CSET Quality Assurance & Improvement 3 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: A curriculum coordinator compares her district's student performance data against that of the highest-performing districts in the state. This quality improvement practice is called:
- Gap analysis
- Benchmarking (Correct answer)
- Triangulation
- Summative evaluation
Correct answer: Benchmarking
Benchmarking involves comparing one's performance against recognized standards or top-performing organizations to identify improvement opportunities.
Question 2: In a quality management framework, which of the following BEST distinguishes 'quality assurance' from 'quality control'?
- Quality assurance fixes defects after they occur; quality control prevents them
- Quality assurance focuses on preventing defects through process improvement; quality control identifies defects in outputs (Correct answer)
- Quality control involves leadership planning; quality assurance involves frontline execution
- They are interchangeable terms meaning the same thing
Correct answer: Quality assurance focuses on preventing defects through process improvement; quality control identifies defects in outputs
Quality assurance is proactive (improving processes) while quality control is reactive (inspecting outputs for defects).
Question 3: A teacher team reviews student writing samples from multiple sourcesâclassroom essays, portfolios, and standardized test writing promptsâbefore making an instructional decision. This approach is called:
- Reliability testing
- Data triangulation (Correct answer)
- Criterion validity checking
- Norm referencing
Correct answer: Data triangulation
Triangulation uses multiple data sources to arrive at a more accurate and credible conclusion than any single source alone.
Question 4: Which of the following BEST explains why continuous improvement cycles (such as PDSA) are considered iterative?
- They require approval from state agencies before each cycle
- Each completed cycle produces insights that inform and refine the next cycle (Correct answer)
- They replace strategic planning with short-term action steps
- They focus exclusively on standardized test score improvement
Correct answer: Each completed cycle produces insights that inform and refine the next cycle
Iterative cycles build on previous learning; each PDSA loop generates data and insights that shape the hypothesis and plan for the next cycle.
Question 5: A school improvement team identifies that only 3 of 15 problems account for 72% of student referrals to the office. Which tool guided this finding?
- Scatter diagram
- Control chart
- Pareto analysis (Correct answer)
- Affinity diagram
Correct answer: Pareto analysis
Pareto analysis (based on the 80/20 rule) identifies the vital few causes responsible for the majority of problems.
Question 6: When evaluating an instructional program for quality, which type of validity evidence is MOST important for ensuring the test actually measures what the program taught?
- Construct validity
- Content validity (Correct answer)
- Criterion-related validity
- Face validity
Correct answer: Content validity
Content validity ensures the assessment adequately and representatively samples the content and skills the program was designed to teach.
Question 7: A district's data team creates a shared dashboard where all schools can view their own performance data alongside anonymized peer school data. The PRIMARY quality improvement purpose of this practice is:
- To rank schools publicly and hold principals accountable
- To allow schools to identify low performers for state sanctions
- To foster collaborative learning and data-driven goal-setting across schools (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for site-level data analysis teams
Correct answer: To foster collaborative learning and data-driven goal-setting across schools
Shared dashboards promote transparency, collaborative problem-solving, and goal-setting by allowing schools to learn from their own and peers' data.
CSET Quality Assurance & Improvement 3
A curriculum coordinator compares her district's student performance data against that of the highest-performing districts in the state.
This quality improvement practice is called: