SpED Exam Study Set
What is the primary reason for giving students standardized assessments each year?
It compares them to age- and grade-level-equivalent peers to evaluate progress.
Early in the school year, the students in a fifth grade class have been demonstrating exclusionary behavior. There are two cliques, and there are several children, including two with disabililties, who are generally treated as outcasts. When considering how to respond, the classroom teacher should be aware that
It is imperative to institute a program specifically designed to build a learning community in which all students feel safe and accepted.
A teacher carries around a bag of marbles with 10 of each of the following colors: blue, white, and yellow. She asks students to draw one marble from the bag. Before they draw, they must state the probability of drawing a certain color. The first student says the probability of drawing a blue is 1 out of 3 because 10 out of 30 simplifies to 1:3. The student holds onto his blue marble and the next student says his probability of drawing yellow is 1:3. Evaluate his statement
It is incorrect and a common misconception about dependent events.
What is the greatest benefit of teachers collaborating to share various instructional strategies that have been demonstrated to be effective for various learning styles and abilities?
It provides teachers with additional instructional strategies to accommodate for different learning styles.
Juliana's Individualized Transition Plan (ITP) includes activities such as developing self-advocacy skills with prompting, navigating public transportation with support, and participating in a functional academic curriculum. Which of the following may be an appropriate long-term goal for Juliana?
Juliana will learn how to read a map
Roman has recently started on medication for ADHD. His mother sent an email to the teacher to let her know that his behavior and attentiveness should improve. What negative side effects may the parent ask the teacher to monitor?-
Lack of hunger or excessive thirst
Which of the following is a required section of all Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)?
Least restrictive environment
A second-grade resource reading teacher is working with her students on nonfiction text. When they encounter an unfamiliar word, she encourages them to use different techniques such as sounding out the word, looking for known prefixes or suffixes, and determining meaning within context. What other technique might be helpful when encountering a new word?
Looking at nearby pictures for hints
An adult is preparing to carry a small preschooler with multiple disabilities. Which of the following practices will best ensure the adult's safety during the lift?
Maintaining a straight back and lifting with the legs
Which of the following behaviors demonstrated by a 2 year old child is the clearest indicator that the motor development of that child may be impaired?
Making involuntary hand movements
Which of the following behaviors demonstrated by a 2-year-old child is the clearest indicator that the motor development of that child may be impaired?
Making involuntary hand movements
Which of the following strategies will be most effective for providing job training to a student with intellectual disabilities for work as a server in a fast-food restaurant?
Pairing the student with an employee who can work beside the student and model the required tasks
Which of the following strategies will be most effective for providing job training to a student with intellectual disabilities for work as a server in the fast food restaurant?
Pairing the student with an employee who can work beside the student and model the required tasks
Which of the following is the most commonly found on students individualized education programs (IEP's)?
Specific Learning Disability
A special education teacher is working with the language arts teacher to promote her students' understanding of media literacy and advertising techniques. What activity would be most appropriate to use to achieve this learning objective?
viewing commercials and having discussions about the advertising techniques used
A high school student with intellectual disabilities has expressed an interest in working at a clothing store. He would like to stock shelves and help with displays in the store. Which of these transition activities would provide the best training for him to prepare for employment at a store?
working alongside typical students in the school's spirit store, selling hats and shirts
Visual Discrimination
The ability to differentiate objects based on their individual characteristics
An electronics store is offering a 20% discount on a pair of noise-cancelling headphones that normally cost $169.79. What is the price of the headphones, before tax, after the discount is applied?
$135.83
Perceptual Integration
(Part/Whole relationship- Perceiving or integrating the relationship between an object or symbol in its entirety and the component parts which make it up
Working Memory
Ability to temporarily store and perform a set of cognitive operations on information that requires divided attention and the management of limited capacity of short-term memory. It is a conscious process that involves the manipulation of information. Working memory is one of the most fundamental processes of learning.
Resistance to auditory stimulus distortion
Ability to understand speech and language that has been distorted or masked in one or more ways.
A teacher writes the problem shown below on the board for a warm-up. 7x + 4 - 3x + 2 = 12 7x+4−3x+2=12 She asks students to combine like terms as the first step in solving the problem. Which equation demonstrates an understanding of the first step?
4x+6=12
In general, math instruction for students with learning disabilities in mathematics should be characterized by.
A balanced program of concepts, skills and problem solving.
Mr. McClure, a special education paraprofessional assigned to an elementary resource room, has a tendency to come in late to class. His supervisor, Mr. Washington, would like to discuss the issue with him in a way that would elicit the paraprofessional's genuine cooperation. Which of the following types of statements would be most effective for Mr. Washington to use to meet his goal?
A description of what the supervisor observes Mr. McClure doing and the effect his actions have on the class
Mr. Mcclure, a special education paraprofessional assigned to an elementary resource room, has a tendency to come in late to class. His supervisor, Mr. Washington, would like to discuss the issue with him in a way that would elicit the paraprofessionals genuine cooperation. Which of the following types of statements would be most effective for Mr. Washington to use to meet his goals?
A description of what the supervisor observes Mr. Mcclure doing and the effect his actions have on the class.
Of the following, the most effective means of providing program continuity for children transitioning from preschool to kindergarten is to offer
A developmentally appropriate program in both preschool and kindergarten that is responsive to individual differences.
Which two of these would be appropriate accommodations for a student while maintaining the integrity of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)? Select all answers that apply.
A fifth-grade student with severe dyslexia is working on a research paper. The student will be graded like other students, except his spelling will not count until the final draft. He uses a word processor to assign spelling corrections on rough drafts.. A ninth-grade student is working on maps in World Geography. He has a visual impairment, so the maps are enlarged to 20-point font size, and he is provided large-type labels with black print on a white background to place on the countries, rather than writing the name over the color.
Mr. Etsel is a new teacher in seventh grade, and he received a questionnaire about Carson, who was recently diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by his pediatrician. The special education team is doing a Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE), and part of the evaluation includes gathering data from Carson's teachers. Mr. Etsel does not understand why additional information is needed. What can the special education teacher tell him?
A formal evaluation is required by law, and it will be used to determine eligibility for special education services.
Mrs. Janes begins each day with a warm-up question that reviews material taught the day before. Students write their responses individually and then they discuss as a class. While they are writing, she moves around the room reading each response. What type of assessment is this?
A formative
Based on the information in this report, which of the following would best help Walter to succeed in the general classroom?
A highly structured classroom environment
Ms. Larson is a special education teacher in an inclusion classroom. After reading a short story to the class, she decided that students with significant specific learning disabilities (SLD) would be asked to label the sequence of events from the story using a list of choices, while all other students would be asked to describe how the tone and characterization impacted the story's theme. This is an example of:
A modification
Ashley is a first-grade student with cerebral palsy and fine-motor deficits. She is learning to write her name with help from her special education teacher and the occupational therapist. Which of the following accommodations would best support Ashley when practicing writing her name?
A pencil grip and a slant board
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which of the following people must be present at a third-grade student's annual Admission Review Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting?
A special education teacher, a general education teacher, a parent, and a school administrator
Which of the following additional activities would best help the teacher informally assess students' understanding of the way visual images and elements of design create meaning?
A. Students work in small groups to prepare their own exhibits by using photographs from newspapers and magazines to tell a story.
A special educator is teaching Monica, a 12 year old with multiple disabilities, how to identify pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Every day, the teacher gives Monica 20 coins to identify. With the help of a chart showing each coin and its name, Monica is asked to use her speech-generating communication device to identify each coin. The results after one week of instruction are shown below. Day Number of Coins Identified Correctly Monday 5 Tuesday 6 Wednesday 4 Thursday 3 Friday 4 9. Based on the assessment's results, the special educator's next step should be to
A. try a different instructional approach.
A teacher regularly analyzes the attempted spellings of emergent readers. In addition to providing information about students spelling development, the teachers approach would best help the teacher assess students
Ability to apply phonics skills.
Phonological Awareness
Ability to break apart and blend sounds in words
A third grader with special needs has been having trouble memorizing basic arithmetic facts. The student's classroom teacher asks the special education teacher's advice on how to help the student. In general, which of the following suggestions is most important for the special education teacher to give the teacher?
Address the problem now so that lack of automaticity will not impede more advanced math learning later on.
A third grader with special needs has been having trouble memorizing basic arithmetic facts. The students classroom teacher asks the special education teachers advice on how to help the student. In general, which of the following suggestions is most important for the special education teacher to give the teacher?
Address the problem now so that lack of automaticity will not impede more advanced math learning later on.
Justine is a first grade student who receives resource services. She has multiple disabilities and is an auditory learner. Which of the following instructional strategies best supports Justine's preferred learning style?
Allowing Justine to listen to stories and directions read aloud by the teacher.
The behavioral approach to addressing the needs of a student with severe autism may utilize which of the following strategies?
Applied Behavioral analysis (ABA)
Ten months ago, 16 year old Andrew suffered a head injury in an automobile accident and was left legally blind. Since the accident, Andrew seldom leaves his house. A few friends occassionally come over to listen to music, but Andrew fears they will get bored and stop visiting. Of the following, Andrew's special educators best response to the situation would be to
Ask Andrew what social activities he would like to participate in outside the home and help him develop the skills for doing so.
While reading aloud to her students, Ms. Cearing hopes to improve students' reading comprehension. Which activity could she choose to accomplish this goal?
Ask students to pause and visualize what was just read in their minds.
Caleb is a third-grade student who is showing difficulty with reading and math. Caleb's parents have asked his teacher about the possibility of a special education evaluation. What would be an appropriate next step if Caleb's parents verbally request an evaluation?
Ask the parents to share information in writing related to their request such as the completion of a screening questionnaire
To promote students reading fluency, a fifth grade teacher plans activities in which students and their assigned partners engage in repeated oral readings. When the teacher assembles the reading materials for the activities, the teacher should assign each pair of students passages from a text that
Both students are capable of reading aloud with no more than 5 word recognition errors per 100 words of text.
A first grade teacher who is working with a group of beginning readers gives each student a set of word cards. On each card is printed a word that the students have already learned to read. The teacher shows the student how to arrange the cards to create a statement. Students then create their own statements and read them aloud. One goal of this activity is to promote students reading development by reinforcing word recognition skills. In addition, this activity can be expected to promote students writing development by.
Building their understanding of basic synaptic structures.
Charlotte's parents have been divorced for four years, but they always appear amicable at school events. An Admission Review Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting has been scheduled, and only Charlotte's mother was invited. Her father emailed today and requested to be sent an invitation so that he may also attend. How should the special education teacher proceed?
Check the file to make sure her father has educational rights. If so, send home a copy of the invitation documents
During the initial transition meeting, the student expresses interest in a hospitality career. Which of the following would be the appropriate next step?
Collaborate with special education personnel to schedule time for the student to work in the campus coffee shop to gain experience and skills needed to transition to an integrated employment opportunity in the hospitality field.
After an Admission Review Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting for a student with an intellectual disability, Ms. Salina, the special education teacher, is contacted by Mr. Davis, a case worker from a local state agency that provides services for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He reports to Ms. Salinas that the student's parents want him to review the Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed at the ARD meeting, and he wants to come to the school to look at the document. Which of the following is the most appropriate response to Mr. Davis's request?
Community agency case workers can review the IEP document only with written permission from the parent
Which of the following is the best activity for reviewing the concept of fractions with fourth grade students?
Comparing fractions using a variety of materials
Which of the following is the best activity for reviewing the concept of fractions with fourth-grade students?
Comparing fractions using a variety of materials
Which of the following is a developmentally appropriate activity for a kindergartner to establish basic number sense?
Completing one-to-one correspondence exercise
Which of the following is a developmentally appropriate activity for a kindergartner to establish basic number sense?
Completing one-to-one correspondence exercise.
What learning progression should be used when teaching math concepts to sixth-grade students?
