CPACE case studies
CPACE · Put your knowledge to work in context.
CPACE - the California Preliminary Administrative Credential Examination - is the assessment used in California to gauge whether an aspiring school administrator is ready to lead a school or district. Candidates are typically teachers, instructional coaches, counselors, and program specialists who are completing an administrative services credential program and preparing for a first site or central-office leadership position. The CPACE case studies are 5 cases and about 4,065 words.
1The Vision That Lives in a Binder
You are the new principal of a TK–8 school of 780 students (68% English learners, 82% socioeconomically disadvantaged). The school's vision statement - 'Every Scholar, Every Day, College Bound' - appears on the handbook cover and nowhere else; no agenda in the past three years references it.
845 words, about 4 min2The Thirty Minutes Nobody Wants
You lead a K–5 school of 520 students. Fall iReady data show 41% of third graders two or more years below grade level in reading, up from 29% two years ago, and the trend holds in grades 2 and 4.
826 words, about 4 min3Referrals Cluster at 11:40
You are principal of a 6–8 school of 940 students. Discipline data show 61% of office referrals occur in a 35-minute window: two lunch periods and the passing time between them.
822 words, about 4 min4The Petition at the Gate
You are principal of an elementary school of 610 students; 34% are English learners, mostly Spanish- and Vietnamese-speaking. About 60 families have circulated a petition asking the district to end the lottery priority for the dual-immersion program, arguing that seats go to families from outside the attendance area.
750 words, about 4 min5The Teacher's Post
You are principal of a comprehensive high school of 1,800 students. A teacher with 14 years of experience and strong evaluations posted a photo on a personal social media account of a discipline letter he had written to a student.
822 words, about 4 min