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GACE Special Education General Curriculum (P-12) (735) study materials
GACE Special Education General Curriculum (P-12) (735) study resources

GACE Special Education General Curriculum (P-12) (735) practice questions

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Question 1Students with Disabilities

A student is identified with a specific learning disability. Which pattern is most typical of this category?

  1. Achievement falls significantly below age and grade expectations in a specific academic area Correct answer.
  2. Intellectual functioning is significantly below average across all domains
  3. Performance is uniformly low in every subject and in adaptive behavior
  4. Academic difficulties are primarily the result of a visual or hearing impairment

Explanation

A specific learning disability is defined by a deficit in a particular academic or processing area relative to the student's age and schooling, despite adequate instruction. It is not primarily caused by sensory, motor, or intellectual disability, nor by environmental or cultural disadvantage.

Question 2Students with Disabilities

Under IDEA, a student whose attention difficulties and hyperactivity adversely affect educational performance is most likely to be served under which disability category?

  1. Specific learning disability
  2. Autism
  3. Other health impairment Correct answer.
  4. Emotional disturbance

Explanation

ADHD is not a separate IDEA category. When it limits a student's strength, vitality, or alertness and adversely affects educational performance, it is served under other health impairment.

Question 3Students with Disabilities

Which pair of features is central to the IDEA definition of autism?

  1. Impaired social communication with restricted, repetitive behaviors Correct answer.
  2. Word-level reading deficits and poor phonological awareness
  3. Below-average intellectual functioning and delayed motor milestones
  4. Chronic health conditions that limit alertness and stamina

Explanation

Autism is defined primarily by impairments in social interaction and communication together with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, usually evident before age three.

Question 4Students with Disabilities

An intellectual disability is characterized by which combination?

  1. A pattern of inattention and impulsivity without cognitive delay
  2. Average intelligence with a single academic skill deficit
  3. A neurological injury acquired after birth that affects learning
  4. Subaverage intellectual functioning plus adaptive behavior deficits Correct answer.

Explanation

Intellectual disability requires both significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning and concurrent limitations in adaptive behavior, with onset during the developmental period.

Question 5Students with Disabilities

Dyslexia most specifically affects which skill?

  1. Understanding spoken sentences in conversation
  2. Producing legible handwriting
  3. Word recognition and decoding accuracy and fluency Correct answer.
  4. Solving multi-step mathematics problems

Explanation

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects accurate and fluent word reading and spelling, typically rooted in phonological processing. It is distinguished from disorders of mathematics, handwriting, or oral comprehension.

Question 6Students with Disabilities

A student has persistent difficulty understanding number magnitude, recalling math facts, and calculating. This pattern is best described as:

  1. Dyspraxia
  2. Dysgraphia
  3. Dysarthria
  4. Dyscalculia Correct answer.

Explanation

Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability in mathematics that affects number sense, fact retrieval, and calculation. The other terms refer to writing, motor coordination, and speech production, respectively.

Question 7Students with Disabilities

A student substitutes /w/ for /r/ but is otherwise easily understood. This difficulty is best classified as:

  1. A voice disorder
  2. A fluency disorder
  3. A receptive language disorder
  4. An articulation (speech sound) disorder Correct answer.

Explanation

An articulation disorder involves difficulty producing speech sounds correctly, such as substituting one sound for another. Fluency, voice, and receptive language disorders involve different aspects of communication.

Question 8Students with Disabilities

Legal blindness in the United States is defined as:

  1. A progressive eye disease that is first diagnosed during childhood
  2. Any degree of vision loss that can be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses
  3. Visual acuity of 20/40 or worse in the better eye while wearing corrective lenses
  4. 20/200 or less in the better eye with correction, or a 20-degree visual field Correct answer.

Explanation

Legal blindness is defined by central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with best correction, or a visual field limited to 20 degrees or less.

Question 9Students with Disabilities

A student with a moderate hearing loss uses hearing aids and speechreads. Which accommodation most directly addresses the disability?

