AEPA AEPA 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher notices that an English Language Learner consistently struggles with academic vocabulary but communicates fluently on the playground. This gap is best described as the difference between:
- Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness
- BICS and CALP (Correct answer)
- Formative and summative assessment
- Receptive and expressive language
Correct answer: BICS and CALP
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) refers to social language fluency, while CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) refers to academic language needed for school success.
Question 2: Under Arizona law, which entity is primarily responsible for adopting academic standards for K–12 public schools?
- The Arizona State Board of Education (Correct answer)
- The Governor's Office of Education Innovation
- Each individual school district's governing board
- The Arizona Department of Child Safety
Correct answer: The Arizona State Board of Education
The Arizona State Board of Education has statutory authority to adopt academic standards and accountability frameworks for K–12 public schools.
Question 3: A high school biology teacher designs a lab where students develop hypotheses, collect data, and revise their conclusions. This approach best exemplifies:
- Direct instruction
- Inquiry-based learning (Correct answer)
- Cooperative learning
- Differentiated instruction
Correct answer: Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based learning engages students in the scientific process of questioning, investigating, and revising understanding based on evidence.
Question 4: Which assessment practice best supports the principle of 'assessment for learning' rather than 'assessment of learning'?
- Administering a year-end standardized test
- Using exit tickets to check understanding at the end of each lesson (Correct answer)
- Reporting final letter grades to parents
- Ranking students by their cumulative GPA
Correct answer: Using exit tickets to check understanding at the end of each lesson
Exit tickets provide real-time formative data that teachers use to adjust instruction, exemplifying assessment that drives learning rather than merely measuring it.
Question 5: A teacher suspects a student may have a learning disability. What is the correct first step under IDEA?
- Immediately place the student in special education classes
- Refer the student to the school psychologist for formal testing
- Implement and document research-based interventions through a tiered support system (Correct answer)
- Contact the Arizona Department of Education for guidance
Correct answer: Implement and document research-based interventions through a tiered support system
IDEA and Arizona guidelines require implementing tiered, research-based interventions (RTI/MTSS) and documenting their effects before initiating a formal special education referral.
Question 6: According to Bloom's Taxonomy (revised), which student task requires the highest level of cognitive complexity?
- Recalling the steps of mitosis from memory
- Summarizing the causes of the Civil War
- Comparing two poems using a Venn diagram
- Designing an experiment to test water quality in the local river (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Designing an experiment to test water quality in the local river
Creating/designing sits at the apex of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy, requiring students to synthesize knowledge into a novel product or plan.
Question 7: A fourth-grade teacher uses 'think-alouds' while reading a complex text to students. The primary instructional purpose is to:
- Model metacognitive strategies so students can internalize them (Correct answer)
- Assess students' listening comprehension skills
- Reduce the amount of independent reading students must do
- Demonstrate fluent oral reading for phonics reinforcement
Correct answer: Model metacognitive strategies so students can internalize them
Think-alouds make a skilled reader's invisible mental processes visible, helping students develop metacognitive reading strategies they can apply independently.
AEPA AEPA 2
A teacher notices that an English Language Learner consistently struggles with academic vocabulary but communicates fluently on the playground.
This gap is best described as the difference between: