School Leadership 6990 67*77

Based on the custodians’ actions following the storm, Mr. Jackson should work with the head custodian on building which of the following skills?

• Following oral instructions

• Prioritizing tasks

• Attending to detail

• Multitasking

Which of the following is Mr. Jackson’s best action for reinforcing the importance of following established crisis management procedures?

• Reminding teachers that following procedures during a crisis can mean the difference between life and death

• Discussing the recent crisis at the next faculty meeting, pointing out the procedures that were not followed

• Requesting that the superintendent schedule district-wide training on crisis management procedures

• Soliciting teachers’ input in revising the portion of the campus crisis management plan that addresses shelter-in-place procedures

Which of the following should be Mr. Jackson’s first action upon hearing about the incident from Ms. Alonzo?

• Suspending the teacher for a negligent action that resulted in a serious injury

• Alerting the superintendent that an incident occurred that may put the district at risk for litigation

• Checking on the condition of the student and assuring the parents that a full accident investigation will be conducted

• Consulting with the campus counselor to see if counseling services are required for the student’s classmates

Using which of the following instructional approaches is most effective for supporting the learning of a struggling student?

• A multitiered intervention guided by student outcome data

• An educational plan with specialized instruction and supportive services

• Individualized distance learning modules

• Positive behavioral interventions and supports

Ms. Thompson is a new seventh-grade teacher. Pressed for time, she administers a test she finds in the files left by her predecessor. When students uniformly perform poorly, she realizes that the test assesses content she did not teach. She decides against administering another test and records the students’ grades in her grade book. Her testing error comes to light when the parents of several students complain to the school leader about their children’s grades. Which of the following is the school leader’s most appropriate action for improving Ms. Thompson’s practice?

• Instructing the teacher to avoid using any materials left by her predecessor

• Reviewing the teacher’s assessments to ensure that they align with the taught content

• Providing the teacher with immediate targeted training on professional ethics

• Encouraging the teacher to use performance-based rather than selected-response assessments

An elementary school leader meets with the school’s leadership team to develop a plan to address problems that occur at afternoon dismissal. Teachers have difficulty directing student traffic, given the large number of students who are dismissed simultaneously into the hallway. Student traffic is bottlenecked at school exits, creating a safety hazard. Which of the following is the best action for addressing the dismissal problem?

• Developing procedures for staggering dismissal times for each grade level

• Using data-mining software to analyze the frequency of incidents during dismissal

• Asking teachers to line up their students and escort them to the exits

• Assigning pairs of teachers to stand alongside each exit to control students’ flow through the door

A school leader meets with the school improvement committee at the beginning of the school year. During the meeting, the school leader presents the results of a comprehensive needs assessment that highlights the gaps between the school’s current status and its desired outcomes. Which of the following should be the school leader’s first guiding question?

• Who will monitor progress toward meeting school and district benchmarks?

• How will we ensure team consensus on controversial issues?

• How do we develop a plan for change that addresses the most pressing needs?

• What protocols will guide our decisions regarding work products?

Dr. Carson is the school leader of March High School. Shortly after the scores for the annual state assessment are released, the local newspaper publishes them along with an article that questions why the school’s academic performance is declining. The following day, the school leader receives an e-mail from the president of the board of education. In response to the assessment data published in the newspaper, please provide information on a plan of action for school improvement and a method of measuring its success. Our district has high expectations for academic achievement, and these recent data are not representative of the district vision and mission. Which of the following is the school leader’s best response to the e-mail from the school board president?

• Explaining that schoolwide improvement efforts require financial resources the school does not have

• Attributing the decline in scores to demographic groups in the district with historically poor academic performance

• Reminding the board president of research showing the weak performance of United States students when compared to their international peers

• Inviting the board president to attend a presentation of the action plan at the next school improvement committee meeting

The school improvement committee identifies increased family involvement as a key factor in students’ academic success. Which of the following is the best action for the committee to include in its school improvement plan?

• Providing multiple outlets for parents to receive and respond to information about their children’s school and classrooms

• Inviting an additional parent representative from each grade level to serve on the school improvement committee

• Assigning a leadership team member to host a social networking site that provides parents with real-time updates on school happenings

• Increasing the number and length of parent conferences held during the school year

Which of the following is Dr. Carson’s most effective action for communicating to parents and community members that the district is taking action to address the declining test scores?

• Presenting an action plan for school improvement at the next board of education meeting

• Inviting local media outlets to cover an event at the school that showcases student accomplishments

• Working with the district media liaison to arrange an interview with the newspaper to explain the school’s action plan

• Inviting representative parents and community members to attend meetings of the school’s improvement committee