AEPA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield AEPA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which instructional model involves students learning new content at home (often via video) and applying it in class with teacher support? → Flipped classroom
2. A teacher uses primary sources in a history lesson. What is the main advantage of this approach? → They provide firsthand accounts that develop historical thinking skills
3. Which term describes the movement of people into a country to live permanently? → Immigration
4. An IEP goal states: 'Given a reading passage, Jaylen will correctly answer 4 out of 5 comprehension questions by May.' Which component is this an example of? → Measurable annual goal
5. What is the primary purpose of a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA)? → To identify the function or purpose behind a student's challenging behavior
6. Which formula correctly calculates the area of a trapezoid? → A = ½(b₁ + b₂) × h
7. In early childhood mathematics, which skill involves understanding that the last number counted represents the total quantity of a set? → Cardinality
8. Which process do plants use to convert light energy into chemical energy stored in glucose? → Photosynthesis
9. Which term describes specialized instruction designed to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability? → Special education
10. What is the role of decomposers in an ecosystem? → To break down dead organic matter and return nutrients to the soil
11. Which element is MOST critical when writing measurable learning objectives for an elementary lesson? → Specifying observable student behaviors with criteria for success
12. Under the McKinney-Vento Act, a student experiencing homelessness must: → Be immediately enrolled even without required documents, with full rights to services
13. A middle school teacher wants to address multiple learning profiles in a single lesson. Which approach best reflects differentiated instruction? → Offering students choice in how they demonstrate mastery of the same learning objective
14. Which accommodation is most appropriate for a student with a reading disability taking a content-area test? → Providing extended time and text-to-speech technology
15. Which of the following is an example of alliteration? → Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
16. A teacher uses exit tickets at the end of each lesson. This practice is BEST categorized as: → Formative assessment used to inform next-day instruction
17. A teacher notices a student is frequently off-task. What is the most appropriate first step? → Observe and document the behavior to identify patterns before intervening
18. Which Supreme Court case ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional? → Brown v. Board of Education
19. A teacher in Arizona is concerned that a parent-requested instructional accommodation conflicts with the student's IEP. The most appropriate action is to: → Convene or request an IEP team meeting to discuss and formally address the concern
20. Which number property states that the order of addends does not affect the sum? → Commutative property
21. A teacher wants students to analyze how an author's word choice affects tone. Which activity BEST supports this goal? → Having students rewrite the passage using synonyms and comparing how tone shifts
22. The accused has the following rights under the Bill of Rights' procedural guarantees: → confront witnesses
23. A teacher reads a picture book aloud and stops to think aloud about confusing parts. This strategy PRIMARILY models which reading skill? → Metacognitive monitoring and comprehension fix-up strategies
24. What is the primary purpose of using exit tickets at the end of a lesson? → To provide a quick formative check of student understanding before leaving class
25. Which professional development model involves teachers working together to plan, observe, and refine lessons collaboratively? → Lesson study
26. Which of the following is an example of a modification (as opposed to an accommodation) for a student with a disability? → Reducing the number of test items required
27. If the audience is engaged or interested in what is being said, the speaker can tell by: → conducting an audience analysis
28. Which cognitive demand level involves students using procedures with connection to underlying mathematical concepts? → Procedures with connections
29. The main goal of a soliloquy in a play is to: → Reveal the personal thoughts and emotions of a character
30. Which instructional strategy is most effective for teaching geographic concepts such as map reading? → Reading and interpreting a variety of maps with guided analysis