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Praxis 5358 practice questions

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Question 1Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a specific learning disability in reading receives specially designed instruction in a resource room. Under IDEA, which element is required before the IEP team can finalize this student's placement in the resource setting?

  1. A physician's diagnosis confirming the presence of a reading disability
  2. Documentation that the student's parents requested the resource setting in writing
  3. Evidence that the student's reading deficits exceed two grade levels
  4. A determination that the student cannot be educated satisfactorily in the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services Correct answer.

Explanation

IDEA requires that placement decisions be based on the least restrictive environment principle: the team must first consider the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services and document why that setting cannot satisfactorily meet the student's needs. Parent preference, a fixed achievement gap, and a medical diagnosis are not the legal triggers for a more restrictive placement.

Question 2Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A special education teacher is asked to describe the primary purpose of progress monitoring within a multi-tiered system of supports. Which statement best captures that purpose?

  1. To rank students for placement in the most restrictive environment
  2. To determine whether an instructional intervention is working and adjust it based on data Correct answer.
  3. To document teacher compliance with district pacing guides
  4. To compare a student's performance against national norms for eligibility decisions

Explanation

Progress monitoring uses frequent, brief measures to evaluate a student's response to intervention and to inform instructional adjustments. It is a formative, data-based decision-making tool rather than a norm-referenced eligibility test, a compliance record, or a ranking mechanism.

Question 3Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A 9-year-old student with autism spectrum disorder has an IEP goal to initiate peer interactions during unstructured time. Which approach reflects an evidence-based practice for building this skill in the general education setting?

  1. Waiting for the student to initiate spontaneously before providing any support
  2. Removing the student from recess to practice scripted greetings with an adult
  3. Assigning the student a written reflection on social interactions each day
  4. Teaching peers to prompt and reinforce the student's initiations during recess activities Correct answer.

Explanation

Peer-mediated interventions, in which typically developing peers are taught to prompt and reinforce target social behaviors, are an evidence-based practice for improving social initiations for students with autism in inclusive settings. Pulling the student from natural contexts, withholding support, and reflective writing do not build the skill in the setting where it is needed.

Question 4Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

During an IEP meeting, a parent disagrees with the proposed goals and requests an independent educational evaluation (IEE) at public expense. According to IDEA, how must the school district respond?

  1. Deny the request because the district's own evaluation is presumed valid
  2. Either fund the IEE or request a due process hearing to show its evaluation is appropriate Correct answer.
  3. Delay any response until the next scheduled annual review
  4. Require the parent to pay for the IEE and seek reimbursement later

Explanation

Under IDEA, when a parent requests an IEE at public expense, the district must either provide the evaluation at public expense or initiate a due process hearing to demonstrate that its own evaluation is appropriate. It cannot simply deny the request, delay it, or require the parent to pay in advance.

Question 5Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher wants to collect data on how often a student leaves their seat during independent work. Which measurement method is most appropriate for this behavior?

  1. Event recording of each out-of-seat episode Correct answer.
  2. Duration recording of the entire class period
  3. Permanent product recording of completed worksheets
  4. Latency recording from the start of the period

Explanation

Out-of-seat behavior has a clear discrete beginning and end and occurs repeatedly, making event (frequency) recording the appropriate measure. Duration recording would capture only total time, permanent product cannot detect the behavior, and latency measures time to first response rather than repeated occurrences.

Question 6Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which practice best reflects culturally responsive special education assessment?

  1. Interpreting assessment results in light of the student's language, culture, and experiential background Correct answer.
  2. Relying solely on teacher referral information to determine eligibility
  3. Using only standardized instruments normed on the general population
  4. Excluding family input to preserve assessment objectivity

Explanation

Culturally responsive assessment requires that evaluators interpret results within the context of a student's linguistic and cultural background and avoid misattributing differences to disability. Relying only on general-population norms, referrals alone, or excluding families undermines valid and nondiscriminatory evaluation.

Question 7Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's IEP includes a behavioral intervention plan with a token economy. Which principle explains why the tokens effectively reinforce the target behavior?

  1. Tokens eliminate the need for any natural reinforcement
  2. Tokens function as punishers when exchanged for privileges
  3. Tokens are primary reinforcers that satisfy biological needs directly
  4. Tokens are conditioned reinforcers exchangeable for backup reinforcers Correct answer.

Explanation

Tokens are conditioned (secondary) reinforcers because their value is learned through association with backup reinforcers for which they can be exchanged. They do not directly satisfy biological needs, they are not punishers, and they should be paired with natural reinforcement rather than replacing it.

Question 8Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which statement accurately describes the role of a paraeducator in implementing a student's IEP?

  1. The paraeducator determines the student's least restrictive environment
  2. The paraeducator delivers instruction and support under the direction and supervision of a certified teacher Correct answer.
  3. The paraeducator conducts the initial eligibility evaluation
  4. The paraeducator independently designs and revises the student's IEP goals

Explanation

Paraeducators provide instructional and related support under the direction and supervision of certified professionals; they do not independently design IEPs, conduct eligibility evaluations, or make placement decisions. Those responsibilities rest with certified teachers and the IEP team.

Question 9Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A middle school student with an emotional disability frequently escalates during transitions. The team wants to teach a replacement behavior. Which target is most appropriate?

  1. Earning points for remaining silent during transitions
  2. Completing transitions without any adult support
  3. Requesting a break using a taught signal when frustration begins Correct answer.
  4. Suppressing all expressions of frustration during transitions

Explanation

A replacement behavior should serve the same function as the problem behavior and be teachable and socially acceptable. Teaching the student to request a break with a signal provides an efficient, appropriate way to access the same outcome (escape or relief) that escalation previously produced.

Question 10Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Under the IDEA discipline provisions, what is the maximum number of school days a student with a disability may be removed to an interim alternative educational setting for a weapons or drug offense without a hearing officer's order?

  1. 10 school days
  2. 45 school days Correct answer.
  3. 5 school days
  4. 90 school days

Explanation

IDEA permits school personnel to remove a student with a disability to an interim alternative educational setting for up to 45 school days for weapons, drugs, or serious bodily injury offenses without a hearing officer's order. The 10-day limit applies to short-term removals that do not constitute a change of placement.

Question 11Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a disability is being evaluated for the first time. Which requirement applies to the composition of the evaluation team under IDEA?

  1. The team may exclude the parents to protect test security
  2. The team must consist solely of the school psychologist
  3. The team must include at least one general education teacher and the parents Correct answer.
  4. The team must include a school administrator as the sole decision-maker

Explanation

IDEA requires that the group conducting the initial evaluation include the parents, at least one general education teacher (if the child is or may be participating in general education), at least one special education teacher or provider, and a district representative qualified to supervise special education. A single evaluator or an administrator acting alone does not satisfy the team requirement.

Question 12Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which of the following best describes the concept of universal design for learning (UDL) as applied to a special education classroom?

  1. Designing instruction with multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression from the outset Correct answer.
  2. Providing identical materials to all students regardless of need
  3. Using a single modality of instruction to maintain consistency
  4. Adding accommodations only after a student fails

Explanation

UDL is a proactive framework that builds in multiple means of representation, engagement, and action and expression so that varied learners can access content. It is not a reactive retrofit, a one-size-fits-all approach, or a single-modality method.

Question 13Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is writing an IEP goal for a student learning to solve two-digit addition problems with regrouping. Which goal statement is written most appropriately?

  1. The student will improve math skills as measured by teacher observation.
  2. The student will understand addition better.
  3. Given 10 two-digit addition problems, the student will solve at least 8 correctly with 80% accuracy across three consecutive probes. Correct answer.
  4. The student will try harder during math.

Explanation

A well-written IEP goal is measurable, specifies the conditions, the target behavior, and the criterion for mastery. The option naming 10 problems, an 80% criterion, and three consecutive probes meets those requirements, while the others lack observable and measurable criteria.

Question 14Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which legal principle from the Rowley decision continues to guide courts in reviewing whether a school district has provided a free appropriate public education?

  1. The district must provide the maximum possible educational benefit
  2. The district must provide the same services as neighboring districts
  3. The district must provide an IEP reasonably calculated to enable the child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances Correct answer.
  4. The district must close all achievement gaps before graduation

Explanation

The Supreme Court in Board of Education v. Rowley held that FAPE requires an IEP reasonably calculated to enable the child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances. It rejected a maximum-benefit standard, a gap-closing requirement, and a comparison to other districts.

Question 15Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a visual impairment needs access to grade-level science text. Which accommodation is most directly aligned with the student's needs?

  1. Providing the text in braille or accessible digital format Correct answer.
  2. Assigning a peer to read all text aloud during independent reading
  3. Reducing the number of vocabulary words the student must learn
  4. Allowing the student to skip laboratory activities

Explanation

For a student with a visual impairment, providing the text in braille or an accessible digital format ensures access to the same content as peers. Reducing content, skipping labs, or depending on a peer for all reading are modifications that lower expectations rather than provide equal access.

Question 16Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher wants to increase a student's on-task behavior using a reinforcement schedule that is most resistant to extinction. Which schedule should the teacher select?

  1. Variable-interval reinforcement on an unpredictable time basis Correct answer.
  2. Continuous reinforcement after every response
  3. Fixed-ratio reinforcement after every fifth response
  4. Fixed-interval reinforcement at the end of each class period

Explanation

Variable schedules, including variable-interval, produce behavior that is highly resistant to extinction because reinforcement is unpredictable. Continuous and fixed schedules are more predictable and therefore more susceptible to rapid extinction when reinforcement stops.

Question 17Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which of the following is a defining feature of a functional behavioral assessment (FBA)?

  1. It is conducted only after a student is expelled
  2. It determines whether a student should be suspended
  3. It replaces the need for an IEP
  4. It identifies the antecedents, consequences, and function of a behavior Correct answer.

Explanation

An FBA systematically examines the antecedents, consequences, and function of a target behavior to inform intervention planning. It is not a disciplinary tool, does not replace an IEP, and is not limited to post-expulsion contexts.

Question 18Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a specific learning disability in written expression struggles to organize multi-paragraph essays. Which instructional strategy is most likely to support this student?

  1. Focusing only on spelling accuracy
  2. Assigning longer essays to build stamina
  3. Providing explicit instruction in a planning framework such as POW plus TREE Correct answer.
  4. Removing all graphic organizers to encourage independence

Explanation

Explicit strategy instruction using a planning framework like POW plus TREE teaches students to plan, organize, and write essays and is an evidence-based practice for written expression difficulties. Increasing length, removing supports, or focusing only on spelling does not address organization.

Question 19Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which statement best describes the principle of normalization as it relates to special education service delivery?

  1. Students with disabilities should have access to patterns and conditions of everyday life similar to those of peers without disabilities Correct answer.
  2. Students with disabilities should be exempt from state assessments
  3. Students with disabilities should be placed in the most restrictive setting for safety
  4. Students with disabilities should receive separate curricula from peers

Explanation

Normalization emphasizes providing people with disabilities access to the ordinary patterns and conditions of daily life available to peers without disabilities. It supports inclusive settings and typical routines, not segregation, separate curricula, or assessment exemption.

Question 20Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is preparing for a student's transition from middle school to high school. Which requirement applies to transition planning under IDEA?

  1. Transition planning must begin no later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 16 Correct answer.
  2. Transition planning begins only after the student graduates
  3. Transition planning is optional and requires parent consent only
  4. Transition planning applies only to students with intellectual disabilities

Explanation

IDEA requires that transition planning begin no later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 16, though many states begin earlier. It is a required component of the IEP for eligible students, not optional, post-graduation, or limited to one disability category.

Question 21Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's behavior intervention plan includes a procedure in which the teacher removes a preferred activity contingent on problem behavior. Which principle is being applied?

  1. Extinction
  2. Negative reinforcement
  3. Positive reinforcement
  4. Negative punishment Correct answer.

Explanation

Removing a preferred activity contingent on problem behavior is negative punishment because a stimulus is removed to decrease the behavior. Negative reinforcement removes a stimulus to increase behavior, positive reinforcement adds a stimulus, and extinction removes the maintaining reinforcement entirely.

Question 22Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which of the following best reflects the principle of partial participation for a student with significant disabilities in a general education classroom?

  1. The student is excluded from activities that require adaptations
  2. The student participates only in social activities
  3. The student participates in all activities independently without support
  4. The student participates in portions of activities with appropriate adaptations and supports Correct answer.

Explanation

Partial participation means that a student with significant disabilities participates in meaningful portions of typical activities with adaptations and supports, rather than being excluded or expected to perform independently. It promotes inclusion while respecting individual needs.

Question 23Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is implementing a check-in/check-out (CICO) intervention for a student with mild behavioral concerns. What is the primary purpose of CICO?

  1. To provide frequent feedback and adult connection to increase appropriate behavior Correct answer.
  2. To serve as a punishment for minor misbehavior
  3. To determine special education eligibility
  4. To replace the need for a functional behavioral assessment in all cases

Explanation

CICO is a Tier 2 intervention that provides frequent feedback, adult connection, and daily progress monitoring to support appropriate behavior. It does not replace an FBA when one is needed, is not a punishment, and is not an eligibility tool.

Question 24Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which of the following statements about confidentiality of student records under FERPA is accurate?

  1. Records may be destroyed at any time without notice
  2. Parents may not request amendments to inaccurate records
  3. Parents have the right to inspect and review their child's education records within a specified timeframe Correct answer.
  4. School staff may share records with anyone who requests them

Explanation

FERPA grants parents the right to inspect and review their child's education records within a specified timeframe and to seek amendment of inaccurate records. Schools may not share records indiscriminately or destroy them without following required procedures.

Question 25Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is reviewing assessment data and notices that a student's scores on a curriculum-based measure have plateaued despite an intervention. According to data-based decision-making, what is the most appropriate next step?

  1. Wait for the next annual IEP review
  2. Continue the intervention unchanged for the rest of the year
  3. Discontinue all services immediately
  4. Modify the intervention or intensify support based on the data trend Correct answer.

Explanation

Data-based decision-making requires that teams use progress-monitoring trends to adjust instruction when a student is not responding. Continuing an ineffective intervention, discontinuing services, or waiting for an annual review ignores the data and delays needed support.

Question 26Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Under IDEA, which timeline generally applies from the date a parent provides written consent for an initial full and individual evaluation to the date the eligibility determination is made?

  1. 60 calendar days, unless the state establishes a different timeframe Correct answer.
  2. 10 school days
  3. 90 school days
  4. 30 calendar days

Explanation

IDEA requires that an initial evaluation be conducted within 60 calendar days of receiving parental consent, though states may set their own timeframe as long as it complies with federal requirements. The clock begins at written consent, not at the referral meeting.

Question 27Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's IEP team is determining placement. Which principle requires that the student be educated with peers without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate?

  1. Procedural due process
  2. Least restrictive environment Correct answer.
  3. Child find
  4. Free appropriate public education

Explanation

The least restrictive environment principle requires education alongside nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal only when supplementary aids and services cannot achieve satisfactory results. Placement is determined after goals and services are designed, not before.

Question 28Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A general education teacher suspects a student may have a disability and asks the special educator what to do first. Which action is most consistent with the prereferral process?

  1. Ask the parents to obtain a private diagnosis before any school action
  2. Request that the student be moved to a self-contained classroom
  3. Document the concern and implement targeted interventions while monitoring progress Correct answer.
  4. Refer the student immediately for a full and individual evaluation

Explanation

Prereferral intervention, often delivered through a multi-tiered system of supports, gathers data on the student's response to targeted instruction before a referral for special education evaluation. This documentation also supports the exclusionary criterion by showing whether the difficulty responds to appropriate instruction.

Question 29Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which individual is a mandatory participant on every IEP team under IDEA?

  1. A general education teacher when the student is or may be participating in the general education environment Correct answer.
  2. The school principal
  3. The school psychologist
  4. The district special education director

Explanation

IDEA specifies required IEP team members, including a general education teacher of the child whenever the child is, or may be, participating in the general education environment. Principals, psychologists, and directors attend only when their role is needed or when they serve as a required member.

Question 30Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with an intellectual disability is learning to prepare a simple snack. The teacher provides a picture recipe and physical prompting. Which approach reflects the principle of self-determination?

  1. Removing the activity because the student needs adult support
  2. Offering the student choices among several snacks and prompting the student to request help Correct answer.
  3. Following a fixed sequence with no opportunities for the student to make decisions
  4. Having the teacher select the snack and complete the steps the student finds difficult

Explanation

Self-determination is supported when students make meaningful choices and are taught to express preferences and advocate for their needs. Embedding choice and self-advocacy into routine activities builds these skills within authentic contexts.

Question 31Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

Which statement best describes the purpose of a prior written notice under IDEA?

  1. It serves as the district's formal response to a due process complaint
  2. It records the minutes of the IEP team meeting
  3. It informs parents of a proposed or refused change in identification, evaluation, placement, or services Correct answer.
  4. It documents the teacher's lesson plans for the coming grading period

Explanation

Prior written notice must be given to parents whenever the district proposes to initiate or change, or refuses to initiate or change, the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of FAPE. It must explain the action, the basis for it, and the procedural safeguards available.

Question 32Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a disability is being considered for retention in the same grade. Which requirement applies before the school makes that decision?

  1. The school must obtain a new medical diagnosis
  2. Retention is prohibited for all students with disabilities
  3. The IEP team must review the student's program and determine whether the student's needs are being met before retention is considered Correct answer.
  4. The general education teacher may decide without involving the IEP team

Explanation

When a student with a disability is considered for retention, the IEP team should review the student's IEP and services to determine whether the current program is appropriate before a retention decision is made. Retention is not automatically prohibited, but it cannot be decided without team review.

Question 33Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A special educator wants to communicate with a family whose primary language is not English. Which practice best supports meaningful parent participation?

  1. Relying on the student to translate at the IEP meeting
  2. Using gestures and simplified English without an interpreter
  3. Sending English documents home and asking parents to sign
  4. Providing translated documents and a qualified interpreter at meetings Correct answer.

Explanation

Meaningful parent participation requires information in a language the parents understand, including translated documents and qualified interpreters. Using students or untrained staff as interpreters can compromise accuracy and confidentiality.

Question 34Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's evaluation report shows a full-scale IQ of 85, adaptive behavior in the average range, and academic skills below grade level. Which conclusion is most defensible for the eligibility team?

  1. The student meets criteria for intellectual disability because academic skills are low
  2. The student should be found ineligible and receive no further support
  3. The data do not support an intellectual disability, and other disability categories or instructional factors should be examined Correct answer.
  4. The IQ score alone determines eligibility

Explanation

Intellectual disability requires significantly subaverage intellectual functioning and concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior that originate during the developmental period. With average adaptive behavior and an IQ of 85, the profile does not fit that definition, so the team should examine other explanations and categories.

Question 35Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is designing a lesson for a diverse class and wants to apply universal design for learning. Which action best reflects multiple means of representation?

  1. Providing a quiet space for students who need reduced sensory input
  2. Presenting key content through text, diagrams, and narrated video Correct answer.
  3. Allowing students to submit work in written, oral, or visual formats
  4. Offering students choices about the pace and sequence of tasks

Explanation

Multiple means of representation concerns how content is presented, so offering text, diagrams, and narrated video addresses perception and comprehension. The other options address action and expression, engagement, or environmental supports.

Question 36Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's IEP includes a goal for reading comprehension, and the teacher wants to monitor progress weekly using brief passages of equivalent difficulty. Which measure is most appropriate?

  1. A standardized achievement test administered twice yearly
  2. The student's quarterly report card grade
  3. Anecdotal notes recorded during reading groups
  4. Curriculum-based measurement of reading comprehension Correct answer.

Explanation

Curriculum-based measurement provides brief, equivalent probes that are sensitive to short-term growth and suitable for frequent progress monitoring. Standardized tests and grades are too infrequent or insensitive to guide weekly instructional adjustments.

Question 37Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is collecting data on a student's out-of-seat behavior during independent work. Which method yields the most useful information about both frequency and duration?

  1. Counting the number of assignments completed
  2. Recording only whether the behavior occurred during the period
  3. Asking the student to self-report at the end of the day
  4. Recording each instance with a start and stop time Correct answer.

Explanation

Recording start and stop times for each episode captures frequency and duration, giving a fuller picture of the behavior than a simple occurrence check. This information helps the team select an appropriate intervention and measure change.

Question 38Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a disability is placed in the general education classroom, but the team is concerned that the student will need a modified curriculum. Which statement about modifications versus accommodations is accurate?

  1. Accommodations change the content standards, while modifications change the setting
  2. Modifications are only used in self-contained settings
  3. Modifications and accommodations are interchangeable terms in special education
  4. Modifications change what the student is expected to learn, while accommodations change how the student accesses the content Correct answer.

Explanation

Accommodations alter the way a student accesses instruction or demonstrates learning without changing the content expectations, whereas modifications change the content or performance expectations themselves. The distinction matters because modifications affect progress toward grade-level standards.

Question 39Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a disability is exhibiting a pattern of behavior that impedes learning. The team conducts a functional behavioral assessment. Which outcome is the primary product of that assessment?

  1. A diagnosis of the student's disability category
  2. A decision to change the student's placement
  3. A determination of whether the student should be retained
  4. A hypothesis about the function the behavior serves and a plan for teaching replacement skills Correct answer.

Explanation

An FBA identifies antecedent and consequence variables and the function the behavior serves, which then informs a behavior intervention plan focused on teaching functionally equivalent replacement behaviors. It is not used to determine disability category or placement.

Question 40Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher wants to support a student's use of an augmentative and alternative communication device throughout the school day. Which practice is most likely to promote generalization?

  1. Allowing only the speech-language pathologist to prompt device use
  2. Restricting device use to the speech therapy room
  3. Using the device only during structured drill activities
  4. Embedding device use across settings and training multiple communication partners Correct answer.

Explanation

Generalization improves when communication is practiced with multiple partners across natural settings and activities rather than confined to one location or one adult. This builds functional use that maintains outside the therapy context.

Question 41Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a disability transfers to a new district. Which obligation does the receiving district have regarding the student's IEP?

  1. Place the student in a self-contained classroom until records arrive
  2. Require the family to begin the eligibility process from the start
  3. Wait until the next annual review before providing any services
  4. Provide services comparable to those in the previous IEP until a new IEP is developed or the old one is adopted Correct answer.

Explanation

When a student with an IEP transfers, the new district must provide a free appropriate public education, including services comparable to those in the previous IEP, until it adopts the prior IEP or develops a new one. The district must also obtain records and facilitate a timely team meeting.

Question 42Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is preparing a student for the transition from school to adult life. Which practice best reflects age-appropriate transition assessment?

  1. Relying solely on the student's most recent standardized achievement scores
  2. Gathering information about the student's interests, skills, and preferences in real community and work settings Correct answer.
  3. Waiting until the final year of school to begin transition planning
  4. Asking parents to decide the student's postsecondary goals without student input

Explanation

Transition assessment should be ongoing and gather data on interests, preferences, and skills in authentic settings relevant to postsecondary goals. Student involvement is central, and planning must begin no later than age 16 under IDEA, with many states requiring it earlier.

Question 43Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher notices that a student with a learning disability avoids reading tasks and often disrupts during reading block. Which interpretation is most consistent with an applied behavior analysis perspective?

  1. The behavior indicates the student no longer needs special education services
  2. The disruption may be maintained by escape from a difficult task, so the team should examine antecedents and consequences Correct answer.
  3. The behavior is a fixed trait that cannot be changed through instruction
  4. The student should be removed from reading instruction

Explanation

From an applied behavior analysis perspective, behavior is examined in relation to environmental antecedents and consequences, and escape from an aversive or difficult task is a common function. Identifying that function guides intervention such as adjusting task difficulty and teaching appropriate help-seeking.

Question 44Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's IEP team is considering assistive technology. Which statement best describes the district's obligation?

  1. Assistive technology may be considered only if parents request it
  2. Assistive technology must be purchased by the family
  3. Assistive technology is limited to hardware such as tablets
  4. The team must consider whether the student needs assistive technology devices and services to receive FAPE Correct answer.

Explanation

IDEA requires the IEP team to consider the student's need for assistive technology devices and services as part of developing the IEP. Assistive technology includes both devices and services, and cost cannot be shifted to families when needed for FAPE.

