TExES Exam Principal as Instructional Leader 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The TExES Principal as Instructional Leader exam is designed to assess competency in which primary role?
- Building facility management
- Improving student achievement through instructional leadership (Correct answer)
- Managing district-level budgets
- Coordinating state testing schedules
Correct answer: Improving student achievement through instructional leadership
The exam focuses on a principal's ability to lead instructional improvement, support teachers, and drive student academic outcomes.
Question 2: Which data source is MOST useful for a principal analyzing overall student academic performance trends over time?
- Daily attendance records
- Longitudinal STAAR assessment data (Correct answer)
- Teacher absence logs
- Cafeteria participation rates
Correct answer: Longitudinal STAAR assessment data
Longitudinal STAAR data tracks student performance across years and grades, providing the most comprehensive picture of academic growth and trends.
Question 3: A principal notices that student achievement gaps persist between demographic groups. The FIRST step should be to:
- Ignore the data as it reflects community factors beyond school control
- Analyze disaggregated data to identify specific areas and groups of concern (Correct answer)
- Replace all teachers in affected grade levels
- Increase standardized testing frequency
Correct answer: Analyze disaggregated data to identify specific areas and groups of concern
Disaggregating data by subgroup allows leaders to pinpoint where gaps exist and target interventions more precisely.
Question 4: Which leadership behavior BEST characterizes an instructional leader according to the TExES framework?
- Delegating all curriculum decisions to the district office
- Conducting frequent classroom walkthroughs linked to coaching conversations (Correct answer)
- Focusing primarily on building security and operations
- Limiting teacher professional development to once per year
Correct answer: Conducting frequent classroom walkthroughs linked to coaching conversations
Frequent walkthroughs combined with coaching conversations allow principals to monitor instruction and support teacher growth continuously.
Question 5: Under Texas law, a campus improvement plan (CIP) must include:
- Only budget information
- Strategies for improving student performance, professional development, and parent engagement (Correct answer)
- The principal's personal goal statements
- Only STAAR performance targets
Correct answer: Strategies for improving student performance, professional development, and parent engagement
Texas Education Code requires CIPs to address student performance goals, staff development, parental involvement, and fiscal resources comprehensively.
Question 6: Which professional development model involves teachers observing each other's classrooms and providing structured feedback?
- Book study group
- Peer coaching and classroom observation (Correct answer)
- One-time workshop seminar
- Online self-paced course
Correct answer: Peer coaching and classroom observation
Peer coaching involves systematic classroom observation and structured feedback conversations between teachers to improve instructional practice.
TExES Exam Principal as Instructional Leader 1
The TExES Principal as Instructional Leader exam is designed to assess competency in which primary role?