TExES 268 Instructional Leadership 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A principal wants to build teacher capacity in using student work to drive instructional decisions. Which structure is MOST effective?
- Asking teachers to submit student work samples to the principal each month for review
- Establishing regular protocols for collaborative examination of student work within grade-level or content teams (Correct answer)
- Posting exemplary student work in hallways to motivate other students
- Having teachers independently grade and analyze their own students' work each week
Correct answer: Establishing regular protocols for collaborative examination of student work within grade-level or content teams
Collaborative examination of student work using structured protocols builds collective teacher capacity and promotes shared instructional decision-making.
Question 2: Which of the following BEST demonstrates a principal's commitment to culturally responsive instruction?
- Celebrating cultural heritage months with school-wide decorations and assemblies
- Ensuring that instructional materials, examples, and teaching strategies reflect and affirm the cultural identities of all student groups on campus (Correct answer)
- Hiring teachers whose racial backgrounds match the student population
- Providing translation services for parent communications
Correct answer: Ensuring that instructional materials, examples, and teaching strategies reflect and affirm the cultural identities of all student groups on campus
Ensuring instructional materials and strategies reflect and affirm students' cultural identities is the core of culturally responsive instruction, going beyond surface-level recognition.
Question 3: A campus principal identifies that writing proficiency is low across all grade levels. Which sequence of actions reflects BEST instructional leadership practice?
- Purchase a scripted writing curriculum and require all teachers to implement it with fidelity
- Analyze writing assessment data by grade level, engage teachers in identifying root causes, build a shared writing framework, and monitor implementation with ongoing feedback (Correct answer)
- Assign the English department to develop a campus-wide writing rubric independently
- Increase the number of writing assignments per class and assess improvement at the end of the semester
Correct answer: Analyze writing assessment data by grade level, engage teachers in identifying root causes, build a shared writing framework, and monitor implementation with ongoing feedback
Analyzing data, building shared understanding of root causes, co-developing a framework, and monitoring with feedback is the complete cycle of effective instructional improvement leadership.
Question 4: During an instructional walkthrough, a principal observes that a teacher's posted learning objectives are vague and not connected to the lesson activity. What is the BEST response?
- Write the correct objective on the board for the teacher during the observation
- Note the observation and discuss during a follow-up conference how clear, measurable objectives connected to activities improve student learning (Correct answer)
- Report the observation to the assistant principal responsible for that grade level
- Add a requirement to the lesson plan template that teachers must state objectives in student-friendly language
Correct answer: Note the observation and discuss during a follow-up conference how clear, measurable objectives connected to activities improve student learning
Discussing the observation in a follow-up conference focused on the instructional rationale supports the teacher's professional understanding and leads to lasting change.
Question 5: A principal wants to ensure that technology integration in classrooms enhances learning rather than substitutes for it. Which framework would BEST guide this leadership decision?
- The TEKS technology applications strand
- A substitution-to-redefinition framework (e.g., SAMR model) to evaluate how technology transforms learning tasks (Correct answer)
- The district's acceptable use policy for student devices
- Usage reports from the learning management system showing frequency of teacher logins
Correct answer: A substitution-to-redefinition framework (e.g., SAMR model) to evaluate how technology transforms learning tasks
Using a substitution-to-redefinition framework like SAMR helps principals and teachers evaluate whether technology meaningfully transforms learning rather than simply replacing existing tasks.
Question 6: A principal reviews staff survey data indicating that teachers feel instructional goals change too frequently. What does this MOST likely signal?
- Teachers are resistant to change and need stronger accountability measures
- The campus lacks a stable, long-term instructional vision, and goal-setting processes need greater teacher involvement and coherence (Correct answer)
- The principal should reduce the number of campus goals to two or fewer
- Teachers need more training on how to adapt to changing instructional priorities
Correct answer: The campus lacks a stable, long-term instructional vision, and goal-setting processes need greater teacher involvement and coherence
Frequent goal shifts signal an unstable instructional vision; the remedy is deeper teacher involvement in setting goals and a more coherent, multi-year improvement focus.
Question 7: When evaluating the effectiveness of a campus professional development program, which evidence is MOST meaningful?
- Teachers' satisfaction ratings collected at the end of each session
- Evidence of changed instructional practice in classrooms and improved student learning outcomes linked to the PD focus (Correct answer)
- The number of professional development hours logged by each teacher
- Teachers' self-reported confidence levels on post-PD surveys
Correct answer: Evidence of changed instructional practice in classrooms and improved student learning outcomes linked to the PD focus
The ultimate measure of professional development effectiveness is observable change in classroom instruction and corresponding improvement in student outcomes, not self-report or participation metrics.
TExES 268 Instructional Leadership 5
A principal wants to build teacher capacity in using student work to drive instructional decisions.
Which structure is MOST effective?