  1. Text-to-speech software for reading assignments
  2. A quiet corner for independent work
  3. Preferential seating and a classroom FM system Correct answer.
  4. A shortened assignment list and extra time on tests

Explanation

Preferential seating and an FM system improve the signal-to-noise ratio and give the student direct access to spoken instruction. The other options are generic supports that do not address auditory access.

Question 10Students with Disabilities

Which condition must be met for a student to qualify as having an emotional disturbance under IDEA?

  1. A longstanding, marked pattern of qualifying characteristics that harms educational performance Correct answer.
  2. The student has been suspended more than once for disruptive behavior that teachers find difficult to manage
  3. The student has a diagnosed anxiety disorder confirmed by a physician
  4. The student's behavior problems are limited to the home setting

Explanation

Emotional disturbance requires one or more qualifying characteristics exhibited over a long period of time and to a marked degree, and the condition must adversely affect educational performance. A diagnosis alone, suspensions alone, or home-only behavior does not satisfy these criteria.

Question 11Students with Disabilities

Traumatic brain injury under IDEA refers to:

  1. A brain tumor that develops during childhood and requires surgery and chemotherapy
  2. A hereditary condition that gradually impairs brain function
  3. An acquired brain injury from an external physical force that affects educational performance Correct answer.
  4. Brain damage present at birth due to oxygen deprivation

Explanation

Traumatic brain injury is an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in functional or psychosocial impairment that adversely affects educational performance. Congenital, degenerative, and medical conditions such as tumors are excluded.

Question 12Students with Disabilities

Which condition is an example of an orthopedic impairment?

  1. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
  2. Sickle cell anemia
  3. Cerebral palsy Correct answer.
  4. Asthma

Explanation

Orthopedic impairment refers to a severe skeletal, muscular, or neuromuscular condition that adversely affects educational performance; cerebral palsy is a common example. Asthma, sickle cell anemia, and ADHD are classified under other health impairment.

Question 13Students with Disabilities

The IDEA category of developmental delay may be used for children:

  1. Aged 6 through 12, when a learning disability cannot yet be documented
  2. Any age, when a student's disability category is unclear and further evaluation is pending
  3. Ages 3 through 9, at state discretion, with delays in one or more developmental areas Correct answer.
  4. Aged birth through 2 only

Explanation

Developmental delay is an optional state category for children aged 3 through 9 who show delays in physical, cognitive, communication, social or emotional, or adaptive development. Infants and toddlers from birth to age 2 are served under Part C.

Question 14Students with Disabilities

A student with dyslexia also shows high inattention and impulsivity. What is the best interpretation?

  1. LD and ADHD often co-occur, so both should be evaluated Correct answer.
  2. The ADHD symptoms rule out a learning disability
  3. The student most likely has an emotional disturbance
  4. The reading problem is probably caused by poor motivation

Explanation

Learning disabilities and ADHD co-occur at high rates, and the presence of one does not exclude the other. A comprehensive evaluation should examine both academic skills and attention so that each area of need is addressed.

Question 15Students with Disabilities

A student with high intellectual ability struggles significantly with written expression and spelling. This student is best described as:

  1. Twice-exceptional, with both giftedness and a disability Correct answer.
  2. Having a developmental delay
  3. Having an emotional disturbance
  4. Ineligible for special education because of high IQ

Explanation

Twice-exceptional students have high ability in at least one domain along with a disability. Strengths can mask the disability, so comprehensive assessment of both areas is needed.

Question 16Students with Disabilities

A student with autism has difficulty taking another person's perspective and understanding that others can hold false beliefs. This difficulty is best described as a deficit in:

  1. Phonological awareness
  2. Theory of mind Correct answer.
  3. Executive function only
  4. Sensory integration

Explanation

Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states, such as beliefs and intentions, to oneself and others. Difficulty with false-belief understanding is a commonly described feature of autism.

Question 17Students with Disabilities

Stuttering is best classified as which type of communication disorder?

  1. An articulation disorder
  2. A voice disorder
  3. A fluency disorder Correct answer.
  4. A receptive language disorder

Explanation

Fluency disorders involve disruptions in the flow of speech, such as sound repetitions, prolongations, and blocks. Stuttering is the most common example.

Question 18Students with Disabilities

Deaf-blindness as an IDEA category refers to:

  1. A student who is deaf and has a learning disability
  2. Combined hearing and vision loss producing severe educational needs Correct answer.
  3. A student with a visual impairment only
  4. Any student who has a mild hearing loss and also wears corrective eyeglasses

Explanation

Deaf-blindness requires concomitant hearing and visual impairments whose combination causes severe communication, developmental, and educational needs that cannot be met in programs designed for either impairment alone.

Question 19Students with Disabilities

Multiple disabilities under IDEA is best described as:

  1. Any two disabilities occurring together, such as ADHD and a learning disability
  2. A primary disability accompanied by a secondary health condition
  3. A developmental delay combined with a speech impairment
  4. Concomitant impairments that together cause severe educational needs Correct answer.

Explanation

Multiple disabilities requires concomitant impairments whose combination causes severe educational needs that cannot be accommodated in a program designed for one of the impairments. Deaf-blindness is excluded from this category.

Question 20Students with Disabilities

A student with a long history of antisocial behavior, but no other qualifying emotional or behavioral symptoms, is referred for special education. What is the most appropriate determination?

  1. The student qualifies as emotionally disturbed because of the long history of antisocial behavior
  2. The student should be found eligible for a specific learning disability
  3. Social maladjustment alone does not qualify as an emotional disturbance under IDEA Correct answer.
  4. The student qualifies under other health impairment

Explanation

IDEA specifically excludes students who are socially maladjusted unless they also meet the criteria for emotional disturbance. Eligibility therefore requires evidence of a qualifying emotional or behavioral pattern affecting educational performance, not antisocial conduct alone.

Question 21Students with Disabilities

An English learner is referred for special education because of slow academic progress. Which approach best distinguishes a language difference from a disability?

  1. Compare performance in both the native language and English across settings Correct answer.
  2. Rely on the student's score on an English-only IQ test
  3. Wait until the student is fully fluent in English before considering any concern
  4. Assume any academic delay in an English learner reflects a disability

Explanation

A true disability is evident in the student's native language as well as in English and persists across settings. Assessment in both languages and across contexts is needed to avoid confusing normal second-language acquisition with a disability.

Question 22Students with Disabilities

A student has strong rote verbal skills and reading decoding but poor spatial reasoning, mathematics, and social perception. This profile is most consistent with:

  1. Nonverbal learning disability Correct answer.
  2. Intellectual disability
  3. Receptive-expressive language disorder
  4. Dyslexia

Explanation

A nonverbal learning disability profile involves verbal strengths alongside visual-spatial, motor, mathematical, and social-perception weaknesses. The contrast between strong verbal skills and poor spatial and social reasoning is the distinguishing feature.

Question 23Students with Disabilities

Which disability category accounts for the largest percentage of students served under IDEA?

  1. Emotional disturbance
  2. Intellectual disability
  3. Autism
  4. Specific learning disability Correct answer.

Explanation

Specific learning disability is the largest IDEA category, historically accounting for roughly one-third or more of students served. Autism has grown but remains smaller, and emotional disturbance and intellectual disability represent smaller shares.

Question 24Students with Disabilities

A student with ADHD can explain a multi-step assignment but loses materials, skips steps, and runs out of time. Which explanation best fits this pattern?

  1. Oppositional defiance
  2. A visual impairment
  3. A receptive language disorder
  4. Impaired executive functions such as organization and planning Correct answer.

Explanation

ADHD is associated with executive function deficits that affect organization, planning, working memory, and self-monitoring. The student understands the task but cannot manage its demands, which is the hallmark of this pattern.

Question 25Students with Disabilities

A school uses a multi-tiered system of support. What is the primary purpose of progress monitoring within Tier 2?

  1. To check whether the student is responding to intervention and adjust instruction Correct answer.
  2. To establish eligibility for special education before any intervention has been tried
  3. To compare the student to national norms once per year
  4. To document that the student's difficulties are due to a disability

Explanation

Tier 2 progress monitoring uses brief, frequent measures to determine whether a student is responding to the intervention and to guide instructional adjustments. The data may inform a later evaluation but are not themselves an eligibility determination.

Question 26Students with Disabilities

Under IDEA, intellectual disability is defined primarily by which pattern?

  1. An IQ score below 70 with age-appropriate adaptive skills
  2. A motor disability that affects classroom learning
  3. A discrepancy between verbal and performance IQ scores
  4. Limits in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior before age 18 Correct answer.

Explanation

Intellectual disability requires significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, expressed in conceptual, social, and practical domains, with onset before age 18. An IQ score alone or a verbal-performance split does not establish the category.

Question 27Students with Disabilities

A student has severe asthma that requires daily medication and often reduces alertness and stamina in class. Under IDEA, the most appropriate category is:

  1. Other health impairment Correct answer.
  2. Orthopedic impairment
  3. Emotional disturbance
  4. Specific learning disability

Explanation

Other health impairment includes chronic or acute health conditions such as asthma that adversely affect educational performance by limiting strength, vitality, or alertness. The key is the health condition's effect on alertness or stamina, not a learning or emotional disorder.

Question 28Students with Disabilities

A student's speech is consistently hoarse and unusually quiet, while articulation and language skills are age-appropriate. This difficulty is best classified as:

  1. An articulation disorder
  2. A voice disorder Correct answer.
  3. A fluency disorder
  4. A language disorder

Explanation

Voice disorders involve abnormal pitch, loudness, or quality, such as hoarseness, and are distinct from how sounds are articulated, how fluently speech flows, or how language is understood and produced. The student's clear articulation and intact language rule out the other categories.

Question 29Students with Disabilities

A third grader is referred for a specific learning disability in reading, but records show the student has had no systematic reading instruction and is still learning English. Which principle should guide the team's decision?

  1. The student should repeat a grade before any evaluation
  2. The team must first rule out lack of appropriate instruction and limited English proficiency Correct answer.
  3. A medical diagnosis of a reading disorder is required
  4. An IQ-achievement discrepancy must be documented before evaluation

Explanation

IDEA's specific learning disability definition excludes students whose achievement problems are primarily due to lack of appropriate instruction or limited English proficiency. The team must consider those exclusionary factors before determining SLD eligibility.

Question 30Students with Disabilities

A student with low vision can read only enlarged print and cannot see the board clearly from the back of the room. Which support most directly provides access to printed classroom materials?

  1. Braille instruction
  2. Large-print materials and optical devices Correct answer.
  3. A sign language interpreter
  4. Orientation and mobility training

Explanation

Large-print materials and optical devices directly address access to print for a student with low vision. Orientation and mobility addresses travel, braille is a tactile reading medium, and an interpreter addresses communication access for deaf or hard of hearing students.

Question 31Students with Disabilities

A student speaks in short, grammatically incorrect sentences and has trouble following oral directions, but speech sounds are clear and fluent. This pattern most suggests:

  1. A speech sound disorder
  2. A language disorder Correct answer.
  3. A fluency disorder
  4. A voice disorder

Explanation

Language disorders affect understanding and use of language, including grammar, vocabulary, and following directions. Speech sound, fluency, and voice disorders affect production rather than the linguistic system itself.

Question 32Students with Disabilities

A student with autism insists on lining up materials in a fixed order and becomes very upset when the daily routine changes. These behaviors are best described as:

  1. Hyperactivity
  2. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior Correct answer.
  3. Deficits in intellectual functioning
  4. An auditory processing disorder

Explanation

Autism is characterized by social communication deficits and restricted, repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities, such as inflexible routines and distress at change. The behavior described is not a measure of intelligence, attention, or auditory processing.

Question 33Students with Disabilities

A student's intense school-related anxiety leads to frequent stomachaches, visits to the nurse, and missed classes. Within IDEA's emotional disturbance category, this pattern best illustrates:

  1. Physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems Correct answer.
  2. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
  3. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships
  4. Inappropriate behavior under normal circumstances

Explanation

IDEA lists physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems as one characteristic of emotional disturbance. The stomachaches and avoidance are somatic and fear-based responses, not relationship problems, misconduct, or a pervasive depressed mood.