Concrete to symbolic to abstract
A second-grade student with an emotional behavioral disorder (EBD) is in an inclusion class. The student has violent outbursts that are frequent and seem to increase with time. Which of the following actions is most appropriate for the special education teacher to take to address the student's behavior?
Conducting a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to evaluate the reason for the behaviors
A special education teacher provides math instruction in the resource room for individuals and small groups of students who have learning disabilities. When teaching the students, the teacher should follow which of the following instructional guidelines?
Connect mathematical concepts to concrete examples with which the students are already familiar.
A special education teacher provides math instruction in the resource room for individuals and small groups of students with learning disabilities. When teaching the students, the teacher should follow which of the following instructional guidelines?
Connect mathematical concepts to concrete examples with which the students are already familiar.
A special education teacher preparers a group of students to listen to a story about a whale by asking them what they know about whales and writing the students responses on the board. This activity is likely to facilitate comprehension of the story primarily because it will
Connect new information to the students background knowledge.
David is in seventh grade and receives special education services for autism and mild intellectual disability. He struggles with social skills and maintaining friendships because he only wants to talk about airplanes. The speech-language pathologist is writing goals for the upcoming Admission Review Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting. Which of the following would be an age-appropriate goal to improve David's social skills?
David will initiate conversations with varied topics in 4 out of 5 attempts
For a third grader with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder who exhibits disruptive behavior and a low attention span, which of the following behavioral intervention strategies is most likely to help the student achieve classroom success?
Decreasing the duration of any activity by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable sections
An IEP team is determining if a student is eligible for Special Education services for a specific learning disability (SLD). Which of the following may serve as an indicator that the child is eligible?
Discrepancy between ability and achievement, with the student's ability being higher than achievement.
Which TWO of the following characteristics are common to students with both autism spectrum disorder and a hearing impairment?
Displaying social isolation or awkwardness and Manifesting difficulty with comprehending contextual or alternate meanings of words
At an Admission, Review Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting for a fourth-grade student, it has been recommended that the child be moved from an inclusion classroom into an adaptive behavior classroom that is self-contained. What must the committee consider prior to moving the student?
Does the child's behavior prevent him from being able to participate and make academic progress in the inclusion classroom?
Which of the following statements about Extended School Year (ESY) services is accurate according to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
Eligibility for ESY is determined annually.
Mr. Ortiz is a paraprofessional that provides in-class support for second-grade students with emotional disabilities. He has two students with Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs) that center around work completion. One component of the plan is that the students will receive 5 minutes of free choice time if they complete work independently. Mr. Ortiz often prompts the students to begin working and reminds them of their free choice activities, but he doesn't consistently follow through with providing free choice options before moving onto the next activity. How can his supervisor help with the implementation of the BIPs?
Explain the effects of assigning consequences and not following through on them, especially with students who have behavior concerns.
Task A: You have 24 meters of fence to build a rectangular area for a garden. How many different sized gardens can you create if each side is a whole number? Task B: The length and width of a rectangle adds up to 20 inches. What is the range of areas that the rectangle can have if each side is a whole number? Both Task A and Task B shown above meet the goal of students exploring the relationship between area and perimeter. Which additional goal can be met through each of the tasks?
Finding multiple solutions
At an Admission Review Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting for a 4-year-old student with a mild intellectual disability, it was decided that the student will transition from a self-contained preschool classroom to an inclusion kindergarten classroom. Which of the following actions is most appropriate for the current special education teacher to take to make sure that the student has a smooth transition?
Finding opportunities for the student to interact with nondisabled peers to foster the acquisition of social skills
Which of the following instructional strategies will most likely support the needs of a gifted elementary student who is eligible to receive special education services?
Focusing on talent development while providing supports for deficits
Ms. Fredericks, who is teaching first grade for the first time, asks Mr. Cardenas, the school's special education teacher, why a new student in her class needs a full and individual evaluation (FIE) even though a doctor has provided a note indicating that the student has been diagnosed with diabetes. Which of the following is the most appropriate response from Mr. Cardenas?
Formal evaluations by law must determine whether the student has a need for special education and related services.
After giving a lesson on simple sentences, Mr. Hummel posts a single review question and he asks the students to answer this question on an exit slip before heading off to lunch. What form of assessment is Mr. Hummel using?
Formative
Ms. Smith stops the class after just a few minutes of mathematics instruction, which is taking place at the board. She asks two questions requiring simple student responses on note cards. After quickly reviewing the cards, Ms. Smith returns to instructing at the board. Which type of assessment is the teacher using?
Formative
Ms.Smith stops the class after just a few minutes of mathematics instruction, which is taking place at the board. She asks two questions requiring simple student responses on note cards. After quickly reviewing the cards, Ms. Smith returns to instructing at the board. Which type of assessments is the teacher using?
Formative
A resource math teacher spends time with his students each day reviewing the calendar, reading a clock, and recognizing coins. These activities help them to prepare for the real world by offering them necessary skills for independence. What type of instruction is he offering?
Functional Math
A paraprofessional is helping a high school student transition from his wheelchair to the toilet. Which of these tools should be used by the student?
Gait belt
Verbal Reasoning
Generally reflects one's vocabulary and overall knowledge of the world. A variety of experiences and exposure to education influences development in this area.
Miss Hoyt teaches fifth-grade science, and she has lab groups with typical students and students with IEPs. She notices that they are struggling to cooperate and complete the lab in a timely manner. What can she do to help her students practice social skills such as sharing and taking turns?
Give each member a defined role and title. Each role has a set of responsibilities, and they will have a new role with each lab.
A teacher has presented adding fractions to her class and they have used manipulatives to gain a basic understanding. What is the next step in the learning process?
Give the students fraction addition problems using numbers instead of manipulatives.
A middle school special education teacher has been teaching students with learning disabilities how to use chapter headings, subheading, indexes, and glossaries in their textbooks when doing content- area reading. The greatest benefit of the approach the educator is using is that it
Gives the students tools for taking control of their own learning.
Which of the following should a teacher do before giving the first science textbook reading assignment to a class?
Go through the text with the class pointing out headings, pictures, key words, definitions, and other assistance available on the page.
Hanna is a ninth grade student who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and asthma. Hanna takes medication for both conditions inconsistently. Hanna is failing all classes despite accommodations. Which of the following statements best describes the most appropriate services for Hanna?
Hanna's performance requires referral to the special education team for consideration of eligibility for an Individualized Education Program (IEP).
A first-grade teacher wants to help her students develop word-recognition skills as well as increase their ability to create simple sentences. Which activity would help achieve this goal?
Have students create and read sentences using a set of sight-word flash cards.
A special education class has been working on consonant digraphs and recognizing the sounds that they make in words. The teacher used the "ch" digraph as an example, and the class helped her make a list of words beginning with the digraph. What would be the next activity to assess if students are beginning to grasp the concept of digraphs?
Have students read a short, familiar story and then circle the digraph words that begin with "ch."
A sixth-grade teacher is looking for a way to improve her students' understanding of how visual images create meaning. Which activity below would be the best way to achieve this goal?
Have students tell a new story using only photographs from a magazine or newspaper.
Hazel is a fifth-grade student with spina bifida who uses a wheelchair and does not have any intellectual impairments. She has recently moved to a new school district and is struggling to make friends. What can the special education teacher suggest?
Hazel should join the Girl Scout troop that has other girls in 5th grade.
Each week, Mr. Rivera has his students read books assigned to them in their book boxes. After reading, they rate the books on a scale of 1-5 and write down one topic that they liked and one topic that they did not like. What can Mr. Rivera do with the information he is collecting?
He can use this information to select future independent reading books for his students.
Ms. Ortiz is a special educator who teaches in a middle school resource room. At the beginning of each school year, she has each student complete an interest inventory such as the one shown below. In planning reading instruction for students with disabilities, Ms. Ortiz could best use the information from this informal assessment to
Help students select books for independent reading.
Processing Speed
How quickly one can perform a cognitive task
In a self-contained model, services to students with disabilities are provided in
In a self-contained model, services to students with disabilities are provided in
Some gifted students are labeled as having dual exceptionalities. What is the primary reason dually exceptional children are not identified through special education?
In the early elementary years, they may be able to compensate for their deficits due to being gifted, so it makes them appear as average students with talents in a few academic areas.
Students in Mr. Carson's third-grade class are often asked to work in small groups. Mr. Carson noticed that students picked the same partners or group members, so other children often felt left out. When he assigned group members, students had difficulty choosing roles and working together, so the workload appeared unbalanced and not all students remained focused. Mr. Carson recently began assigning designated roles to each group member when students complete small group assignments. Which of the following is the most likely benefit to students of this type of classroom?
Increased on task behavior
Students in a third grade class are playing a board game. On each players turn, the player spins a spinner that is divided into four quadrants, as shown below. The teacher overhears a student remark "Since I havent spun a four yet, I'll probably get a four on this turn". The student has demonstrated a misconception regarding which of the following mathematical concepts?
Independent Events
Which of these is not a specific learning disability?
Intellectual disability
Which of the following activities, performed by young children while a story is being read to them, would most likely encourage them to listen for meaning?
Miming the action of the story
Which of the following activities, performed by young children while a story is being read to them, would most likely encourage them to listen for meaning?
Miming the action of the story.
In which of the following ways has the movement toward accountability in education most significantly affected students who receive special education services?
More special education students are participating in statewide testing
Austin, a student with mild vision impairment, often has difficulty viewing text when the teacher writes on the board or shows PowerPoint presentations to the class. Which of the following suggestions is the most appropriate first step to try to help Austin view text?
Move Austin's seat to the front row of the classroom and enlarge font size for presentations
psychomotor speed
Movements of the body associated with mental activity
Which of the following activities would most help Mr. Hanson's students work on inferential comprehension skills?
Mr. Hanson asks various students to explain possible effects of different events in the narrative.
Quantitative reasoning
The ability to inductively and deductively reason with concepts involving mathematical relations and properties
Kylie is a second-grade student who is struggling with fine motor tasks such as holding a pencil, writing her name, and cutting with scissors. Her parents suspect that she may have a disability. Which of the following professionals would be most likely to evaluate Kylie?
Occupational Therapist
Mr. Johnson and Ms. Swan co-teach an inclusion middle school language arts class. After reading a short story as a whole group, Mr. Johnson and Ms. Swan split the students into two groups. Each of the teachers takes a group of students and works with that group to complete a post-reading activity and discussion. This type of collaborative teaching is an example of:
Parallel teaching
Which of the following procedural safeguards is included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
Parents have the right to obtain an Individual Education Evaluation (IEE) if they are in disagreement with the school district's evaluation.
Ms. Hernandez is a second-grade inclusion teacher who will be meeting with her students' parents for back-to-school night. Ms. Hernandez will have the opportunity to share a brief presentation regarding topics of study this school year. She has asked each family to fill out an index card with key information. Which of the following items would be important for her to ask parents to include?
Parents/guardians preferred contact number during the school day
What types of passages should a teacher assign when choosing texts for students to read aloud and practice reading fluency?
Passages that will likely have 2-5 unfamiliar words out of 100 the student may encounter
Which of the following is most effective for a teacher to use when working with linguistically diverse students with disabilities in second grade?
Presenting vocabulary that is needed in the learning context
In order to improve reading comprehension, Mr. Parks should encourage his students to do which of the following before reading a narrative text? Select all answers that apply.
Preview illustrations, the title, or bolded vocabulary words. Read the "About the Author" section.
Ms. Lewis, a kindergarten teacher, shows an unfamiliar story book to a student. She asks the student to point to the title of the book and open the book to the first page of the story. After the teacher reads a few pages, she asks the student to point to the words. The teacher is most likely assessing the students awareness that
Printed text corresponds to oral language
Which of the following strategies involves collecting data at a series of intervals to determine students' current performance levels?
Progress monitoring
According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a school district is required to use written notice to inform parents of changes to the child's program as it relates to all of the following areas except"
Proposal of new goals
Due to reading comprehension deficits, Joel has been in a resource classroom for language arts since first grade. He is beginning fifth grade this fall, and his teachers feel that he is ready to move into the general education setting with support. What is the best method to ensure his success?
Provide a special education co-teacher in language arts who provides the same accommodations that he received in the resource room.
Mr. Miller recognizes that his seventh-grade science class has many new vocabulary words with each unit. What is one teaching practice he can use to assist his students with disabilities that are also English Language Learners (ELLs)?
Provide a word wall with vocabulary words and pictures.
During science labs, Mr. Able notices that some students do most of the work, and others are excluded. In an effort to have all students actively participate, he has them collect data on their own lab sheets, but he notices that this causes some of his struggling students to spend the entire lab recording data. This prevents these students from preparing materials or completing lab procedures. What is another approach he could try?
Provide each group with one paper to collect data. Assign designated roles to each group member.
Second-grade students, Bryan and Alexander, are working together to count money raised by the school's student council. They know the value of the penny, quarter, and dollar, but they consistently confuse the value of the nickel and dime. How can the teacher address this?
Provide hands-on examples where they act out different scenarios using nickels and dimes.
During mathematics lessons, a special educator has students work in groups of two or three. Which of the following strategies would be most effective for the educator to use to help the small groups of students learn the social skill of sharing?
Providing each group with only one set of materials
Matilda is a fourth-grade student who has a specific learning disability (SLD). Matilda's parents have asked the special education teacher to provide some suggestions for how to make homework completion more manageable. Which of the following recommendations is most appropriate for the special education teacher to advise Matilda's parents to try at home?
Read aloud with matilda and ask questions to aid in comprehension
Reese is in eleventh grade and suffered a traumatic brain injury to his frontal lobe in elementary school. He inaccurately perceives social situations, and his parents have struggled to help him find independence without being a threat to others. For example, Reese does not have the mental capacity to drive, but his parents have caught him taking the car to meet friends when they are not home. They are concerned that he will cause a car wreck that could injure someone severely. As the special education teacher prepares for his upcoming Admission, Review, Dismissal (ARD) committee meeting, she wants to focus on his transition plan for after high school. Even though Reese has different views on his abilities than his parents, why should the teacher discuss the plan with him?
Reese's goals and interests are an integral part of developing a transition plan that will be successful.
Long-term storage
Refers to the ability to remember information and procedures that are used at some point after they are immediately taught
Visual Processing
Refers to the manipulation and memory of what we see- not actual vision but problems in the processing of visual information by the brain. It is the ability to generate, perceive, analyze, synthesize, store, retrieve, manipulate, transform, and think with visual patterns.
Asher is a ten-year-old student with emotional disabilities. He has been participating in inclusive classes at his local school, but the IEP team recommended a therapeutic placement out of district at his most recent IEP meeting. Asher's parents disagree with this recommendation and stated this at his IEP meeting. Which of the following responses is most appropriate for Asher's parents?
Request a due process hearing due to disagreement with Asher's placement.
A third-grade student who is emotionally disturbed is in an inclusion classroom. The child has mastered the goals set forth in the Behavioral Intervention Plan (BIP), however, other negative behaviors have developed. What should be the first step the special education teacher will take?
Request a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) to address the cause of the new behaviors.
Initiation
The ability to begin projects without undue procrastination, in an efficient or timely fashion. The ability to begin or start a task.
Marybelle, John, and Daphne are students in a resource English I class. Their teacher taught them how to record annotations in the last book they read. This week, their homework has been to read and annotate Chapter 1 in their new book. Today, the students had an open-book quiz and the average score was 68%. What should the teacher do?
Review the students' annotations and reteach the missed concepts.
Brady is a 16-year-old student with an emotional disability. He participates in a therapeutic program at his school that includes individual counseling and social skills. He plans to pursue a career in computer science after graduation, and he has just accepted a part-time job at a local computer repair store. Brady is able to walk to the store from his house, so he will work on evenings and weekends. What is the best way that his special education teacher can incorporate transition activities to help him to prepare for his job?
Role play challenging work scenarios such as dealing with a difficult customer, asking a coworker for help, and participating in a performance review with a supervisor so Brady can identify social skills and coping strategies to use at work.
Which of the following prohibits discrimination of individuals based on their disabilities?-
Section 504 of the rehabilitation act
An elementary teacher is planning an instructional unit on some of the most common communication conventions (i.e., punctuation, spelling, and grammar) used in digital media. Which of the following activities would best help support the teacher's goal?
Separate the characteristics of the most common communication conventions using a Venn diagram.
Victoria is a second-grade student who has been evaluated due to concerns that she has significantly lower expressive communication skills than a typical child of her age. In order to qualify for special education or related services, what else must be established?
She also demonstrates an inability to effectively communicate, which has a significant educational impact.
Which of the following is an accurate statement about the use of social skills for students with disabilities?
Social skills instruction is appropriate for improving students' interactions with peers and adults.
A special education teacher has many students with diverse backgrounds. She notices these students routinely try to help their classmates, even though she has warned them to work quietly by themselves. Which of the following should she consider when assessing the situation?
Some cultures promote interdependence over independence and the students are applying that cultural characteristic to their academic performance.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) have changed the landscape of special education services. What is the greatest impact in relation to placement of special education students that has occured?
Students are being placed in general education classrooms with typical, grade-level peers at a higher rate.
A beginning special educator teaches middle school students from diverse backgrounds in a resource room. At the beginning of the school year, the teacher reviews a list of rules for the resource room with each group of students and hangs the list on the classroom wall. One rule gives directions about the appropriate noise level: "Work quietly without disturbing others" Several times during the first weeks of school, students start helping each other with their work instead of focusing on their own. Consequently, the teacher has given out warnings to these students for breaking the rule. When reflecting upon the students behavior, the teacher needs to be aware that
Students from some cultures embrace a belief of interdependence rather than independence.
Which of the following describes what happens in the conventional stage of writing?
Students learn to adjust their writing for specific purposes and audiences.
An occupational therapist may be asked to consult with teachers and share recommendations for which of the following situations?
Students who have trouble holding a pencil and writing
A second-grade teacher wants to improve his student's reading fluency. Which activity would be an effective way to achieve this goal?
