OAE OAE School Leadership & Administration 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A principal observes a teacher using an ineffective instructional strategy. The most appropriate immediate action is to:
- Document the observation and place it in the teacher's personnel file
- Hold a post-observation conference to provide specific, actionable feedback (Correct answer)
- Inform the teacher's department chair to address the issue
- Schedule a formal improvement plan before speaking with the teacher
Correct answer: Hold a post-observation conference to provide specific, actionable feedback
Post-observation conferences are the standard professional practice for providing timely, specific instructional feedback that supports teacher growth.
Question 2: Which budget management approach requires administrators to justify all expenditures from a zero base each budget cycle rather than using the prior year's budget as a starting point?
- Incremental budgeting
- Zero-based budgeting (Correct answer)
- Site-based budgeting
- Formula budgeting
Correct answer: Zero-based budgeting
Zero-based budgeting requires every line item to be justified anew each cycle, ensuring spending aligns with current priorities rather than historical patterns.
Question 3: Title I funding under ESSA is specifically designed to support:
- Students with physical disabilities
- Schools and districts serving high concentrations of students from low-income families (Correct answer)
- English language learner programs exclusively
- Advanced academic programs for gifted students
Correct answer: Schools and districts serving high concentrations of students from low-income families
Title I provides federal funding to schools and districts with high percentages of students from low-income families to help close achievement gaps.
Question 4: When conducting teacher evaluations, a principal should ensure the process is most aligned with which purpose?
- Ranking teachers for merit pay decisions only
- Documenting evidence for teacher dismissal
- Improving teaching practice and student learning outcomes (Correct answer)
- Satisfying state compliance reporting requirements
Correct answer: Improving teaching practice and student learning outcomes
Best-practice teacher evaluation frameworks are designed primarily to improve instructional quality and student outcomes through meaningful professional feedback.
Question 5: A school's master schedule is BEST designed around:
- Teacher seniority and preferred planning periods
- Bus transportation schedules and cafeteria capacity
- Student learning needs and instructional priorities (Correct answer)
- Minimizing the number of course sections offered
Correct answer: Student learning needs and instructional priorities
The master schedule should be constructed to maximize instructional time and support student learning needs rather than adult convenience or logistical constraints.
Question 6: A principal who fosters a 'professional learning community' (PLC) is primarily promoting:
- Ongoing, collaborative teacher inquiry focused on student learning (Correct answer)
- After-school social events to build staff morale
- Individual teacher autonomy in curriculum decisions
- Top-down professional development mandated by administration
Correct answer: Ongoing, collaborative teacher inquiry focused on student learning
PLCs are structured collaborative processes where teachers regularly examine student work and data together to improve their collective instructional practice.
OAE OAE School Leadership & Administration 2
A principal observes a teacher using an ineffective instructional strategy.
The most appropriate immediate action is to: