NCLB General Principles 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the term for the NCLB requirement that teachers in core academic subjects meet specific qualifications?
- Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) requirement (Correct answer)
- Certified Educator Standard
- National Teacher Licensure mandate
- Professional Competency Benchmark
Correct answer: Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) requirement
NCLB's Highly Qualified Teacher requirement mandated that all teachers of core subjects hold state certification, a bachelor's degree, and demonstrate subject matter competency.
Question 2: Under NCLB, which of the following is NOT considered a core academic subject?
- Physical education (Correct answer)
- Mathematics
- Science
- History
Correct answer: Physical education
Physical education is not listed as a core academic subject under NCLB; the law defines core subjects as English, reading, math, science, foreign languages, civics, economics, history, geography, and arts.
Question 3: If a school fails AYP for five consecutive years under NCLB, what is the required intervention?
- Restructuring, which may include reopening as a charter school or replacing staff (Correct answer)
- Losing all federal funding permanently
- Mandatory state takeover with no local options
- Closure and redistribution of students to neighboring districts
Correct answer: Restructuring, which may include reopening as a charter school or replacing staff
After five years of missed AYP, schools must undergo restructuring, which can include converting to a charter school, replacing all staff, or turning operations over to the state.
Question 4: What option must Title I schools offer students when the school has been identified for improvement for two consecutive years?
- Public school choice — the option to transfer to another public school in the district (Correct answer)
- Vouchers to attend private schools
- Online-only education alternatives
- Home schooling support services
Correct answer: Public school choice — the option to transfer to another public school in the district
After two years of improvement status, Title I schools must offer students the option to transfer to another public school in the district that is not in improvement status.
Question 5: Under NCLB, what supplemental services must be offered when a Title I school fails AYP for three consecutive years?
- Free tutoring and other academic assistance from state-approved providers (Correct answer)
- Extended school year programs funded by the district
- Mandatory after-school programs run by the school itself
- Scholarship funds for private tutoring chosen by parents
Correct answer: Free tutoring and other academic assistance from state-approved providers
After three years in improvement status, schools must provide Supplemental Educational Services (SES), which are free tutoring services from state-approved providers.
Question 6: NCLB required that states use assessments aligned with state academic standards. What does 'alignment' mean in this context?
- Tests must measure the same content and skills the standards describe (Correct answer)
- Tests must use the same format as national standardized tests
- Tests must be developed by the same company across all states
- Tests must produce scores comparable to other states' results
Correct answer: Tests must measure the same content and skills the standards describe
Alignment means the assessments must directly measure the content and skills specified in a state's own academic standards.
Question 7: Which concept describes NCLB's requirement that the percentage of students scoring proficient must increase over time toward the 2014 goal?
- Intermediate AYP targets or 'staircase' proficiency targets (Correct answer)
- Benchmarked assessment scaling
- Rolling average proficiency indexing
- Cumulative growth modeling
Correct answer: Intermediate AYP targets or 'staircase' proficiency targets
States set intermediate proficiency targets that increased incrementally each year, creating a staircase trajectory toward 100% proficiency by 2014.
NCLB General Principles 4
What is the term for the NCLB requirement that teachers in core academic subjects meet specific qualifications?