Question 34Students with Disabilities

A student has a hearing loss severe enough that the student cannot process linguistic information through hearing, even with amplification, and relies on sign language. Under IDEA, this student is most appropriately identified as:

  1. Hard of hearing
  2. Speech or language impairment
  3. Deaf Correct answer.
  4. Deaf-blind

Explanation

Deafness means a hearing loss so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, and it adversely affects educational performance. Hard of hearing still involves some residual hearing for processing language, and deaf-blind requires both vision and hearing loss.

Question 35Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Under IDEA, which individual is required to be a member of the IEP team when the student is, or may be, participating in the general education environment?

  1. The speech-language pathologist
  2. A general education teacher Correct answer.
  3. The school psychologist
  4. The school nurse

Explanation

IDEA requires that the IEP team include a general education teacher if the student is, or may be, participating in the general education environment. This teacher helps develop appropriate goals, accommodations, and supplementary aids. Other professionals may attend when needed but are not always mandatory members.

Question 36Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

How often must an IEP team review a student's IEP and, if appropriate, revise it?

  1. At least once each year Correct answer.
  2. Every grading period
  3. Only when the parent requests a review
  4. Every two years

Explanation

IDEA requires the IEP team to review the student's IEP at least annually and revise it as needed to address the student's progress and changing needs. More frequent reviews are permitted when needed. The annual review is a minimum requirement, not the only time changes may be made.

Question 37Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The present levels of academic achievement and functional performance section of an IEP should describe which of the following?

  1. The amount of time the student will spend in the resource room each week
  2. The student's current academic and functional performance and disability-related needs Correct answer.
  3. The goals the student achieved in the previous school year only
  4. The student's predicted score on the next statewide assessment and the services the district prefers

Explanation

The present levels statement summarizes the student's current strengths, needs, and the effect of the disability on progress in the general curriculum. It provides the baseline from which annual goals and services are developed. Placement and service minutes are determined later and do not replace present levels information.

Question 38Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

IDEA requires that parents be informed of their child's progress toward annual goals at which frequency?

  1. Only after the annual IEP meeting and at the end of each school year
  2. At least as often as parents of nondisabled children receive report cards Correct answer.
  3. Only when the child fails a grading period
  4. Once every three years during reevaluation

Explanation

IDEA requires periodic reports to parents on progress toward annual goals at least as often as report cards are provided to parents of students without disabilities. The IEP must specify how progress will be measured and reported. This ensures parents receive ongoing information rather than only annual updates.

Question 39Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Which of the following is an example of a related service under IDEA?

  1. Standardized test administration for all students
  2. Recess supervision
  3. Occupational therapy Correct answer.
  4. A foreign language elective

Explanation

Related services are developmental, corrective, or supportive services required for a student to benefit from special education. Occupational therapy is a common related service. Electives, recess supervision, and general test administration are not related services.

Question 40Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

After a parent provides written consent for an initial special education evaluation, IDEA generally requires the evaluation to be completed within which time frame?

  1. One full school year
  2. 30 calendar days
  3. 60 calendar days Correct answer.
  4. 10 school days

Explanation

IDEA establishes a general timeline of 60 calendar days after receipt of parental consent for an initial evaluation, unless the state has established its own timeframe. The evaluation must be completed and eligibility determined within that period. Extensions may occur only under specified circumstances.

Question 41Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A student receiving special education services must be reevaluated at which interval?

  1. At least every three years, unless the parent and district agree otherwise Correct answer.
  2. Whenever the student changes schools
  3. Every single year without exception, even if the parent and district agree otherwise
  4. Only if the parent requests it

Explanation

IDEA requires reevaluation at least every three years unless the parent and the school district agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary. The three-year review is often called the triennial reevaluation. A reevaluation may also be requested more often when conditions warrant it.

Question 42Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

According to IDEA, how does the IEP team determine a student's educational placement?

  1. Only by the district's special education director
  2. Before writing annual goals so that the district can save time and resources
  3. According to the student's disability category
  4. Based on IEP goals and services in the least restrictive setting Correct answer.

Explanation

Placement is determined after the IEP team develops goals and identifies services, and it must be in the least restrictive environment appropriate to the student's needs. Placement cannot be based solely on disability category or administrative convenience. The IEP team, including the parent, makes this decision.

Question 43Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Which annual goal is written in measurable terms?

  1. Maya will improve her reading skills as shown by teacher observation and by her own reports of feeling more confident.
  2. Maya will try harder during reading class and will participate more often in group discussions.
  3. Maya will enjoy reading more than she does now and will choose books during free time.
  4. Given a grade-level passage, Maya will read 120 words correctly per minute on three consecutive probes. Correct answer.

Explanation

A measurable annual goal includes a observable behavior, conditions, and a criterion for success. The goal about reading 120 words correctly per minute on three consecutive probes meets those requirements. The other goals rely on subjective judgments that cannot be reliably measured.

Question 44Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Which of the following is an accommodation rather than a modification?

  1. Completing half of the assigned math problems
  2. Being graded on a pass/fail basis instead of letter grades
  3. Reading a simplified version of the grade-level text
  4. Receiving preferential seating near the teacher Correct answer.

Explanation

An accommodation changes how a student accesses content or demonstrates learning without changing academic expectations. Preferential seating is an environmental accommodation. Reducing assignments, simplifying texts, and changing grading standards alter expectations and are modifications.

Question 45Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

The primary purpose of universal screening in a multi-tiered system of supports is to do which of the following?

  1. Assign final grades in core academic areas
  2. Replace progress monitoring for students in Tier 3
  3. Determine eligibility for special education
  4. Screen for students who may need further assessment Correct answer.

Explanation

Universal screening briefly assesses all students to identify those who may need additional support or more detailed assessment. It is a first step and does not by itself determine special education eligibility. Screening results guide decisions about interventions and further data collection.

Question 46Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Curriculum-based measurement is best described as which of the following?

  1. A one-time comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation conducted by a school psychologist
  2. Brief, repeated probes that measure student progress in basic academic skills Correct answer.
  3. A norm-referenced intelligence test
  4. An unstructured teacher observation recorded in a narrative

Explanation

Curriculum-based measurement uses short, standardized probes administered repeatedly to track growth in basic academic skills. It is sensitive to small changes over time and is often used for progress monitoring. It is not a comprehensive evaluation or an intelligence test.

Question 47Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A teacher uses a quick exit ticket at the end of a lesson and adjusts the next day's instruction based on the results. This is an example of which type of assessment?

  1. Summative assessment
  2. Formative assessment Correct answer.
  3. Norm-referenced assessment
  4. Standardized achievement testing

Explanation

Formative assessment occurs during instruction and is used to adjust teaching and learning in real time. Exit tickets are a common formative assessment tool. Summative assessment measures learning at the end of a unit or course.

Question 48Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A score on a norm-referenced test indicates which of the following?

  1. The student's mastery of specific classroom objectives that the teacher has taught
  2. The student's performance compared with a criterion of mastery
  3. The student's performance compared with the performance of a norm group Correct answer.
  4. The exact amount of progress the student has made since the last test

Explanation

Norm-referenced tests compare a student's performance with the performance of a representative norm group. Scores are typically reported as percentiles, standard scores, or stanines. Criterion-referenced tests, by contrast, compare performance with a defined mastery standard.

Question 49Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

A test that consistently produces similar scores across repeated administrations is said to have high levels of which of the following?

  1. Reliability Correct answer.
  2. Sensitivity
  3. Criterion-referenced alignment
  4. Validity

Explanation

Reliability refers to the consistency and stability of test scores across repeated administrations or equivalent forms. Validity refers to whether a test measures what it claims to measure. A test can be reliable without being valid, but valid interpretation depends on adequate reliability.

Question 50Assessment and the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Under IDEA, transition planning must begin for a student with a disability no later than which age?

  1. Age 16 Correct answer.
  2. Age 14
  3. Age 15
  4. The student's junior year of high school

Explanation

IDEA requires transition services to be included in the IEP beginning no later than the first IEP in effect when the student turns 16, and updated annually. Some states begin earlier, but 16 is the federal minimum. Transition planning focuses on postsecondary goals and services needed to reach them.