Category: Solved Questions

Before you begin this task, you must have completed and passed Task 1, and you must complete and pass this task prior to beginning Task 3.

Part of being an effective school leader is ensuring the programs of study are coherent and prepare students for success. You will lead the school’s efforts in developing, implementing, and evaluating curricula, instructional practices, and assessments.

Over the three tasks for this assessment, you will use eight of the nine steps of curricular evaluation. For this task, Task 2, you will complete steps four through six of the curricular evaluation process for programs of study: refine curriculum map, refine curriculum materials (i.e., curriculum guide), and suggest time allocations. Task 1 covers steps one and two and Task 3 covers steps seven through nine.

While you do not need to complete step three, which is to map the desired curriculum, this step would be at the beginning of this task.

The documents in the attachments section compose a rich case study similar to the type of information you would have access to as a principal when conducting a curriculum evaluation. You may not need to use each of these attachments in every task, although some attachments are required for this task. However, collectively, the attachments will give you a broad scenario to analyze, and individually, the attachments will help inform thoughtful responses to real-world situations.

You have successfully led West Oak Cove Elementary School through the first two steps of the curriculum evaluation process for the fourth-grade math curriculum based on the Illinois Common Core State Standards. You and your team have set the project parameters for the curriculum evaluation process, including identifying the purposes behind the evaluation and the stakeholders who should be involved. You have also completed the plan to orient the faculty to the curriculum evaluation. You will now continue the process, leading your faculty and staff through the next four steps of the curriculum evaluation process.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc., unless specified in the task requirements. All other submissions must be file types that are uploaded and submitted as attachments (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .ppt). 

A.  Evaluate the attached “Curriculum Map” by doing the following:

1.  Discuss how well the attached “Curriculum Map” aligns to established Illinois Common Core State Standards.

2.  Discuss student performance data as it relates to the standards in the attached “Curriculum Map,” including identification of areas that could be improved.

3.  Recommend modifications to the attached “Curriculum Map,” and justify your recommendations based upon your responses to part A1 and part A2.

4.  Explain the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Map.” Justify all changes to time allocations for key elements you would make, based on your responses to parts A1–A3.

B.  Evaluate the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” by doing the following:

1.  Discuss how well the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt” addresses each of the following elements:

• grade-level standards alignment

• student performance data

• equity and cultural relevance

• use of technology

2.  Recommend modifications to the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt,” and justify your recommendations based upon your response to part B1.

3.  Explain each of the time allocations for key elements discussed in the attached “Curriculum Guide Excerpt.” Justify all changes you would make, based on your responses to parts B1 and B2.

C.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

D.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

You must complete and pass Tasks 1 and 2 prior to beginning this task.

Part of being an effective school leader is ensuring the programs of study are coherent and prepare students for success. You will lead the school’s efforts in developing, implementing, and evaluating curricula, instructional practices, and assessments.

Over the three tasks for this assessment, you will use eight of the nine steps of curricular evaluation. For this task, Task 3, you will complete steps seven through nine of the curricular evaluation process for programs of study: select and develop tests, select instructional materials, and provide for professional learning. Task 1 covers steps one and two, and Task 2 covers steps four through six.

The documents in the attachments section compose a rich case study similar to the type of information you would have access to as a principal when conducting a curriculum evaluation. You may not need to use each of these attachments in every task, although some attachments are required for this task. However, collectively, the attachments will give you a broad scenario to analyze, and individually, the attachments will help inform thoughtful responses to real-world situations.

As principal of West Oak Cove Elementary School, you have successfully led the curriculum evaluation team through the first five of the nine steps of the curriculum evaluation process for the fourth-grade math curriculum based on the Illinois Common Core State Standards. You have defined the scope of the evaluation, engaged stakeholders, and evaluated and adjusted the curriculum map and curriculum guide excerpt to improve learning. You are now ready to finalize the curriculum evaluation.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc., unless specified in the task requirements. All other submissions must be file types that are uploaded and submitted as attachments (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .ppt). 

A.  Evaluate the attached “Summative Assessment” by doing the following:

1.  Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the attached “Summative Assessment” in relation to cultural responsiveness, and justify why you classified each as a strength or weakness.

2.  Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the attached “Summative Assessment” in relation to accessibility, and justify why you classified each as a strength or weakness.

3.  Analyze how well the attached “Summative Assessment” aligns to the attached “Curriculum Map.”

4.  Recommend specific steps you would take to help teachers who are using the attached “Summative Assessment” address each of the weaknesses you identified in parts A1–A3.
a. Justify how the steps in part A4 would be effective in addressing the identified weaknesses.

