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Study Guide

Field 140: Central Office School Administrator
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Subarea 1—Visionary Leadership and Continuous District Improvement

Objective 001 
Apply knowledge of how to lead the collaborative development and implementation of a district mission and vision that reflect core organizational values and priorities and how to lead continuous district improvement processes that promote success and well-being for every student.

1. A school district has recently adopted a new mission and vision that emphasize high levels of learning and success for every student. The superintendent is working with the district leadership team to define specific goals that will need to be achieved to attain the mission and vision. Which of the following types of information would likely be most useful to the superintendent during this process?

  1. demographic projections for the local community
  2. student assessment data for districts across the state
  3. patterns in teacher evaluation data from recent years
  4. current and projected revenues and budget allocations

Correct Response: C.

Subarea 2—Instructional Leadership, District Culture and Learning Environment, and Staff Development

Objective 002 
Apply knowledge of how to provide a comprehensive, coherent, and equitable curricular and instructional program across district schools, using research-supported best practices in instruction and assessment that promote academic success and well-being for every student.

2. A school district is designing a new data report that will be used to share the results of interim and end-of-year standardized assessments with classroom teachers throughout the year. The report is most likely to support improvements in instruction and student outcomes if it provides information that allows teachers to answer which of the following questions?

  1. What percentage of my students answered each question on the test correctly?
  2. How did my students' performance compare with that of students in other classrooms?
  3. What changes in my students' performance are evident from one test to the next?
  4. How many of my students in each subgroup were able to meet the test's passing standard?

Correct Response: A.

Objective 003 
Apply knowledge of how to build and sustain an inclusive, supportive district culture and learning environment that is focused on high expectations, equity, and achievement and well-being for every student across district schools.

3. In a district with a reputation for high student achievement, students with disabilities perform poorly on state and interim assessments and have shown little or no progress for several years. A local advocacy group for students with disabilities forms to advocate for increased district accountability for results. The superintendent and other district leaders agree with the group's goals and concerns. However, a review of the district's special education program finds a high level of compliance with procedural requirements in students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). In this situation, the superintendent's best initial action would be to:

  1. request that the advocacy group define specific performance targets for students with IEPs.
  2. meet with stakeholder groups to reach consensus on prioritizing concerns about students with IEPs.
  3. institute procedures for training faculty in research-based instructional practices for students with IEPs and promoting their use.
  4. work with the advocacy group to develop plans to assess students with IEPs through the MI-Access alternate assessment system.

Correct Response: C.

Objective 004 
Apply knowledge of systems for supervising, supporting, and evaluating school and district staff; how to build a professional culture; and how to provide professional growth and development activities, including leadership development, that help ensure success and well-being for every student.

4. A superintendent reviews professional growth plans that were recently completed for all the teachers in the district's middle school. In meeting with the middle school principal to discuss the plans, which of the following issues would be most appropriate for the superintendent to emphasize as a concern?

  1. Many of the teachers' plans show little or no alignment with school and district improvement plans.
  2. The plans do not provide a sound research basis for the teachers' goals or for strategies to achieve the goals.
  3. Many of the plans focus on specific aspects of a teacher's performance rather than overall development.
  4. The plans are inconsistent in the number and types of goals and in how teachers are expected to meet their goals.

Correct Response: A.

Subarea 3—Organizational, Resource, and Operational Management

Objective 005 
Apply knowledge of principles and practices of human resource and organizational management that develops the professional capacity of district schools, supports continuous improvement of the district, and helps ensure success and well-being for every student.

5. A teacher suffers a spinal cord injury and, as a result, is unable to walk. The teacher requires the use of a wheelchair but has no other physical or cognitive disability. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the school district in which the teacher works will most likely be obligated to:

  1. dismiss the teacher because student safety may be jeopardized.
  2. reassign the teacher to classes that require less teacher-led instruction.
  3. limit the teacher's classroom duties by assigning classes to other teachers.
  4. ensure that the teacher's building and classroom are accessible by wheelchair.

