TExES Exam TExES Supplemental 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher notices that several students from culturally diverse backgrounds are reluctant to participate in whole-class discussions. The most culturally responsive adjustment would be to:
- Call on those students more frequently to force participation
- Allow written responses or small-group discussions as alternative participation modes (Correct answer)
- Notify parents that participation is graded and required
- Reduce the frequency of class discussions for all students
Correct answer: Allow written responses or small-group discussions as alternative participation modes
Providing multiple modes of participation respects cultural norms around public speaking and ensures equitable access for all learners.
Question 2: Which of the following is a key characteristic that distinguishes a criterion-referenced test from a norm-referenced test?
- Criterion-referenced tests compare students to each other on a bell curve
- Criterion-referenced tests measure mastery of specific learning standards regardless of how others perform (Correct answer)
- Norm-referenced tests are used exclusively for state accountability systems
- Criterion-referenced tests are always shorter and less rigorous than norm-referenced tests
Correct answer: Criterion-referenced tests measure mastery of specific learning standards regardless of how others perform
Criterion-referenced tests measure whether a student has mastered defined content standards, independent of how other students perform.
Question 3: A student produces writing that contains many ideas but lacks paragraph organization and transitions. The teacher's most targeted feedback should focus on:
- Correct spelling and punctuation throughout the draft
- How to narrow the topic to a single main idea
- Organizing related ideas into paragraphs and using transition words to connect them (Correct answer)
- Expanding vocabulary by replacing common words with synonyms
Correct answer: Organizing related ideas into paragraphs and using transition words to connect them
When a student has ideas but poor organization, revision instruction should target text structure and cohesion through paragraphing and transitions.
Question 4: Under the Texas accountability system, which rating is assigned to schools that do not meet minimum performance standards on state assessments?
- Improvement Required (Correct answer)
- At-Risk Designation
- Academic Probation
- Needs Improvement
Correct answer: Improvement Required
Texas assigns the 'Improvement Required' (IR) rating to schools that fail to meet minimum state standards, triggering additional oversight and intervention.
Question 5: When a teacher asks students to predict what will happen next in a story before reading, this strategy primarily builds which reading skill?
- Phonological awareness
- Vocabulary acquisition
- Inferencing and prior knowledge activation (Correct answer)
- Literal comprehension recall
Correct answer: Inferencing and prior knowledge activation
Prediction activities activate prior knowledge and require students to make inferences, both of which support reading comprehension.
Question 6: A parent disagrees with the placement decisions made at their child's ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) committee meeting. What is the parent's first recourse under IDEA?
- File a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education immediately
- Withdraw the student from special education services entirely
- Request mediation or file a State complaint with the TEA (Correct answer)
- Contact the school board to override the ARD committee
Correct answer: Request mediation or file a State complaint with the TEA
IDEA provides parents with due process rights including mediation and state complaint procedures before pursuing more formal legal action.
Question 7: A teacher wants students to connect a science concept to real-world applications. Which instructional strategy best promotes this type of transfer?
- Having students copy definitions from a textbook glossary
- Presenting a case study or scenario where students apply the concept to solve a real problem (Correct answer)
- Assigning a multiple-choice worksheet reviewing the concept
- Showing a documentary related to the topic for background knowledge
Correct answer: Presenting a case study or scenario where students apply the concept to solve a real problem
Application-based case studies require students to transfer conceptual knowledge to novel, authentic situations, deepening understanding.
TExES Exam TExES Supplemental 4
A teacher notices that several students from culturally diverse backgrounds are reluctant to participate in whole-class discussions.
The most culturally responsive adjustment would be to: