AECTP Professional & Ethical Practices 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher suspects a student is being bullied online by classmates. The teacher's ethical obligation includes:
- Ignoring it since it occurs off school property
- Documenting the behavior and reporting it to administration per the school's anti-bullying policy (Correct answer)
- Confronting the bullying students' parents directly
- Posting about it on the school's social media to raise awareness
Correct answer: Documenting the behavior and reporting it to administration per the school's anti-bullying policy
Educators have a professional duty to document and report suspected bullying, including cyberbullying, through official school channels.
Question 2: The Alabama Standards for Excellence require educators to engage in continuous professional growth. Which activity best meets this standard?
- Repeating the same lesson plans from previous years without revision
- Participating in peer coaching, professional learning communities, or formal coursework (Correct answer)
- Attending one mandatory professional development session per year
- Reading education articles informally but not applying new strategies
Correct answer: Participating in peer coaching, professional learning communities, or formal coursework
Meaningful professional growth involves active, reflective engagement in communities of practice and application of new learning to instruction.
Question 3: A student with a 504 Plan for ADHD requests extended time on a standardized classroom test. The teacher refuses, saying the test needs to be 'fair for everyone.' This decision is:
- Correct, because standardized tests must be uniform
- Incorrect, because 504 Plans are legally binding and require the accommodation (Correct answer)
- Acceptable if the student did not remind the teacher before the test
- Optional if the teacher believes the student does not truly need it
Correct answer: Incorrect, because 504 Plans are legally binding and require the accommodation
504 Plans are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act; denying legally required accommodations violates federal law.
Question 4: When using copyrighted materials in the classroom, teachers are most protected under which legal doctrine?
- Open source licensing
- The Fair Use Doctrine (Correct answer)
- Creative Commons Zero (CC0)
- The First Amendment
Correct answer: The Fair Use Doctrine
The Fair Use Doctrine permits limited use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes when specific criteria are met.
Question 5: A teacher shares a student's learning disability status with another teacher who does not teach that student. This most likely violates:
- The Alabama Graduation Exam policy
- FERPA, which restricts disclosure of student information to those with a legitimate educational interest (Correct answer)
- The teacher's employment contract only
- State testing security protocols
Correct answer: FERPA, which restricts disclosure of student information to those with a legitimate educational interest
FERPA limits disclosure of personally identifiable student information to school officials with a legitimate educational interest.
Question 6: An educator who intentionally alters student standardized test answers to improve school performance metrics is guilty of:
- A minor administrative error
- Academic fraud and a serious breach of professional ethics that may result in criminal charges (Correct answer)
- An act protected by academic freedom
- A violation only if caught by state officials
Correct answer: Academic fraud and a serious breach of professional ethics that may result in criminal charges
Altering standardized test answers is academic fraud, a serious ethical and legal violation that can result in certificate revocation and criminal prosecution.
Question 7: Which of the following scenarios represents a teacher appropriately exercising professional judgment in a difficult situation?
- Sending a misbehaving student home without administrator approval
- Consulting with the principal and counselor before making a high-stakes decision about a student in crisis (Correct answer)
- Sharing a student's emotional struggles with the whole class to build empathy
- Handling a suspected abuse situation privately without making a report
Correct answer: Consulting with the principal and counselor before making a high-stakes decision about a student in crisis
Consulting appropriate school professionals before acting on high-stakes situations reflects sound professional judgment and ethical decision-making.
AECTP Professional & Ethical Practices 4
A teacher suspects a student is being bullied online by classmates.
The teacher's ethical obligation includes: