Sri Lanka Teachers' Service Graduate Open Exam key terms

An official notice published in the government's printed record that gives legal force to rules, appointments, or service conditions. Teacher transfers, salary revisions, and scheme amendments take effect only when published this way.

The set of rules governing appointment, promotion, transfer, discipline, and leave for teachers in government schools. It defines the structure of the service and the qualifications required at each level.

The organized cadre of teaching staff in government schools, structured in grades from assistant teacher upward through the principal service. Membership carries statutory rights, duties, and disciplinary procedures.

The documented steps by which a person is appointed to or advanced within the teaching service, including eligibility, interviews, seniority, and performance criteria. Procedures must follow published rules to be lawful.

The ranking of teachers by length of continuous service in a grade, used alongside merit in promotion and transfer decisions. Disputes over seniority lists are a common subject of appeals.

The formal process for moving a teacher between schools or zones and for challenging a decision. It sets grounds, timelines, and the authority that hears an appeal against transfer or promotion.

The schedule of periodic salary steps a teacher earns with continued satisfactory service. Progression depends on service length and, in some schemes, on efficiency reports or qualifications.

The periodic written appraisal of a teacher's work by a supervising officer, covering teaching quality, attendance, and conduct. It is used in promotion, confirmation, and salary decisions.

Assessment carried out by the classroom teacher during normal lessons and recorded over the term. It contributes to term marks and, at certain grades, to national certification.

Assessment used during learning to identify what students understand and to adjust teaching. Feedback is given while the work is in progress rather than only at the end of a unit.

Assessment carried out at the end of a unit, term, or course to judge achievement against expected outcomes. Results are typically reported as grades or marks for promotion or certification.

A test interpreted by comparing a student's performance with defined learning outcomes, not with other students. It answers whether the student has mastered specified competencies.

A test interpreted by comparing a student's score with the scores of a reference group. It ranks candidates and is suited to selection decisions rather than to diagnosing individual learning gaps.

A planning grid that maps test items to content areas and cognitive levels, showing how many marks each area receives. It supports content validity and balanced coverage.

The extent to which a test samples the intended syllabus content and skills adequately. It is judged by expert review and by comparing items with the curriculum and table of specifications.

The consistency of a test or marking across occasions, items, and raters. A reliable instrument gives similar results when repeated and reduces random error in scores.

Two statistics describing a test question. Difficulty is the proportion of candidates answering correctly; discrimination is how much stronger candidates outperform weaker ones on that item.

The review of how many candidates chose each incorrect option in a multiple-choice item. It reveals flawed options and misconceptions and helps refine the item for future use.

A measure of how widely scores spread around the mean. A small value means scores cluster near the average; a large value means wide variation among candidates.

A standardized score expressing how many standard deviations a raw score lies above or below the mean. It allows comparison of scores from tests with different scales.

A precise statement of what a learner should be able to do after instruction, expressed with an observable action. Outcomes guide planning, teaching, and the design of assessment tasks.

A curriculum organized around competencies learners must demonstrate rather than around topics to be covered. Sri Lanka's school reforms use this structure to link subjects to real-life capabilities.

The deliberate matching of intended learning outcomes, teaching and learning activities, and assessment tasks. When the three align, assessment genuinely measures what the curriculum intends.

A teaching approach in which pupils learn through doing, manipulating materials, and solving practical tasks rather than only listening. It supports primary-level concept development and participation.

The gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with skilled help. Instruction aimed at this range stretches the learner without overwhelming them.

Temporary support given by a teacher or peer that lets a learner complete a task beyond independent reach. Support is gradually withdrawn as competence grows.

A sequence describing how children's thinking changes from sensorimotor through preoperational and concrete operational to formal operational reasoning. It implies that tasks must suit the child's current thinking.

The period, roughly from seven to eleven years, when children reason logically about tangible objects and understand conservation, but struggle with abstract hypotheses. Primary teaching should use concrete materials.

A model placing physiological and safety needs below belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Learners whose basic needs are unmet find it hard to concentrate on academic tasks.

The drive to act arising from interest, curiosity, or satisfaction in the activity itself. It sustains learning longer than rewards and punishments imposed from outside.

Planning lessons so that content, process, or product is adjusted to learners' readiness, interests, and profiles. It allows a mixed-ability class to work toward common outcomes.

The principle that all children, including those with disabilities or from minority communities, learn in mainstream schools with appropriate support. It requires adapted materials, trained staff, and accessible classrooms.

Additional services such as resource rooms, itinerant teachers, and adapted assessment provided to learners with identified needs. It supplements rather than replaces mainstream placement.

The emotional and social atmosphere of a classroom, shaped by teacher expectations, fairness, and peer relationships. A safe, respectful climate improves participation and reduces dropout.

The organization of space, time, routines, and behaviour so that teaching can proceed without disruption. Effective management is preventive and consistent rather than punitive.

A school-level document setting priorities, targets, and resource needs for a planning cycle, prepared with staff and community input. It guides spending and links school goals to zonal support.

A body of principal, staff, parents, and community representatives that reviews school plans, discipline, and resource use. It is a channel for shared decision-making and accountability.

The intermediate administrative level between the national ministry and individual schools, responsible for supervision, teacher deployment, and monitoring of schools in its zone.

Systematic inquiry by a teacher into a problem in their own classroom, cycling through planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. It generates practical improvements and professional learning.

The habit of reviewing one's own teaching decisions and their effects in order to improve. It may use lesson notes, peer observation, or student feedback as evidence.

Instruction that combines face-to-face teaching with online or digital components. The digital part is planned to extend or reinforce classroom work rather than replace it.

Software that hosts course materials, activities, and records for learners online. It supports distribution of resources, submission of work, and tracking of progress.

The gap between learners who have reliable devices, connectivity, and skills and those who do not. It affects equity of access to online learning and must be considered in planning.

A framework describing the integration of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge. Effective technology use requires all three together, not technical skill alone.

The ability to draw valid conclusions from given statements, identify assumptions, and detect flawed arguments. It is tested through syllogisms, sequences, and analytical puzzles.

A deductive argument with two premises and a conclusion, tested by checking whether the conclusion must follow. Only conclusions that are necessarily true count as valid.

A method of representing sets and their overlaps visually to test whether a conclusion follows from the premises. It is widely used to solve classification and syllogism questions quickly.

A sequence of numbers following a hidden rule, where the candidate must find the next term. Common rules involve differences, ratios, squares, or alternating patterns.

A reasoning task in which words or numbers are transformed by a rule and the candidate must apply or reverse it. Success depends on spotting the pattern from given examples.

The ability to read a passage and answer questions about its stated ideas, inferences, vocabulary, and tone. It tests both literal understanding and interpretation.

A conclusion drawn from evidence in a text that is not stated directly. Correct inferences must be supported by the passage rather than by personal opinion.

The linking of sentences and paragraphs through reference words, conjunctions, and repetition so that a text reads as a connected whole. It is tested in cloze and sentence-insertion items.

A passage with words removed at intervals, which the candidate must restore from context or options. It measures vocabulary, grammar, and understanding of cohesive links.

A sentence pattern in which the subject performs the action, as in the teacher marked the papers. It is usually clearer and more direct than the passive.

A sentence pattern in which the subject receives the action, formed with a form of be plus the past participle. It is used when the doer is unknown or unimportant.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person. Errors commonly arise with collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrupted subjects.

The sound changes that occur when words or morphemes combine in Sinhala or Tamil, affecting spelling and pronunciation. Correct joining rules are tested in grammar and composition items.

A word formed by joining two or more independent words to create a single meaning. Recognizing compounding helps with spelling, vocabulary, and translation tasks.

The constitutional and statutory provisions on the use of Sinhala, Tamil, and the link language in administration and education. Teachers must know the language rights of students and parents.

Awareness of national institutions, geography, public figures, recent policy changes, and major events. It is assessed through factual questions and requires regular reading of reliable news sources.