TEA Principal Leadership & School Administration 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A Texas principal receives a complaint from a parent alleging a teacher engaged in discriminatory grading. What is the principal's FIRST required action?
- Immediately terminate the teacher pending investigation
- Conduct a preliminary inquiry and document all findings per campus policy (Correct answer)
- Refer the complaint directly to TEA without campus review
- Inform the school board before notifying the teacher
Correct answer: Conduct a preliminary inquiry and document all findings per campus policy
Principals must first conduct a preliminary inquiry and document findings according to local campus and district policy before escalating.
Question 2: Under Texas Education Code, which entity holds primary authority for adopting a campus improvement plan?
- The campus principal alone
- The superintendent
- The campus-level committee (SBDM) (Correct answer)
- The regional Education Service Center
Correct answer: The campus-level committee (SBDM)
Texas law requires the campus-level Site-Based Decision Making (SBDM) committee to develop and adopt the Campus Improvement Plan.
Question 3: A principal wants to increase instructional time without extending the school day. Which strategy best aligns with TEA guidelines?
- Eliminate all elective classes district-wide
- Audit and reduce non-instructional interruptions such as announcements and transitions (Correct answer)
- Assign teachers double class loads on alternating days
- Request a waiver to reduce required planning periods below the minimum
Correct answer: Audit and reduce non-instructional interruptions such as announcements and transitions
Auditing and minimizing non-instructional interruptions is an approved, practical strategy to reclaim instructional minutes within the existing schedule.
Question 4: When distributing leadership across a campus, which action BEST demonstrates distributed leadership practice?
- The principal makes all final decisions but consults teachers informally
- Formal leadership roles are assigned only to assistant principals
- Teacher leaders are given authority and accountability for specific school improvement initiatives (Correct answer)
- The principal delegates paperwork tasks to department chairs
Correct answer: Teacher leaders are given authority and accountability for specific school improvement initiatives
Distributed leadership means teacher leaders are empowered with real authority and accountability for improvement initiatives, not just administrative tasks.
Question 5: A campus accountability rating drops to 'Needs Improvement' under the Texas accountability system. What is the principal's immediate statutory obligation?
- Resign from the position within 30 days
- Notify parents and develop a targeted improvement plan in coordination with the district (Correct answer)
- Transfer all staff to other campuses
- Request annexation to a neighboring district
Correct answer: Notify parents and develop a targeted improvement plan in coordination with the district
Texas law requires principals to notify parents/guardians and work with the district to create a targeted improvement plan when a campus receives a low accountability rating.
Question 6: Which description BEST reflects Texas's definition of instructional leadership as applied to campus principals?
- Managing bus routes and cafeteria operations efficiently
- Focusing resources, attention, and actions on improving teaching and learning campus-wide (Correct answer)
- Ensuring all teachers follow the same pacing guide regardless of student needs
- Delegating all curriculum decisions to assistant principals
Correct answer: Focusing resources, attention, and actions on improving teaching and learning campus-wide
Texas frameworks define instructional leadership as focusing campus resources and actions on improving teaching and student learning outcomes.
Question 7: A principal must approve a professional development (PD) calendar. Which TEA requirement must be satisfied?
- All PD must occur outside the regular school year
- PD must be aligned to identified student learning needs and campus/district improvement goals (Correct answer)
- PD providers must be approved at the state level by TEA
- Teachers must pay for any PD that exceeds 30 hours annually
Correct answer: PD must be aligned to identified student learning needs and campus/district improvement goals
TEA requires that professional development be aligned to identified student learning needs and campus or district improvement plan goals.
TEA Principal Leadership & School Administration 2
A Texas principal receives a complaint from a parent alleging a teacher engaged in discriminatory grading.
What is the principal's FIRST required action?