SDL Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the SDL exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 SDL Exam Format at a Glance
📚 SDL Topics to Study (22)
✍️ Sample SDL Questions & Answers
1. Which approach to professional development BEST builds long-term teacher capacity?
Job-embedded PLCs focused on student data produce sustained changes in practice far more effectively than episodic external training.
2. A district leader receives a complaint that a principal is creating a hostile work environment for staff. The FIRST step is to:
An impartial investigation must precede any personnel action to ensure fairness and legal defensibility.
3. A district's formative assessment data shows many students struggle with writing across all grade levels. The MOST systemic response is to:
A systemic writing challenge requires a coherent districtwide framework integrated across all content areas, not isolated interventions.
4. A district leader wants to build a culture of psychological safety. Which practice MOST directly supports this?
Psychological safety is built through leader modeling of vulnerability, active encouragement of dissent, and demonstrated protection from retaliation.
5. Under FERPA, which action requires written parental consent before a school district may share student education records with a third-party ed-tech vendor?
FERPA requires written parental consent before disclosing personally identifiable information from education records to third parties unless a specific statutory exception applies.
6. Under which circumstance is it appropriate for a district leader to place a teacher on a formal improvement plan?
Formal improvement plans are appropriate after documented persistent deficiencies remain unimproved despite support, ensuring due process and fairness.