CAE Professional Standards & Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An adult educator discovers that a learner is using a fraudulent transcript to enroll in a credential program. What is the most ethically appropriate first step?
- Ignore it to avoid damaging the learner's trust
- Report it to the appropriate institutional authority per policy (Correct answer)
- Confront the learner publicly in class
- Alter the transcript to reflect accurate information
Correct answer: Report it to the appropriate institutional authority per policy
Educators must follow institutional reporting procedures when academic dishonesty or fraud is discovered, protecting institutional integrity.
Question 2: Which principle from the AAACE Code of Ethics specifically addresses adult educators' responsibility toward the profession itself?
- Facilitating learner autonomy above all else
- Contributing to ongoing professional development and knowledge (Correct answer)
- Prioritizing institutional goals over individual learner needs
- Avoiding research to prevent conflicts of interest
Correct answer: Contributing to ongoing professional development and knowledge
Professionals have an obligation to advance their field through continued learning, research, and sharing of knowledge.
Question 3: A learner with a disability requests extended test time, but the educator believes the request is unjustified. What is the correct course of action?
- Deny the request based on personal judgment
- Refer the request to the institution's disability services office for proper evaluation (Correct answer)
- Grant unlimited time to avoid conflict
- Ask other learners to vote on the fairness of the accommodation
Correct answer: Refer the request to the institution's disability services office for proper evaluation
ADA compliance requires accommodations to be evaluated through formal institutional processes, not individual instructor discretion.
Question 4: An adult educator is asked by an employer to share which employees are struggling in a workplace literacy program. The educator should:
- Share the information since the employer is paying for the program
- Refuse unless participants have given written consent to disclose (Correct answer)
- Share only aggregate data, not individual names
- Ask learners informally if they mind
Correct answer: Refuse unless participants have given written consent to disclose
Learner confidentiality is protected regardless of who funds the program; written consent is required before disclosing individual performance data.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes the ethical concept of 'non-maleficence' as applied to adult education?
- Treating all learners equally regardless of background
- Avoiding actions that could harm learners physically or psychologically (Correct answer)
- Ensuring learners pass all assessments
- Promoting institutional interests above learner needs
Correct answer: Avoiding actions that could harm learners physically or psychologically
Non-maleficence is the principle of 'do no harm,' requiring educators to avoid practices that could cause learners physical, psychological, or social harm.
Question 6: An adult educator is developing curriculum for a government-funded program and realizes that the prescribed content conflicts with current evidence-based best practices. The ethical response is to:
- Teach only the prescribed content without comment
- Secretly deviate from the curriculum without informing anyone
- Raise the conflict with program administrators and advocate for evidence-based revision (Correct answer)
- Refuse to teach the course entirely
Correct answer: Raise the conflict with program administrators and advocate for evidence-based revision
Educators have a professional duty to advocate for learners by surfacing curriculum gaps or inaccuracies through appropriate administrative channels.
Question 7: A CAE practitioner who serves on a certification exam development committee uses practice questions they helped write in their own prep course. This is an example of:
- Efficient use of professional expertise
- A serious conflict of interest that compromises exam integrity (Correct answer)
- Acceptable practice if the questions are publicly available
- Standard professional development activity
Correct answer: A serious conflict of interest that compromises exam integrity
Using privileged access to non-public exam content for personal financial or competitive gain is a clear conflict of interest and ethical violation.
CAE Professional Standards & Ethics 2
An adult educator discovers that a learner is using a fraudulent transcript to enroll in a credential program.
What is the most ethically appropriate first step?