Principal Norms 1

Ms. Washington recognizes the need for an upgraded approach to assessing and documenting student progress. Which TWO of the following principal actions improve on the previous principal's approach to measuring student progress?

• Implementing interim assessments that evaluate what students have learned during each grading period

• Establishing and communicating more rigorous goals to students before they complete the benchmark assessments

• Disaggregating assessment data and assessment questions to determine an action plan for all student groups

• Including a side-by-side comparison of the school's benchmark assessment results and results from campus comparison groups

• Incorporating a diagnostic assessment and end-of-year assessment to capture a better range of student growth

After receiving questions from the department leads about the new focus, Ms. Contreras should articulate that the primary goal of the initiative is to improve equity by

• celebrating the school as a hub of multiculturalism.

• recognizing students' cultures as assets to the learning process.

• promoting teachers' acceptance of diverse cultural norms.

• encouraging positive relationships among a range of cultural groups.

As Ms. Contreras uses the teacher questionnaire responses to guide an initial discussion with the department leads, she should primarily keep in mind that

• teachers will need support in overcoming personal blind spots in order to harness cultural differences to improve learning.

• teachers need to reassess curriculum and support processes to better ensure academic success for students in all cultural groups.

• teachers are culturally aware and culturally competent but need more direction in being advocates for the cultural proficiency of others.

• teachers may require intensive support to enhance their instructional strategies to remove inherent perceptions of the superiority of specific cultures.

As part of the department meetings, Ms. Contreras and the department leads review the questionnaire and decide to make the first question a key focus. As teams reflect and create collaborative goals for improvement, the primary focus should be on

• ensuring culturally relevant curricula are delivered in a way that addresses students' interests and learning styles.

• equipping all teachers with the tools necessary for communicating curriculum expectations to diverse families.

• fostering a culture of respect in classrooms through character education curricula that integrate schoolwide norms.

• confirming that the instructional focus is based on the results of interim assessments broken down by curriculum standards.

Which of the following pieces of coaching advice should the principal provide to the department leader to help facilitate the change process?

• Early in the data review process, you should try to refocus teachers on data review timelines and record the team's concerns as they are shared. Let's take a look at the assessment calendar the team developed and see if it is reasonable for teachers' busy schedules.

• It is critical for you to allow a relaxed dialogue structure that encourages teachers to be active in dialogue if they are comfortable or gives them the option of joining the conversation later. Let's design some broad guiding questions that you can use to frame the discussions.

• Issues of ethnicity and culture should be secondary when examining student performance data and engaging in collaborative inquiry to encourage teachers to delve into the data. Let's try to develop a template you can use to focus the conversations on open-ended questions the team can generate in response to the data.

• Each individual's response to differences in ethnicity and culture deeply affects how he or she interprets data and has a profound impact on student learning. Let's develop a meeting protocol you can use to raise teachers' awareness of their own cultural proficiency and ensure that your team digs into the data and assessment questions.

After Ms. Contreras works for a year to improve equity at the school, which TWO of the following pieces of data would quantify that important improvements have been made at the campus?

• An increase in mathematics STAAR results in the sixth and seventh grades

• A change in teacher demographics to more closely resemble student demographics

• A decrease in the number of English learners receiving services at the school

• A shift in results on the questionnaire to show that the majority of teachers do not think ethnicity affects student success

• An increase in Hispanic student performance on STAAR reading at all three grade levels

After analyzing his schedule, Mr. Flores realizes that he has multiple areas for improvement. Which TWO of the following changes should Mr. Flores make to ensure effectiveness as an instructional leader?

• Scheduling time throughout the day to answer e-mails, address discipline referrals, and return calls

• Moving weekly administrative team meetings to the end of the instructional day

• Varying the times of day in which individual teachers are observed

• Reducing the number and duration of walk-throughs to incorporate coaching conferences

• Facilitating all collaborative team meetings on the same day of the week

Mr. Flores currently uses his checklist as the primary tool for documenting a teacher's performance during a walk-through. Which TWO of the following identify the significant drawbacks of relying on the checklist?

• There are no classroom management practices that contribute to an effective instructional environment.

• There is no continuum of performance expectations that accommodates teacher effectiveness and reflection.

• The schoolwide nonnegotiables cannot be feasibly implemented by either novice or experienced teachers.

• The limited range of instructional considerations do not help the observer document relevant evidence.

• The statements rely on judgments, which are subjective and prone to inconsistencies.

In order to more effectively utilize Ms. Markey, Mr. Farrad, and Ms. Thomas, the principal should first consider

• training them to take on instructional leadership roles and dividing coaching responsibilities based on teacher need and instructional expertise.

• encouraging them to develop their own action items and deadlines, based on the most critical needs of students and teachers.

• leveraging their expertise by asking them to facilitate the weekly grade-level collaborative teacher team meetings.

• using their knowledge of data systems to catalyze a schoolwide culture of collaborative inquiry and data analysis.

After evaluating the action items from the administrative team meeting, Mr. Flores should prioritize

• working with lead teachers to ensure that the increase in student attendance is maintained through the next grading period.

• creating a lesson plan format that aligns with the walk-through checklist that he uses daily in teachers' classrooms.

• building the leadership capacity of lead teachers by working with them to create a shared sense of ownership for their team meetings.

• establishing consistent progress-monitoring protocols that teachers can use with their intervention groups.