and his or her parents/guardians
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.