Supervised oral reading
Mrs. Thompson is working with her kindergarten students on listening for meaning while stories are read aloud. What activity could she ask them to do to best enhance this skill?
Take breaks to have students act out what was read.
Ramona, a high school junior with a specific learning disability (SLD), plans to enroll in a nursing program after high school. Which of the following goals would be most appropriate to include in her Individualized Transition Plan (ITP)?
Taking anatomy and physiology
Julio, a sixth grader with a learning disability, immigrated with his family to the US a year ago. Although Julio speaks english well, he never speaks to his classroom teacher unless spoken to. Concerned about this behavior, the classroom teacher suggests to the special education teacher that Julio may need social skills instruction. Which of the following factors is most important for the special education instructor to take into account when considering the suggestio?
Teachers can misperceive and misunderstand students behavior by interpreting them from a single perspective.
Julio, a sixth grader with a learning disability, immigrated with his family to the United States a year ago. Although Julio speaks English well, he never speaks to his classroom teacher unless spoken to. Concerned about this behavior, the classroom teacher suggests to the special education teacher that Julio may need social skills instruction. Which of the following factors is most important for the special educator to take into account when considering the classroom teacher's suggestion?
Teachers can misperceive and misunderstand students' behaviors by interpreting them from a single perspective.
Ben's inclusion social studies class is studying the Industrial Revolution. Students are reading a chapter in an electronic textbook and reviewing electronic versions of magazine and newspaper advertisements from the time period. Ben has cerebral palsy and often experiences pain from eye strain. Which of the following types of assistive technology would be most beneficial for this activity?
Text to speech software
Many students reach an incorrect answer when multiplying two-digit numbers, as shown in the work here. Which of the following is mostly likely the error made by students?
The 20 composed from the multiplication of 3 ones and 7 ones was not carried and therefore caused the error in the final answer.
Which of the following statements best describes how the objectives in a students individualized education program (IEP) should relate to the Texas Essetial knowledge and Skills (TEKS)?
The IEP objectives should reflect the TEKS as closely as possible
Which of the following statements best describes how the objectives in a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) should relate to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)?
The IEP objectives should reflect the TEKS as closely as possible.
Attention Control
The ability to maintain attention to a situation or task in spite of distractibility, fatigue, or boredom. Difficulty maintaining concentration. Typical symptoms involve developmentally inappropriate levels of attention (predominately inattentive, predominately hyperactive-impulse, combine- attention, hyperactivity-impulsivity)
Short-term memory
The ability to recall information after a few seconds
Inhibition
The ability to resist impulses and to stop ones behavior at an appropriate time
Metacognition/ Self-Monitoring
The ability to stand back and take a birds eye view of one-self in a situation, includes the ability to assess one's performance and progress towards a goal
Sequential Reasoning
The ability to start with stated rules, premises, or condition and to engage in one or more steps to reach a solution to a problem.
Memory
The ability to store and recall information. Memory includes long-term, short-term, and working memory.
Long-term memory
The ability to take and store a variety of information (ideas, names, concepts) in one's mind, then later retrieve it quickly and easily using association.
Ginny and Carter are learning about probability and their teacher hands them a bag with 18 red marbles and 10 green marbles. Ginny draws 2 red marbles and keeps them on her desk. Carter wants to draw green marbles on his turn. How did the probability of drawing a green marble change from when Ginny drew her marbles to when Carter will draw?
The probability of drawing a green marble increased
Mrs. Shin is writing IEP objectives for a second grade student with math deficits. The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for math state: "Students develop an understanding of the base-10 place value system and place value concepts. The students' understanding of base-10 place value includes ideas of counting in units and multiples of thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones and a grasp of number relationships, which students demonstrate in a variety of ways." Which of these would be an appropriate goal?
The student will understand place value for hundreds, tens, and ones.
Which of the following is the most appropriate reason to use curriculum-based assessments?
To identify skills that need reteaching
Which of the following is the most appropriate reason to use curriculum based assessments?
To identify skills that need reteaching.
Which is the most appropriate section of a student's IEP to include information about the student's post-secondary goals as well as activities and services that the student can access now to prepare for post-secondary education and/or employment?
Transition Plan
A fifth grader has diabetes and manages her illness through insulin injections. Which of the following symptoms should indicate to a teacher that this student may be experiencing insulin shock?
Trembling and irritability
A special education teacher is teaching Monica, a 12 year old with multiple disabilities, how to identity pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Every day, the teacher gives Monica 20 coins to identify. With the help of a chart showing each coin and its name, Monica is asked to use her speech- generating communication device to identify each coin. The results after one week of instruction are shown below. Based on the assessment results, the special educators next step should be to
Try a different instructional approach.
A sixth grade teacher has made the following notes about a students reading performance. Rebeccas oral reading speed and accuracy are about average for the class. Her errors which tend to occur when she encounters unfamiliar polysyllabic words, usually consist of substituting real words or nonsense words that are structurally similar to the printed words rather than words that are semantically or synatically correct. Rebecca's performance on oral and written comprehension questions that are based on silent and oral reading selections is also average for the class; however, her miscues are numerous and sometimes seem to interfere with her comprehension. Based on the notes about her performance, Rebecca would benefit most from instruction to help her
Use context clues and monitor her comprehension as she reads.
One of Ms. Landers' 4th-grade students is high achieving and enthusiastic about school. She becomes frustrated when not called on to answer questions and is known to take over when working collaboratively in groups. How can Ms. Landers best support this student along with the rest of the class?
Use role-playing games to model positive small and whole group interactions while also finding opportunities for this student to take an active leadership role in the class.
While evaluating a student's reading performance, Mr. Daniels identifies two problem areas. The student struggles to correctly read unfamiliar three-syllable words. The miscues from these words is causing comprehension issues after the fact. In order to help the student improve his comprehension, which activities should Mr. Daniels provide?
Using context clues to decode for meaning
A student who uses screen magnification software most likely has a primary classification of
Vision impairment
Which of the following goals is most appropriate to include in Walter's IEP to improve his expressive-language skills?
Walter will choose a story that he is familiar with and read it to a small group.
When is a student required to be invited to his/her IEP team meeting?
When the IEP team is developing a transition plan
When choosing an assistive technology for a student with a disability, a teacher should most importantly consider which of the following?
Will the technology be suitable for the student's individual needs and be appropriate for the situation?
In general, math instruction for students with learning disabilities in mathematics should be characterized by
a balanced program of concepts, skills and problem solving.
Of the following, the most effective means of providing program continuity for children transitioning from preschool to kindergarten is to offer
a developmentally appropriate program in both preschool and kindergarten that is responsive to individual differences.
While reading a story, students notice that the wheels on a space vehicle look like the figures shown. A special education teacher can use this teachable moment to have students use tiles to make similar figures. Which of the following can the students use to make the figures?
a set of trapezoids
A teacher regularly analyzes the attempted spellings of emergent readers. In addition to providing information about students' spelling development, the teacher's approach would best help the teacher assess students'
ability to apply phonics skills.
Which of the following areas should be considered when evaluating the quality of life of a 15-year-old student who has significant physical disabilities?
ability to experience social interaction with peers
Ten months ago, 16-year-old Andrew suffered a head injury in an automobile accident and was left legally blind. Since the accident, Andrew seldom leaves his house. A few friends occasionally come over to listen to music, but Andrew fears that they will get bored and stop visiting. Of the following, Andrew's special educators' best response to the situation would be to
ask Andrew what social activities he would like to participate in outside the home and help him develop the skills for doing so
Joyce and Tyrone, two third graders, are counting how many gallon and quart milk containers have been collected for a class science project. As they count, Tyrone tells Joyce that the gallon container is twice as big as the quart container. Based on his comment, Tyrone needs instruction in understanding the concept of capacity. The teacher can best teach him by.
asking him if he can think of some method of measurement that will test his statement.
Which of the following is an example of a self-monitoring strategy that may be beneficial for a second-grade student with significant behavioral needs (using inappropriate language, not keeping hands to self, demonstrating aggression toward staff)?
asking the student to rate himself using a color-coded system at set intervals in the school day
In order to best assess students' ability to use phonics skills in spelling, which of the following areas should teachers regularly assess and evaluate?
attempted spellings of early readers
Patrick is an eighth-grade student with Treacher Collins syndrome. He participates actively in class and reads on grade level. Patrick wears corrective lenses and has mild hearing loss. Which of the following supports may be most beneficial for Patrick?
audiological services
A portable device that is programmed to verbalize words or short phrases for the user is an example of a(an):
augmentative communication device.
To promote students' reading fluency, a fifth-grade teacher plans activities in which students and their assigned partners engage in repeated oral readings. When the teacher assembles the reading materials for the activities, the teacher should assign each pair of students passages from a text that
both students are capable of reading aloud with no more than 5 word recognition errors per 100 words of text.
A first-grade teacher who is working with a group of beginning readers gives each student a set of word cards. On each card is printed a word that the students have already learned to read (e.g., "he," "she," "sees," "loves," "has," "the," "a," "dog," "cat," and "pail"). The teacher shows the students how to arrange the cards to create a statement (e.g., "she sees the cat"). Students then create their own statements and read them aloud. One goal of this activity is to promote students' reading development by reinforcing word recognition skills. In addition, this activity can be expected to promote students' writing development by
building their understanding of basic syntactic structures
A fifth-grade student with dyslexia continues to struggle with reading even though she has received special education services for over a year. The teacher would like to use assistive technology (AT) to help her. What would be the first low-tech type of assistive technology that may be considered for addition into her Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and why?
colored overlays, because they are low cost and do not disrupt the classroom setting
A special education teacher prepares a group of students to listen to a story about a whale by asking them what they know about whales and writing the students' responses on the board. This activity is likely to facilitate comprehension of the story primarily because it will
connect new information to the students' background knowledge.
Alyssa is a third grader who has been assessed and found to be significantly below her grade-level peers in mathematics calculation and problem solving. To indicate that Alyssa qualifies for special education as a student with a specific learning disability in mathematics, Alyssa's evaluation must also show that she exhibits a
discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability.
A middle school special educator has been teaching students with learning disabilities how to use chapter headings, subheadings, indexes, and glossaries in their textbooks when doing content-area reading. The greatest benefit of the approach the educator is using is that it
gives the students tools for taking control of their own learning.
Given that the snow melts at a constant rate, which of the following equations can be used to model the height of the snow, h, to the days since the storm, d?
h=24-4d
Which of the following would be most beneficial for a student with an emotional disability who has a tendency to leave campus when transitioning between classrooms or from inside to outside?
having a paraprofessional or other staff member accompany the student during transitions
Ms. Ortiz is a special educator who teaches in a middle school resource room. At the beginning of each school year, she has each student complete an interest inventory such as the one shown below. 1. What is your favorite animal? 2. What is your favorite game? 3. What is your favorite sport? 4. What do you like to do after school? 5. What is your favorite school subject? 6. What famous person would you most like to meet? 7. What place would you like to visit? 15. In planning reading instruction for students with disabilities, Ms. Ortiz could best use the information from this informal assessment to
help students select books for independent reading.
Which of the following is the main purpose of instructing students with significant cognitive disabilities using a functional curriculum?
help students to develop daily living skills needed for adulthood
Two years ago, SooLee moved from South Korea to Dallas with her family. Now in the sixth grade, she has been identified as having severe dyslexia. She receives services three times per week for 30 minutes each session. Her language arts teacher has complained that SooLee is defiant and does not look her in the eye when speaking. What factors should be considered when addressing SooLee's behavior?
her culture may view eye contact between children and adults as disrespectful
A reading teacher asks students to read a short passage from a text and then close their eyes for a minute to visualize what they just read. The activity will help the students to
improve reading comprehension
Mr. Larry provides in-class support for 4th- and 5th-grade students at Treasure Valley Elementary. Many of the students that he supports do not turn in their homework, get pencils, or begin their morning work without individual prompts, so he creates a visual checklist for them that is on the corner of their desks. Each morning, he simply taps the checklist as he walks by their desks and they begin to complete tasks on the list. The greatest benefit of this approach is that it:
increases independent skills and places more responsibility on the student.
