Instructional

A school leader observes a teacher’s mathematics lesson. The lesson plan indicates that the learning objective is teaching students to add fractions. The lesson begins with a mini lesson on adding fractions, followed by guided and independent practice using several problems. The teacher provides students with feedback and support as they work. At the close of the lesson, the teacher provides each student with an exit slip. The exit slip contains three fractions for students to reduce to the lowest common denominator.

Which of the following is most important for the school leader to target in the teacher’s post-observation conference?

• Aligning assessments with instructional goals

• Selecting appropriate learning activities

• Allowing students sufficient time on task

• Acting as an instructional facilitator

A school leader reviews a report regarding a new school-wide mathematics program after its first year of implementation. Which of the following statements from the report best demonstrates the effectiveness of the program?

• “State standards show alignment with the program objectives.”

• “The program was used daily with fidelity by the entire school.”

• “Student benchmark data indicates that program objectives were met.”

• “Teachers were interviewed and shared positive insights about the new program.”

Which of the following actions best demonstrates a school leader’s commitment to building leadership capacity among the staff?

• Meeting with grade-level representatives to present new school goals to them

• Asking teachers to discuss instructional strategies with their peers regularly

• Creating opportunities for staff to participate in collaborative decision making

• Recognizing staff members who consistently receive outstanding performance evaluations

Which of the following is the most effective way for school leaders to foster their personal professional growth?

• Keeping abreast of research and trends related to school improvement

• Joining a national professional organization for school leaders

• Partnering with a peer to reflect on experiences, ideas, and challenges

• Reviewing weaknesses noted in performance evaluations

The school leader of a middle school plans to share the results of the state assessment test with parents to help them understand how students are performing and where gaps exist in their achievement. Which of the following is the best method for the school leader to use to make the assessment data valuable to parents?

• Posting the data in the parent portal of the student information system

• Sending parents a letter containing the data for their child

• Holding meetings with parents to explain how to interpret the data

• Asking teachers to refer to the data during parent-teacher conferences

Which of the following is the best strategy for a school leader to use to keep teachers focused on their primary instructional goal?

• Allowing teachers flexibility in planning instruction and assessment

• Conducting monthly walk-throughs to evaluate teaching and learning

• Ensuring alignment of the school’s vision with teachers’ actions through ongoing conversations and observations

• Providing incentives, such as extra technological resources, to classes with the highest achievement scores

The school leader of a high school who is examining data from the district’s annual freshman writing sample observes that students in certain teachers’ classes scored significantly higher than their peers in other classes. Which of the following is the school leader’s best initial response to the data?

• Comparing value-added growth data of the teachers within the grade level

• Assigning the teachers whose students had high scores to mentor their grade-level colleagues

• Noting the score discrepancies in teachers’ summative performance evaluations

• Planning professional development on research-based methods of writing instruction

Which of the following identifies the most important initial action for a school leader to take to promote teachers’ use of student achievement data to support instructional decision making?

• Establishing a clear vision for the school-wide use of data

• Encouraging teachers to collect data from multiple sources

• Scheduling professional-development sessions on data-based decision making

• Asking teachers to form hypotheses about their teaching practices based on the analysis of data

School leaders can best implement academic goals with rigor and measurable expectations by establishing a curriculum based upon

• high-quality standards

• stakeholder input and beliefs

• higher-order thinking skills

• global competencies

Which of the following is the most appropriate direction for a school leader to give teachers regarding formative assessments?

• Use assessment results to inform instructional decision making.

• Design assessments that promote student reflection.

• Use assessment results to guide grading practices.

• Refer to the scope and sequence to determine when to assess learning.