B.  Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the attached “Unit of Instruction: Division” by doing the following:

1.  Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the attached “Unit of Instruction: Division” in relation to equity, and justify why you classified each as a strength or weakness.

2.  Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the attached “Unit of Instruction: Division” in relation to engagement, and justify why you classified each as a strength or weakness.

3.  Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the attached “Unit of Instruction: Division” in relation to digital literacy, and justify why you classified each as a strength or weakness.

4.  Recommend specific steps you would take to help teachers who are using the attached “Unit of Instruction: Division” address each of the weaknesses you identified in parts B1–B3.
a. Justify how the steps in part B4 would be effective in addressing the identified weaknesses.

C.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

D.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

As a leader, you will be asked to use educational data and apply data literacy skills as a part of school improvement efforts. In this task, you will first describe an educational problem from your setting. You will then access existing educational data relevant to the problem and describe the source(s) of data that include information from technologies such as state department of education websites, data warehouses, data dashboards, simple spreadsheets, and apps. They may also include assessment systems, student information systems, instructional management systems, or other relevant technologies. Sources of data could also include district data or classroom data.

Next, you will apply data literacy skills to identify educational problems and data, analyze the data and their types, and then make inferences and draw conclusions. Last, you will summarize three credible research articles and describe how they may inform the next steps of an action plan. You may use the “Data Analysis Template” to help guide your submission.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Describe an educational problem relevant to your setting by doing the following:

1.  Develop a problem statement that can be investigated by accessing and analyzing data.

Note: You will be accessing existing data. You will not need to collect original data.

2.  Describe the setting or context in which the problem exists, including the participant group.

a.  Describe the participant subgroups relevant to the problem.

Note: Some examples of participant characteristics include but are not limited to gender; socioeconomic status, homeless status; level of special education; and whether they are English learners, students with a parent in the military, or students in foster care.

3.  Explain why each data type (qualitative and quantitative) may or may not be a good fit for the problem.

4.  Describe stakeholders who may collaborate to address this problem, explaining why they are relevant.

5.  Discuss ethical considerations related to student privacy, including how you will limit potential issues.
B.  After selecting data relevant to the problem in part A, describe the source(s) of the data by doing the following:

Note: Data sources could include information from technologies such as state department of education websites, data warehouses, data dashboards, simple spreadsheets, and apps. They also may include assessment systems, student information systems, and instructional management systems. You may consider other relevant technologies that provide access to the analysis and reporting of data. You may access district data or classroom data as well.

1.  Describe how you accessed the data, including the technology that you used.

2.  Describe why the data you accessed from the source(s) are relevant to the problem and the participants in part A2.

3.  Describe how the data source(s) is (are) credible.
C.  Analyze each data set using methods aligned to the data type by doing the following:

1.  Describe the quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods used.
Note: Examples of quantitative methods include measures of central tendency and proportions. An example of a qualitative method is coding for themes.
2.  Describe how the data were made into a meaningful representation of the information, including any technology that was used to aid this process.

3.  Explain what your data say about the measures in the performance of the whole group of participants from part A2.

4.  Explain what your data say about the measures in the performance of the subgroups of the participants from part A2a.
D.  Discuss your results and inferences by doing the following:

1.  Summarize your results.

2.  Discuss the inferences you made based on the data by doing the following:

a.  Explain how you turned the raw data into actionable knowledge.

b.  Discuss how you plan to share the data and the related inferences with each stakeholder group from part A4.

3.  Discuss how collaboration with each stakeholder group can help solve the problem from part A.
Note: These stakeholders can include but are not limited to principals, district administrators, parents, taxpayers, and legislators.
E.  Summarize three credible articles related to the problem, describing how each may inform the next steps in implementing an action plan related to this problem.
F.  Acknowledge sources, using APA-formatted in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
G.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

In this task, you will begin by reviewing what you did in Task 1 of this assessment before creating an action plan within your educational setting. An action plan can include a school improvement plan (SIP), a student learning objective (SLO), or a professional learning community (PLC) plan. You will also reflect on best practices for data literacy, including continuous improvement planning, approaches to PLCs, and instructional decision-making processes. You may use the “Action Plan Template” attachment to help guide your submission .

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

 You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Write an overview of Task 1: Data Analysis, including the following:

•   problem statement

•   participants and participant subgroups

•   relevant stakeholders

•   source the data was selected from

•   data analysis

•   inferences derived from your analysis
B.  Write an action plan, based on your inferences derived from your analysis in part A. Discuss how the action plan can help solve the problem and improve the educational environment in your field of specialization.