Part C of IDEA typically includes students of which of the following ages?
infant through age two
Early in the school year, the students in a fifth-grade class have been demonstrating exclusionary behavior. There are two dominant cliques, and there are several children, including two with disabilities, who are generally treated as outcasts. When considering how to respond, the classroom teacher should be aware that
it is imperative to institute a program specifically designed to build a learning community in which all students feel safe and accepted.
Research has analyzed many predictors of students' success in learning to read in early grades. This research has found that which of the following abilities are the best predictors of good readers?
knowledge of letters and phonemic awareness skills
Sometimes reading difficulties are known not to be the outcome of lack of opportunities in education or limited intellect. Recent educational research has found that these difficulties are most often the result of what instead?
lack of skills in phonological processing
Teachers of young children often read nursery rhymes and books with rhymes which help to promote phonological awareness by teaching children to:
listen for common sounds at the end of words and make predictions about those sounds.
Isaiah and Matthew, who sit at the same table, often talk during independent work time and are the last in class to finish their assignments. They rush to complete their work in the last five minutes so that they can line up to go to computer lab. Their teacher tried walking around the room and praising all of the students who were working, but this didn't change their rate of work completion. Then she started a new policy in which students cannot go to computer lab until their work has been reviewed for completion and accuracy. She reminds students of this rule before giving directions for the independent assignment. What type of technique did their teacher use?
manipulating the consequent stimulus
An eighth-grade student has just moved to the United States from Syria with his family. They are considered refugees. He uses a wheelchair, and his mother has requested special education services because she believes he has an orthopedic impairment. The school has conducted a full and individual evaluation (FIE) in his native language, which is also the primary language spoken at home. Who are the members of the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee that must be there to determine if he needs services?
parent, special education teacher, general education teacher, an administrator, an evaluator(s), and an interpreter
Ms. Lewis, a kindergarten teacher, shows an unfamiliar storybook to a student. She asks the student to point to the title of the book and open the book to the first page of the story. After the teacher reads a few pages, she asks the student to point to the words. The teacher is most likely assessing the student's awareness that
printed text corresponds to oral language.
Jackie is a high school student with severe anxiety. Her intelligence falls into the high average range, and she excels in language arts. Her anxiety has begun impacting her ability to complete assignments, as she fears that she has misunderstood directions. Which of these accommodations could help to ease her anxieties in the general classroom?
providing written and oral directions for assignments and checking for understanding of the directions
Jessica, a high school sophomore, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Her post-secondary education goal is to study journalism. Which of the following transition activities would be most appropriate for her IEP's postsecondary transition plan?
research colleges that offer journalism programs
A fourth-grade student receives services for an emotional disability due to a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder. His anxieties seem to be heightened when dealing with unexpected changes to his routine. Which of the following positive behavioral supports would be most appropriate for him?
reviewing a daily schedule with him and highlighting any events that are atypical
Ms. Merriman teaches in a classroom for students who are participating in a functional academic curriculum. Her students have severe cognitive and physical disabilities. The school's occupational therapist visits the classroom weekly to provide individual and small group services. Which of the following skills may be addressed by the occupational therapist?
self-care skills such as using utensils to eat or fastening buttons or zippers on clothes
Which of the following supports may be provided under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act?
services related to special education such as occupational therapy
A beginning special educator teaches middle school students from diverse backgrounds in a resource room. At the beginning of the school year, the teacher reviews a list of rules for the resource room with each group of students and hangs the list on the classroom wall. One rule gives directions about the appropriate noise level: "Work quietly without disturbing others." Several times during the first weeks of school, students start helping each other with their work instead of focusing on their own. Consequently, the teacher has given out warnings to these students for breaking the rule. When reflecting upon the students' behavior, the teacher needs to be aware that
students from some cultures embrace a belief of interdependence rather than independence.
Fluid Reasoning
the ability to think flexibly and problem solve. This area of reasoning is most reflective of what we consider to be general intelligence. Gifted students often have strong fluid reasoning skills.
Executive functioning
the brain based functions that involve mental control and self-regulation. Executive functions area analogous to a maestro of an orchestra, while the rest of the cognitive processes comprise the band itself.
Miss Jenkins is a paraprofessional at Spring Oaks Elementary, and part of her daily schedule includes helping with cafeteria duty. She approaches the special education teacher to discuss the lunchroom behavior of Juma, a special education student who is new. Miss Jenkins is bothered that Juma never uses a fork and only eats with her hands, even when having messy foods such as spaghetti and sauce. When considering this behavior, the adults should be aware of:
the culture that Juma is from and if they eat with their hands instead of utensils.
When proposing an evaluation for initial eligibility, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act requires that:
the evaluation is administered by qualified professionals
A sixth-grade teacher has made the following notes about a student's reading performance. Rebecca's oral reading speed and accuracy are about average for the class. Her errors, which tend to occur when she encounters unfamiliar polysyllabic words, usually consist of substituting real words or nonsense words that are structurally similar to the printed words rather than words that are semantically or syntactically correct. Rebecca's performance on oral and written comprehension questions that are based on silent and oral reading selections is also average for the class; however, her miscues are numerous and sometimes seem to interfere with her comprehension. 18. Based on the teacher's notes about Rebecca's reading performance, Rebecca would benefit most from instruction to help her
use context clues and monitor her comprehension as she reads.
Decoding is the ability to understand and use sound-letter relationships to pronounce written words. Before being able to decode students should first be able to
use phonemic awareness and phonics.
Which of these behaviors would be concerning when evaluating a 3-year-old's speech/language development?
using 2-3 word phrases to answer questions
Which of the following is the best activity for reviewing percentages with fifth-grade students?
using a variety of methods and scenarios to determine percentage
Which of the following is a developmentally appropriate activity for an average sixth grader to establish number sense?
using positive and negative numbers to represent financial situations