Question 45Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with an emotional disability has been suspended for 12 cumulative school days for unrelated infractions. Which statement about the manifestation determination review is accurate?

  1. A manifestation determination review is optional and conducted at the principal's discretion
  2. A manifestation determination review is required only if the parents request one
  3. A manifestation determination review is required when a disciplinary change of placement occurs, such as a removal exceeding 10 consecutive days or a pattern of removals Correct answer.
  4. A manifestation determination review is required after every single-day suspension

Explanation

A manifestation determination review is required within 10 school days of any decision to change placement for disciplinary reasons, including removals over 10 consecutive days or a pattern amounting to a change of placement. The team examines whether the conduct was caused by or substantially related to the disability or a failure to implement the IEP.

Question 46Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher is implementing a peer-mediated intervention in an inclusive classroom. Which feature is essential to the approach?

  1. Selecting only the highest-achieving students as peer partners
  2. Allowing peers to assign grades to classmates
  3. Training peers to model and reinforce targeted academic or social behaviors during structured activities Correct answer.
  4. Replacing the teacher's instruction with peer tutoring for the entire day

Explanation

Peer-mediated interventions rely on trained peers who model and reinforce target skills within planned activities under teacher monitoring. The teacher retains responsibility for instruction, and peer selection should reflect a range of students rather than only the highest achievers.

Question 47Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student with a disability is included in a general education classroom, and the special educator is developing a co-teaching plan with the general educator. Which arrangement describes parallel teaching?

  1. One teacher teaches the content while the other circulates to assist individual students
  2. The class is divided into two groups, and each teacher delivers the same content to one group Correct answer.
  3. One teacher leads while the other observes and takes notes
  4. Both teachers deliver the lesson together to the whole class

Explanation

In parallel teaching, the class is split into two heterogeneous groups and each teacher delivers the same lesson to one group, which lowers the student-teacher ratio. This differs from station teaching, one-teach-one-assist, and team teaching arrangements.

Question 48Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A student's behavior intervention plan includes a procedure in which the teacher removes a preferred activity contingent on problem behavior. Over time the behavior increases. Which analysis is most warranted?

  1. The procedure may be functioning as reinforcement, such as escape or access to attention, and the plan should be revised based on data Correct answer.
  2. The procedure is effective and should be continued without change
  3. The behavior is unrelated to environmental variables
  4. The student's disability category should be changed

Explanation

When a consequence intended as punishment increases behavior, it may inadvertently reinforce the behavior through escape, attention, or another function. The team should review the data, revisit the functional hypothesis, and revise the plan rather than continue an ineffective procedure.

Question 49Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A parent disagrees with the school's evaluation and requests an independent educational evaluation at public expense. Which statement best describes the district's options under IDEA?

  1. The district must either fund the independent evaluation or file a due process complaint to show its own evaluation was appropriate Correct answer.
  2. The district must always fund the independent evaluation regardless of the circumstances
  3. The district may require the parent to pay for the evaluation first and seek reimbursement later
  4. The district may deny the request without any further action

Explanation

When a parent requests an independent educational evaluation at public expense, the district must either provide it or initiate a due process hearing to demonstrate that its own evaluation was appropriate. The district cannot simply refuse, and the parent's right to an independent evaluation at their own expense is preserved either way.

Question 50Special Education Foundations and Professional Practices

A teacher reviews a student's assessment results and notices that the student scored significantly below peers on a norm-referenced reading test but performs near grade level on classroom curriculum-based measures. Which interpretation is most defensible?

  1. The discrepancy may reflect differences in what the two measures assess or in the norm sample, so multiple sources should be triangulated before drawing conclusions Correct answer.
  2. The curriculum-based measures must be invalid
  3. The student should be found ineligible based on the classroom data alone
  4. The norm-referenced test is always more accurate than classroom measures

Explanation

Norm-referenced and curriculum-based measures serve different purposes and may sample different skills, formats, and populations, so discrepant results call for triangulation across sources rather than automatic acceptance of one measure. The team should examine the constructs assessed, the student's opportunity to learn, and additional data.