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Study Guide

Sample Selected-Response Questions
Field 82: Supervisor

Practice Questions

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Subarea I–Educational Leadership

Objective 0003: Understand strategies for promoting professional development in the educational organization.

1. A superintendent asks the director of professional development to evaluate whether current professional development activity is sufficient to support educational improvement. Which of the following initial questions would be most important for the director to pose as part of this evaluation?

  1. Do the current professional development activities address the goals of the district?
  2. Is there uniformity across all district schools in the types of professional development being offered?
  3. What types of in-service activities for district teachers have been most successful in the recent past?
  4. Is the district taking full advantage of generic professional development workshops available through commercial vendors?
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.

 

Subarea II–Social, Cultural, and Legal Context

Objective 0004: Understand how to promote equity in educational programs.

2. A district supervisor in a diverse community is leading a training session for elementary school teachers on instructional strategies for promoting students' understanding and appreciation of cultural differences. Training leaders to use which of the following instructional strategies would most likely be effective for this purpose?

  1. involving students in preparations for an annual, school-sponsored multicultural festival
  2. taking advantage of teachable moments to address issues related to cultural differences that arise through classroom interactions
  3. modeling for students how to write research papers on topics relating to more than one culture
  4. assigning books with multicultural themes for students to read once a month during sustained silent reading time
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0006: Apply knowledge of educational policy and school governance.

3. At the next open meeting of the district governing board, district staff will be presenting a proposal for a new social studies curriculum developed by a committee of stakeholders. A district supervisor is aware that several respected teachers who disagree with the proposal are planning to attend the board meeting and voice their objections. Which of the following steps would be most appropriate for the supervisor to take regarding this information?

  1. suggesting that the teachers prepare a written statement of their views for the board rather than speaking at the board meeting
  2. alerting the superintendent that differences in professional opinion about the proposal are likely to be expressed at the board meeting
  3. meeting with the teachers to develop a compromise proposal that the teachers would feel comfortable supporting
  4. calling the board president to explain that the views of dissenting teachers are not representative of the faculty as a whole
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.

 

Subarea III–Effective Communication

Objective 0007: Understand the use of effective communication strategies to build support for improving the learning environment.

4. Mr. Washington, a district's special education coordinator, is planning a meeting with a group of regular education teachers to communicate important guidelines, policies, and procedures associated with the provision of special education services. During the meeting, Mr. Washington should make a special effort to:

  1. emphasize the importance of referring all low-achieving students for special education screenings.
  2. describe diagnostic techniques for identifying a variety of physical and mental disabilities.
  3. explain any specialized terminology or abbreviations with which participants may not be familiar.
  4. provide a thorough review of current educational research in the field of special education.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0008: Understand how to encourage and respond to feedback from members of the educational and local community.

5. Ms. Lopez, a district's newly appointed coordinator for community relations, considers ways to facilitate positive and productive communication with the local media. She begins by introducing herself to local journalists who routinely report on school issues and events. In her ongoing interactions with these reporters, Ms. Lopez should:

  1. set boundaries by politely explaining that she will answer reporters' questions at certain prescheduled times each week.
  2. designate several additional district staff to communicate with reporters on a regular basis.
  3. refrain from calling the reporters with ideas for articles but respond promptly and fully when they contact her.
  4. inquire about the reporters' schedules and accommodate their deadlines whenever possible.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

 

Subarea IV–Educational Management

Objective 0010: Apply principles of management and organizational behavior in problem solving, decision making, and organizational development.

6. A superintendent asks a district supervisor to work with a team of stakeholders to explore the possibility of establishing an alternative school in the district. The team could most effectively begin its investigation by:

  1. consulting with the district business manager to determine the financial parameters for such a project.
  2. researching various approaches to structuring such a school and identifying the structure that would best suit this district.
  3. meeting with members of the district governing board to discuss the idea.
  4. conducting a districtwide needs assessment to estimate how many students might benefit from such a school.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0011: Understand the financial management of educational programs.

7. Last year a district decentralized the budget process, giving individual schools greater control in planning and monitoring the school's use of financial resources. In preparation for a second year of decentralized budgeting, a district supervisor is helping school principals and site-based teams evaluate the previous year's operational budget. Which of the following questions would be most important for school leaders to focus on as they begin this evaluation?

  1. What proportion of last year's budget was devoted to instructional materials and supplies?
  2. Were the budgeted resources adequate for accomplishing the intended educational goals?
  3. What proportion of last year's budget was devoted to personnel-related expenditures?
  4. Were sufficient funds budgeted to cover necessary repairs to school facilities?
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0012: Apply principles of effective human resource management.

8. A district's director of human resources is serving on a task force to develop district guidelines for teacher evaluation. Which of the following guidelines should the task force recommend that a principal follow when meeting with a teacher the week before a planned observation of the teacher's classroom performance?

  1. discussing the objectives of the teacher's planned lesson and agreeing on a method of observation
  2. examining a number of lesson plans developed by the teacher and selecting one to use for the upcoming observation
  3. reviewing the teacher's previous evaluation and suggesting ways to improve skills that were weak
  4. refraining from setting a specific agenda for the meeting and allowing the teacher to take the lead in the conversation
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.

 

Subarea V–Curriculum and Instruction

Objective 0015: Understand principles, purposes, and methods of student assessment.

9. A district recently introduced a new criterion-referenced student achievement test in all district schools. School administrators are now beginning the process of reviewing and evaluating the test results. The district's instructional coordinator could best assist school leaders during this process by:

  1. helping principals communicate any concerns they may have about the test to the district governing board.
  2. suggesting that building administrators refer all parent/guardian inquiries about the test to the central office.
  3. providing the schools with technical support in interpreting and using the test data.
  4. scheduling an in-service workshop for all district employees that provides information about various student assessment techniques.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.

Multiple-Subarea Passage

Use the information below to answer the three questions that follow.

Ms. Benally, a district curriculum coordinator, is meeting with members of the high school English department. During the meeting, several teachers express the opinion that the current language arts curriculum places too much emphasis on literary criticism and not enough emphasis on developing students' oral communication skills (e.g., making oral presentations, interviewing, listening skills). During the ensuing discussion, other teachers voice general satisfaction with the current curriculum and say that they see little need for change.

Objective 0013: Understand principles and characteristics of curriculum planning, design, implementation, and evaluation.

10. Which of the following actions must Ms. Benally and the English faculty take in evaluating the need for curricular change?

  1. determining the extent to which the current language arts curriculum agrees with state learning standards for language arts
  2. surveying the school's students about the extent to which the current language arts curriculum meets their needs
  3. comparing the current curriculum with the language arts curricula offered at high schools across the United States
  4. asking English teachers to complete a detailed questionnaire on their attitudes about the current language arts curriculum
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0001: Understand how to support and promote the mission of the educational organization.

11. As discussion of the curriculum becomes more heated, participants sometimes seem to be talking at cross purposes. In this situation, Ms. Benally could best exercise leadership by:

  1. redirecting the discussion toward other curricular issues to prevent a potentially divisive debate.
  2. taking a definite position in favor of one side or the other in the debate about the curriculum.
  3. placing the discussion explicitly in the context of the school mission and departmental goals.
  4. articulating the district's official position on curriculum development.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0009: Understand how to encourage and support teamwork to promote the mission of the educational organization.

12. In subsequent meetings with Ms. Benally, the high school English faculty continue their discussions and eventually agree to develop a proposal for the school site council on recommended changes to the English curriculum. Which of the following would be the most appropriate role for Ms. Benally to play in the development of these recommendations?

  1. Ms. Benally leads English faculty discussion of various alternatives, then makes the final decision on which revisions to recommend.
  2. Ms. Benally drafts a preliminary list of recommendations for the English faculty to approve or revise.
  3. Ms. Benally helps the English faculty develop several alternative proposals for the school site council to consider.
  4. Ms. Benally works with the English faculty to develop consensus on which changes to recommend.
Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.