TEA Principal Student & Staff Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A principal wants to implement a tiered professional development system. Which framework best supports differentiating PD based on teacher experience and need?
- One-size-fits-all mandatory workshops
- Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) data-driven pathways (Correct answer)
- Peer-selected book studies only
- District-mandated scripted curriculum training
Correct answer: Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) data-driven pathways
T-TESS provides performance data that principals use to differentiate professional development aligned to individual teacher growth goals.
Question 2: Under Texas Education Code, what is the principal's primary responsibility regarding a teacher who receives a 'Does Not Meet Standards' rating on T-TESS?
- Immediately recommend termination without further support
- Develop and implement an improvement plan with targeted support (Correct answer)
- Transfer the teacher to another campus
- Reassign the teacher to a non-instructional role
Correct answer: Develop and implement an improvement plan with targeted support
TEC requires principals to provide educators who do not meet standards with an improvement plan that includes targeted professional support before further action.
Question 3: A campus is experiencing high rates of student chronic absenteeism. Which multi-tiered approach aligns best with MTSS principles for addressing this issue?
- Send automated attendance letters to all families immediately
- Implement universal prevention, targeted check-in/check-out, and intensive case management tiers (Correct answer)
- Refer all chronically absent students directly to juvenile probation
- Mandate Saturday school attendance for all students with absences
Correct answer: Implement universal prevention, targeted check-in/check-out, and intensive case management tiers
MTSS addresses chronic absenteeism through universal strategies for all students, targeted interventions for at-risk students, and intensive individualized support for the highest-need cases.
Question 4: A new principal observes that staff morale is low after a difficult year. Which leadership action best addresses both staff well-being and professional growth simultaneously?
- Increase staff meeting frequency to address concerns
- Conduct structured listening sessions and co-create a staff wellness and development plan (Correct answer)
- Reduce all non-instructional duties to give teachers more free time
- Implement a formal reward system based solely on student test scores
Correct answer: Conduct structured listening sessions and co-create a staff wellness and development plan
Structured listening followed by co-created plans addresses staff agency, builds trust, and aligns wellness with professional growth priorities.
Question 5: Which student support practice is most consistent with a trauma-informed campus culture?
- Zero-tolerance policies applied consistently regardless of circumstance
- Understanding behavior as communication and responding with empathy and consistency (Correct answer)
- Removing disruptive students from class permanently to protect other learners
- Separating students who exhibit trauma responses from peers during all activities
Correct answer: Understanding behavior as communication and responding with empathy and consistency
Trauma-informed practices recognize that behavior communicates unmet needs and require adults to respond with empathy, predictability, and relationship-based support.
Question 6: A principal is building a professional learning community (PLC) on campus. Which characteristic is most essential for an effective PLC?
- Teachers meeting weekly regardless of agenda or purpose
- Collaborative inquiry focused on improving student learning outcomes using shared data (Correct answer)
- Administration presenting research for teachers to implement independently
- Department chairs delivering top-down directives about instructional strategies
Correct answer: Collaborative inquiry focused on improving student learning outcomes using shared data
Effective PLCs are defined by collaborative inquiry into student learning data, shared responsibility, and collective action to improve outcomes.
Question 7: A high school principal notices that a disproportionate number of students from a specific subgroup are receiving exclusionary disciplinary actions. What is the most appropriate first step?
- Increase campus security measures immediately
- Conduct a disaggregated data analysis to identify patterns and root causes (Correct answer)
- Meet individually with teachers who issued the disciplinary actions
- Implement a school-wide detention program to create consistency
Correct answer: Conduct a disaggregated data analysis to identify patterns and root causes
Disaggregated discipline data analysis is the foundational step to identify patterns, root causes, and whether implicit bias or systemic factors are contributing to disproportionality.
TEA Principal Student & Staff Development 2
A principal wants to implement a tiered professional development system.
Which framework best supports differentiating PD based on teacher experience and need?