1.  Describe resources that you will need for the action plan.

2.  Describe timelines for the action plan.

3.  Describe evidence that the action plan has been implemented.
Note: Examples of an action plan can include but are not limited to an SIP, an SLO, or a PLC plan.
Note: While your role may be that of a principal, curriculum leader, director of English learning, or special education (SPED) teacher, the purpose of this task is to create an action plan based on your analysis of data and the inferences you make based on those data to address the problem identified in part A.
C.  Justify how the action plan from part B could be used to help solve the problem and improve the educational environment, using three academic sources that support your position.

1.  Discuss how using the iterative decision-making cycle as part of the action plan may solve the problem.
D.  Discuss the action plan in terms of its issues of validity, reliability, and ethics.
E.  Discuss strategies that you could use to promote the action plan to stakeholders.
F.  Describe two examples of emergent education trends related to data literacy that could help drive continuous improvement within your educational setting.
Note: Examples include but are not limited to the following: how data are used in the context of methods that engage and motivate students, effective use of technology, project-based learning, increased engagement with content by using real-world data, and collaboration between educators and other stakeholders to ensure goals are being met.
G.  Acknowledge sources, using APA-formatted in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
H.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

School principals are responsible for determining staffing needs, as well as overseeing recruiting, interviewing, and hiring processes. The staffing plan and procedures for hiring new employees should also be in compliance with relevant laws, policies, and ethical codes. In this task, you will assume the responsibilities of an elementary school principal to develop a staffing plan and an interview process.

You are the school principal at George Madison Elementary. You are required to create a staffing plan for the next school year that includes identifying areas in which additional staff will be needed. You will also create an interview process to determine the most eligible candidates.

Your superintendent has informed you that you will have $225,000 more in your staffing budget for hiring additional employees. These extra hires would result in a staff beyond what will need to be replaced because of teacher attrition. Your superintendent has also provided some assumptions for how far the additional funds in your staffing budget can be spread. The costs associated with new hires are as follows: Teachers with zero to four years of experience with only a bachelor’s degree usually require $61,000 (including base salary plus benefits). Teachers working five to nine years with a maximum of a bachelor’s degree usually require $71,000 (including base salary plus benefits). If teachers have a master’s degree, $4,000 is typically added to the base salary.

Besides hiring new teachers, you have considered hiring for positions that do not currently exist in your school. For instance, teachers increasingly notify you of the need for addressing students’ mental health issues. So you have thought about hiring a social worker (which generally costs $86,000, including base salary plus benefits) or school psychologist (which typically requires $93,000, including base salary plus benefits). You have also considered hiring a technical support analyst (which usually costs $81,000, including base salary plus benefits) since increasing enrollment has resulted in a demand for more technology support.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Create a staffing plan for the next year, using the information in the scenario and the “Staffing and Enrollment Reports” attachment, by doing the following:

1.  Recommend the positions that you would hire.

a.  Justify your hiring recommendations by addressing the following:

• budget

• student need

• class size

• instructional space

• projected enrollment

• teacher attrition

• best staffing practice

• relevant law or policy
Note: Justifications may incorporate law and policy from your state or local district. 
2.  Provide a chart to represent next year’s staffing plan that includes the following:

• classrooms

• teacher assignments

• class sizes

• grade sizes
B.  Identify the selection criteria you would use for each position you recommended in part A1, including the following:

• education requirements

• licensure

• experience

• soft skills

Note: Soft skills are defined as the attitudes, personality traits, interpersonal skills, and communication skills necessary for an effective educational practice when working with all stakeholders (e.g., students, colleagues, community members).
C.  Describe the interview process you would use to select eligible candidates, including the following:

• number and type of interviews per candidate

• order of interviews

• collaboration with faculty, staff, or other stakeholders

1.  Justify the interview process by addressing each of the following:

• alignment to selection criteria from part B

• best interview practice

• district policy related to personnel or employment practices

• federal law related to personnel or employment practices

• state law related to personnel or employment practices
D.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
E.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

School principals are responsible for planning school-wide professional development programs that support their school or district’s mission, vision, and beliefs (or values) and that adhere to identified core strategies. School principals are also responsible for their own personal growth and development plans that align with the school or district as well as their own professional growth goals. This task will give you the opportunity to demonstrate competency in creating a school-wide professional development plan (PDP) for staff and a personal professional growth plan (PGP).

As the principal of Ridgeland Elementary School, you are responsible for creating the professional development plan for your staff for the coming school year. As part of the district performance evaluation process, you are also expected to create your own personal professional growth plan.