Correct Response: D.

Objective 006 
Apply knowledge of principles and practices for fiscal and resource management, including budget development and resource allocation, and their use in promoting achievement of district goals and ensuring an efficient, equitable learning environment.

6. A superintendent is leading a committee of stakeholders in reviewing a substantial list of requests put forth by the staff in each district school. Limited fiscal resources are available to the district, so the committee must determine which requests should be treated as priorities. The superintendent can best facilitate this process by encouraging committee members to identify those requests that are likely to:

  1. be most useful in attaining one or more defined district goals.
  2. leave the highest level of district funding available for contingencies.
  3. affect the greatest number of students in one or more district schools.
  4. be perceived as most important by constituent groups across the district.

Correct Response: A.

Subarea 4—District Governance and School Law

Objective 007 
Apply knowledge of district-level public school governance; how to build positive, collaborative relationships with the district governing board, district and school administrators, and district and school staff; and how to advocate for the district.

7. A newly hired superintendent is assuming leadership in a district that has a history of contentious relations between administrators and members of the district governing board. During one-on-one meetings, some board members describe being surprised by proposals and decisions that were made by the previous superintendent with little input from the board. The new superintendent can most effectively begin to rebuild trust with the board by:

  1. recognizing and commending the contributions of board members to successful district initiatives.
  2. providing district information to the board in summaries that include minimal technical language and data.
  3. deferring to board members during public discussions regarding new district policies and changes to existing policy.
  4. communicating regularly with the board via weekly email updates on issues and developments affecting the district.

Correct Response: D.

Objective 008 
Apply knowledge of laws, policies, regulations, and rules affecting education, including the legal and policy dimensions of school safety and emerging challenges.

8. A superintendent can best ensure that relevant laws and regulations are applied consistently, fairly, and equitably in all aspects of district operations by taking which of the following actions?

  1. instituting a policy for reviewing relevant laws and regulations whenever a conflict or complaint arises between the district and stakeholders
  2. providing training to all school staff on how to identify relevant laws and regulations and how to use best practices in applying them to common situations that arise
  3. conducting a review of existing policies with respect to relevant laws and regulations and including such a review when adopting any new policy
  4. providing a summary of relevant laws and regulations to the district governing board to consult when questions about existing policies arise or a new policy is proposed

Correct Response: C.

Subarea 5—Stakeholder and Community Relationships, Professional Norms, and Ethics

Objective 009 
Apply knowledge of how to build positive, productive relationships with parents/guardians and families, community members and partners, and other stakeholders to meet district goals and promote the success and well-being of every student.

9. A superintendent is hired to lead a school district that serves a culturally diverse population. The superintendent recognizes that parent/guardian and community engagement with the schools is very limited and establishes strengthening engagement as a priority. The superintendent can best initiate this effort by taking which of the following actions first?

  1. expanding and publicizing efforts to recruit and retain new faculty and staff from within the local community
  2. having district staff review and revise all school–home communications to ensure they are inclusive and reflect the diversity of the district
  3. working with school leaders to define additional roles and responsibilities for parent/guardian and community volunteers
  4. asking district principals to plan events at their schools that celebrate the diversity of the student population and are open to the community

Correct Response: B.

Objective 010 
Apply knowledge of professional norms, ethical guidelines, and behavior expectations for superintendents and other educators that promote success and well-being for every student.

10. Which of the following actions taken by a superintendent and district leadership team would contribute most to building a district organizational culture based on a strong commitment to professional norms and ethical behavior?

  1. establishing systems to hold district administrators, faculty, and staff accountable for practices that support every student's success and well-being
  2. modeling sensitivity to social, cultural, linguistic, and economic contexts in all interactions with district stakeholder groups
  3. providing regular professional development workshops across district schools on responding to emerging issues in education
  4. setting a district goal of ensuring that curriculum and instructional materials are inclusive and reflect the diversity of the student population

Correct Response: A.