Chapter 12 Test Questions
Multiple Choice
1. The curriculum specialists of the Blind River School District have organized the curriculum so that key
content is taught at various grade levels with concepts and applications geared to the interests and
abilities of the students in the grades in question. This curriculum design is known as
a. subject-centered.
b. core.
c. spiral.
d. mastery.
2. In the United States, a subject-centered curriculum
a. was in place in the earliest schools.
b. has been increasingly adopted by more schools.
c. reflects the latest research on successful schools.
d. caters to the needs of more individual students than any other curriculum.
3. Schools in the United States have sometimes been criticized for the tendency to teach according to an
analogy that compares the curriculum to a river that is a mile wide and an inch deep. This analogy
most closely resembles a curriculum design that emphasizes
a. studying fewer topics but in greater depth.
b. memorizing as much content as possible.
c. engaging in a problem-based curriculum.
d. requiring students to demonstrate mastery of a few topics before proceeding.
4. All of the following are usually considered co-curricular activities EXCEPT
a. marching band.
b. science labs.
c. athletic teams.
d. Spanish club.
5. The Libertyville School District is facing a budget crunch because of the loss of several local industries.
One of the school board members has suggested cutting the music program and athletics to free up
money for the core areas. Another member vigorously opposes the move because it has been shown
that
a. the programs really are not that expensive to operate.
b. No Child Left Behind mandates these activities.
c. special federal grants are available to support these areas.
d. many students attend school so they can participate in these activities.
6. Felipe Vasquez is preparing for his first year as a science teacher. When he arrives at the school, he
should expect to be provided with all of the following EXCEPT
a. curriculum guides.
b. textbooks.
c. assessments to be administered.
d. manipulatives and lab materials.
7. Groups who oppose the cutting of old-growth forests and who want to influence the curriculum have
the greatest chance of success if they apply pressure on
a. individual teachers.
b. school principals.
c. school districts.
d. state legislatures.
8. One of the dangers of high-stakes testing is that students will not
a. be motivated to learn what is on the tests.
b. be expected to achieve at high levels on the tests.
c. have opportunities to learn critical topics not covered on the tests.
d. work harder when they know what is covered on the tests.
9. Rachael Stern teaches fourth grade at Arlington Elementary School. She regularly examines the
curriculum guides and syllabi for the grades above and below the fourth grade. This is a sound practice
because she will be able to
a. start off the year without worrying about what other teachers have already taught.
b. see how what she is teaching relates to what students learned previously and are expected to
learn next year.
c. borrow the lesson plans from the year before and use them as review lessons.
d. not use up valuable time on any references in her lessons to what students have already been
exposed to.
10. Some states have programs based on documents called Curriculum Frameworks. These documents
are organized around
a. lists of topics to be taught.
b. major questions to be presented by the teacher.
c. specific grade-level benchmarks.
d. the big ideas for each subject area.
11. Classroom teachers have the major responsibility for all of the following EXCEPT
a. selection of the curriculum.
b. real-time delivery of lessons.
c. responses to student questions.
d. day–to-day assessment.
12. The School Improvement Committee of Shady Acres Middle School is responsible for all of the
following EXCEPT
a. administration of achievement tests to students.
b. analysis of data about student learning.
c. reports about the efforts of the school to improve during the current year.
d. preparation of a specific plan for the following year.
13. The concept of linking the success or failure of students to achieve to the performance of the
classroom teacher is opposed to the beliefs of:
a. teacher associations.
b. parents’ groups.
c. state legislators.
d. the United States Department of Education.
14. Community priorities have the greatest effect on the value placed on which of the following in a
school?
a. what is taught in social studies classes
b. math concepts studied
c. existence of an inclusion plan
d. the marching band and football team
15. The teachers at Thunder Ridge High School strongly subscribe to the belief that all students can
learn. As a result, they will support all of the following EXCEPT
a. students are grouped according to their needs.
b. special needs students are integrated into regular classrooms.
c. teachers take advantage of diverse students’ talents and interests.
d. aptitude tests determine what courses counselors advise students to take.
