AEPA cheat sheet

Main idea is the central claim about a topic; supporting details explain, illustrate, or prove it.

An inference combines explicit text evidence with prior knowledge; it is not stated directly.

A valid argument requires a claim, evidence, and reasoning; correlation alone does not establish causation.

Standard English sentence structure requires subject-verb agreement and clear pronoun-antecedent agreement.

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; correct with a period, semicolon, or conjunction.

Area of a triangle = ½ × base × height; circumference of a circle = 2πr.

Mean = sum of values ÷ number of values; median is the middle value when data are ordered.

Percent change = (new value − old value) ÷ old value × 100%.

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0–2), preoperational (2–7), concrete operational (7–11), formal operational (11+).

Erikson's psychosocial stages pair each developmental period with a conflict, such as industry vs. inferiority in middle childhood.

Bloom's revised taxonomy orders cognitive processes: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create.

Formative assessment occurs during instruction to guide teaching; summative assessment occurs after instruction to judge achievement.

Differentiation adjusts content, process, product, or environment based on readiness, interest, and learning profile.

Scaffolding provides temporary support that is gradually removed as learners gain competence.

Maslow's hierarchy orders needs from physiological and safety to belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.

Concrete manipulatives support understanding of abstract mathematical concepts in elementary grades.

Photosynthesis: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light energy → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂.

Cellular respiration: C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + ATP energy.

In chemistry, pH < 7 is acidic, pH = 7 is neutral, and pH > 7 is basic.

Newton's second law: force equals mass times acceleration (F = ma).

The Pythagorean theorem applies only to right triangles: a² + b² = c².

Primary sources are original artifacts or documents from the period; secondary sources interpret or analyze primary sources.

The elements of art are line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space.

In literary analysis, theme is the underlying message, while plot is the sequence of events.

Slope = (y₂ − y₁)/(x₂ − x₁); a positive slope rises left to right, and a negative slope falls.

A proportional relationship has a constant ratio and graphs as a straight line through the origin.

The theory of plate tectonics explains earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain formation along plate boundaries.

In narrative texts, first-person point of view uses I or we; third-person limited reveals one character's thoughts.

The water cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection/runoff.

In social science, chronology, cause and effect, and corroboration are core historical thinking skills.

Area of a circle = πr²; volume of a rectangular prism = length × width × height.

A food web models energy flow; producers convert sunlight to chemical energy, and consumers eat other organisms.

IDEA guarantees a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

An IEP must include present levels of performance, measurable annual goals, services, accommodations, and progress monitoring.

Accommodations change how a student learns or is assessed; modifications change what the student is expected to learn.

Response to Intervention (RTI) uses tiered instruction and progress data to identify students needing additional support.

Procedural safeguards under IDEA include parental consent, notice, access to records, and impartial due process hearings.

Disability categories under IDEA include specific learning disability, autism, emotional disturbance, and speech/language impairment.

Transition planning must begin by age 16 and address postsecondary education, employment, and independent living.

A behavior intervention plan (BIP) is based on functional behavioral assessment (FBA) data and targets replacement behaviors.

Formative assessment data should be used to adjust instruction; summative data judge mastery at the end of a unit.

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is the range between independent performance and assisted performance.

Effective classroom management relies on clear routines, posted expectations, active supervision, and consistent consequences.

Differentiated instruction modifies content, process, product, or learning environment according to student needs.

Higher-order questions target analysis, evaluation, and creation rather than recall alone.

Professional ethics require confidentiality of student records, mandatory reporting of suspected abuse, and avoidance of dual relationships.

Backward design starts with desired results, then determines acceptable evidence, then plans learning experiences.

Culturally responsive teaching incorporates students' cultural references into curriculum, instruction, and classroom climate.

Site-based management delegates budget, staffing, and instructional decisions to school-level stakeholders.

Title I provides federal funds to schools with high poverty rates for supplemental academic support.

Due process requires notice and a fair hearing before denying a student's protected educational rights.

A school budget aligns anticipated revenues with expenditures across instruction, operations, and support services.

Data-driven decision making uses disaggregated student achievement data to identify gaps and target interventions.

Clinical supervision involves pre-observation conferencing, classroom observation, and post-observation feedback.

The principal's instructional leadership role includes setting vision, monitoring instruction, and supporting professional learning.

Superintendent responsibilities include district policy implementation, board relations, and fiscal oversight.

The five essential components of reading are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Phonemic awareness manipulates individual phonemes; phonics maps phonemes to graphemes in print.

The alphabetic principle is the understanding that letters represent sounds in spoken words.

Fluency combines accuracy, automaticity, and prosody; it supports comprehension.

Syllable types include closed, open, vowel-consonant-e, vowel team, r-controlled, and consonant-le.

A running record records oral reading errors, self-corrections, and fluency to guide instruction.

Comprehension strategies include predicting, questioning, visualizing, summarizing, and monitoring.

Miscue analysis examines whether errors are semantic, syntactic, or graphophonic to reveal reading processes.

Adolescent literacy instruction addresses comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and motivation in grades 4–12.

Disciplinary literacy teaches the reading and writing practices specific to each content area.

Text complexity has quantitative, qualitative, and reader-task dimensions.

Close reading involves repeated reading, text-dependent questions, and evidence-based discussion.

Scaffolding for struggling readers includes explicit modeling, guided practice, and gradual release.

Academic vocabulary instruction should include direct definitions, context, morphology, and multiple exposures.

Assessment of reading should include screening, diagnostic, progress-monitoring, and outcome measures.

Information literacy includes locating, evaluating, using, and ethically citing information.

The library collection should be developed through selection policies, reviews, curriculum alignment, and periodic deselection.

AASL standards emphasize inquiry, inclusion, collaboration, curation, exploration, and engagement.

Cataloging uses standardized metadata such as Dewey Decimal Classification and MARC records to organize resources.

Fair use permits limited use of copyrighted works for teaching, scholarship, or research based on four factors.

Digital citizenship includes internet safety, privacy, digital etiquette, and responsible online communication.

Research process models such as inquiry-based learning guide students through question, investigation, and synthesis.

Andragogy holds that adult learners are self-directed, experience-rich, problem-centered, and motivated by relevance.

Second language acquisition is influenced by comprehensible input, interaction, motivation, and first-language transfer.

Adult ESL instruction often integrates language skills with workforce, civics, or family literacy contexts.

Adult learning assessment should be authentic and connected to learners' goals, such as employment or citizenship.

Mathematics instruction for adults connects procedural skills to real-world problem solving and quantitative reasoning.

English language arts for adults emphasizes reading comprehension, writing process, and critical thinking.

Adult education programs often use CASAS or TABE assessments to measure educational functioning levels.

Differentiated instruction in adult education responds to varied prior schooling, language backgrounds, and goals.