16. If each teacher were allowed to choose his or her own curriculum
a. the needs of society would be met more appropriately.
b. there would be a lack of continuity in the system.
c. it would be easier to compare student achievement in different areas.
d. the day-to-day management of teaching would be considerably easier.
17. The legal responsibility to establish standards is at the level of
a. professional associations such as the National Council for the Teaching of Mathematics.
b. the federal Department of Education.
c. each individual state.
d. individual school districts.
18. One problem of statewide textbook selection procedures in large states is:
a. books are more expensive.
b. publishers tend to customize texts to local needs.
c. pressure groups and politicians can effectively influence content.
d. competition among publishers lowers the quality of the final products.
19. Organizing secondary schools into departments provides all of the following advantages EXCEPT
a. decreasing the emphasis on particular content.
b. permitting teachers to collaborate with one another.
c. permitting multi-year coordination of content and concepts.
d. making it easier to develop an integrated curriculum.
20. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is designed to
a. rank individual students in each school.
b. compare students in different schools within each state.
c. indicate how well students are doing in each state.
d. develop a national ranking of schools.
21. At the beginning of class, Krista Bielecki displayed the following on the SmartBoard, By the end of this
class, students will measure objects and calculate their areas and volumes. This statement is an
example of a(n)
a. aim.
b. benchmark.
c. objective.
d. standard
22. ”Students should specify locations and describe spatial relationships using coordinate geometry and
other representational systems.” This statement is an example of a(n)
a. aim.
b. benchmark.
c. objective.
d. standard.
23. Martin Greenway presented his students with the following objective, Students will participate in a
jigsaw activity to investigate the reasons for the great depression. After giving a test that three–
quarters of the students failed, Martin was heard to say, Well I did my job. No one can say that the
objective wasn’t met during class. Which of the following best describes the situation outlined?
a. Martin is correct since the objective is an output statement.
b. Martin is not correct since the objective is an output statement.
c. Martin is correct because the objective is an input statement.
d. Martin is not correct because the objective is an input statement.
24. Sanela Baric presented her students with the following objective, By the end of class, students will
identify the verbs in various French sentences and convert them from the present tense to the past
tense. After the lesson, Sanela gave a test and found that seventy-five percent of her students failed.
She remarked to her colleague, No one can say that the objective wasn’t met. I did my best in
teaching the lesson. Which of the following statements best represents the situation?
a. Sanela is correct since the objective is an output statement.
b. Sanela is incorrect since the objective is an output statement.
c. Sanela is correct since the objective is an input statement.
d. Sanela is incorrect since the objective is an input statement.
25. All of the following are true of Bloom’s Taxonomy EXCEPT
a. it identifies six levels of learning and educational objectives.
b. it deals with the cognitive domain.
c. students cannot perform at higher levels unless they have already learned necessary knowledge
at lower levels.
d. memorization and recall represent the highest levels of achievement.
26. Which of the following lists the levels of the revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy on the correct order
from the simplest to the most complex?
a. remember, understand, create, apply, analyze, evaluate
b. remember, understand, analyze, apply, evaluate, create
c. remember, apply, comprehend, analyze, create, evaluate
d. remember, comprehend, apply, analyze, evaluate, create
27. The following question appeared on Ms. Longstreet’s World History examination. ʺCompare and
contrast the reasons for the outbreak of hostilities in World War I and World War II.ʺ This question is
at which level of the revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy?
a. analyze
b. apply
c. evaluate
d. create
28. The effort to produce a taxonomy of educational objectives of the affective domain was spearheaded
by
a. Benjamin S. Bloom.
b. David Krathwohl.
c. Lawrence Kohlberg.
d. E.J. Simpson.
29. Direct instruction can take all of the following forms EXCEPT
a. lecture by the teacher.
b. reading from the textbook.
c. completing a laboratory experiment.
d. viewing of a video.
30. Lakeisha Mutuma divided her class into cooperative groups of four. She gave each group a piece of
thick cardboard and asked each team to design and build a rigid container that would hold the
greatest number of hard-boiled eggs of standard size. The task that Lakeisha has designed is an
example of
a. direct instruction.
b. model-centered instruction.
c. problem-based learning.
d. directed discovery.
31. Jordan is beginning his first year as a certified teacher. He is a strong believer in differentiated
instruction and is fully aware that students in his class will exhibit a range of responses from
immediate mastery, through misconceptions, to complete confusion following his initial lesson. He
knows that his best chance of reaching the students who have mastery is to
a. carefully and slowly repeat his initial instruction.
b. design follow-up learning activities based on the group’s needs.
c. use direct instruction using only the basic concepts from the lesson.
d. reteach the content using a totally different instructional method.
32. Matthew Stephen is aware that his students will be able to learn better if they work together in small
groups while utilizing technology. Research has proven that this positive difference will occur as long
as all of the following factors are taken into account, EXCEPT
a. they need to have had prior experience working in groups;
b. their prior levels of cognitive achievement need to match closely.
c. they need to have been instructed in specific cooperative learning strategies;
d. the content needs to include an opportunity to use computer skills.
33. Chumani Stonefish has obtained a position as a teacher of English Language Learners. She has
been reading about strategies for these students and has discovered that all of the following have
been found to be successful EXCEPT
a. interaction with other students.
b. ample time for processing what is happening.
c. clear, concrete instructions from the teacher.
d. direct instruction.
34. Approaches to school reform are most successful when all of the following have been considered
EXCEPT
a. they are firmly based on a particular philosophy of education.
b. the principal or a particular staff members is chosen to implement the process.
c. they have been subjected to successful scrutiny through research.
d. there is a specialized process that staff members go through.
35. A successful school improvement process
a. involves a yearly cycle.
b. must be in place a minimum of five years.
c. is best managed by an outside team.
d. requires staff inservice when a problem arises.
Chapter 12 Test Questions
Short Answer
1. You have been invited to be a member of the State Curriculum Development Task force that has been
given the task of revising and updating the P-12 Curriculum Framework document for the content
area which you would most like to teach. The first task of the group is to decide the curriculum design
format that is best suited for the content area. The approaches that you have been asked to consider
are: spiral, problem-based, and mastery.
a) Compare and contrast these three approaches with respect to design, role of the teacher, and
role of the student.
b) Choose the one approach that you feel would be best for your content area. Justify your choice
by providing at least three arguments in its support. (Learning Outcome 12. 1)
2. The Glendale School District has fallen on hard times financially because of economic conditions in the
city. The school board members have developed a plan that will eliminate the majority of the co–
curricular programs at Glendale High School in an attempt to reserve the limited available funds for
the core program. The principal has asked you to develop a presentation to the board members
opposing the plan. In your presentation outline the importance of retaining the co–curricular activities
and analyze their importance to the school community. (Learning Outcome 12.2)
3. You are the principal of Druid Hills Middle School. The curriculum guide for the social studies program
at the school states that, ʺStudents should develop an understanding of and an appreciation for the
alternative types of family units from which students come.ʺ A group of angry parents has served
notice that they will not allow their children to be exposed to ʺsecular humanistʺ propaganda and they
will pull their students from the school in favor of a private school if the objective is not removed from
the curriculum. Defend the inclusion of the objective and explain to the parents why it is important for
their children to examine the ideas set forth. (Learning Outcome 12.4)
4. You are preparing for your first year as a classroom teacher. After examining a variety of teaching
strategies in your teacher training program, you are convinced that indirect instruction is the approach
that you feel is most appropriate for today’s students. Choose two types of strategies that fall under
the umbrella of indirect instruction. Describe the strategies and illustrate how they assist student
learning. (Learning Outcome 12.5)
5. The results of the previous year’s achievement tests at Aspen Lake Middle School have been nothing
short of abysmal. In early November, you are called to a meeting with the area superintendent and
are told that you will be transferred to the school as principal. You are expected to put in place a
School Improvement Process (SIP) to turn things around. You are to prepare a plan for the
organization and implementation of the SIP and submit it to the school district office within a month.
Include in your plan the timetable that you would like to follow including the best time for the transfer
to take effect. (Learning Outcome 12.3)
Chapter 12 Answer Key
Chapter 12 Answer Key