You began your planning by gathering several pieces of information and data as presented in the attached “Ridgeland Elementary School Information and Data.” Your next step will be to use this to inform the professional development path you will create for your staff and for yourself.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Using the attached “School Professional Development Plan (PDP),” create a school professional development plan with three areas for professional development that align with the scenario.
B.  Using the attached “School Principal Professional Growth Plan (PGP),” create a personal professional growth plan with two areas for professional growth that align to your personal goals as well as the scenario.
C.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
D.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

School principals are responsible for evaluating and supporting faculty and staff performance to create a productive work environment. This work environment should support the school or district’s mission, vision, and beliefs (or values) while also adhering to human resource law, policy, and ethical practice. This task will give you the opportunity to demonstrate competency in performing a classroom observation and using your observations to create a professional growth plan (PGP).

In this task, you will act as West Oak Cove’s principal to conduct a classroom observation using the attached “Classroom Observation Form” and one of the videos from the “List of Classroom Observations” attachment. Then you will use the results from the classroom observation to draft a professional growth plan. This plan is designed to help the teacher improve instructional practice and better align to the mission, vision, and beliefs, which are as follows:

Mission

At West Oak Cove, we prepare all students to prosper in a rapidly changing and diverse world. In addition to rigorous academics, our students are taught to value diversity, use critical thinking for solving real-world problems, and develop a growth mindset.

Vision

Our vision is to be a model of progressive education by incorporating new and evolving evidence-based pedagogical practices that support our students’ innate curiosity, compassion, and courage.

Beliefs

•  Education is learning how to learn.

•  All students are capable of learning when a growth mindset is reinforced.

•  Diversity makes a community strong.

•  Everyone is deserving of kindness.

•  Integrity is the foundation of academic excellence.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Using the attached “Classroom Observation Form,” conduct a classroom observation of a recorded lesson in the “List of Classroom Observations” attachment.
B.  Using the attached “Teacher Professional Growth Plan,” create a professional growth plan with two areas for professional growth that aligns to the mission, vision, and beliefs. The professional growth plan must be designed to help the teacher improve an aspect noted from the classroom observation.
C.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
D.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

Parents will often contact the school principal when they have concerns about a possible violation of their child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). The principal is ultimately responsible for ensuring that teachers and other school staff members properly adhere to the requirements within a student’s IEP.

In this task, you will act as a school principal to investigate a parent complaint regarding an alleged violation of a student’s IEP.

Acting as the principal of George Mason High School it is your responsibility to investigate a parent complaint regarding an alleged IEP violation that occurred during the advanced algebra end-of-semester exam. You will use the information provided in the attached “AEM1 Task 2 Scenario” and “AEM1 Task 2 Parent Complaint Letter” to help determine an appropriate response to this situation.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.

You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Explain how the advanced algebra teacher’s actions legally violated this student’s IEP, including references to applicable law.
B.  Write a detailed memorandum to your district superintendent regarding the IEP violation by doing the following:
1.  Provide a brief synopsis of the incident.

2.  Explain your investigation into the incident and your findings.

3.  Explain how you addressed the incident with each of the following stakeholders:

•   Mr. Williams, the advanced algebra teacher

•   Sara Thomas, the student

•   Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, Sara’s parents
C.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
D.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.

School principals are responsible for evaluating and supporting faculty and staff performance to create a productive work environment. This work environment should support the school or district’s mission, vision, and beliefs (or values) while also adhering to human resource law, policy, and ethical practice. This task will give you the opportunity to demonstrate competency in performing a classroom observation and using your observations to create a professional growth plan (PGP).

In this task, you will act as West Oak Cove’s principal to conduct a classroom observation using the attached “Classroom Observation Form” and one of the videos from the “List of Classroom Observations” attachment. Then you will use the results from the classroom observation to draft a professional growth plan. This plan is designed to help the teacher improve instructional practice and better align to the mission, vision, and beliefs, which are as follows:

Mission

At West Oak Cove, we prepare all students to prosper in a rapidly changing and diverse world. In addition to rigorous academics, our students are taught to value diversity, use critical thinking for solving real-world problems, and develop a growth mindset.

Vision

Our vision is to be a model of progressive education by incorporating new and evolving evidence-based pedagogical practices that support our students’ innate curiosity, compassion, and courage.

Beliefs

•  Education is learning how to learn.

•  All students are capable of learning when a growth mindset is reinforced.

•  Diversity makes a community strong.

•  Everyone is deserving of kindness.

•  Integrity is the foundation of academic excellence.

Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of a submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.

A.  Using the attached “Classroom Observation Form,” conduct a classroom observation of a recorded lesson in the “List of Classroom Observations” attachment.
B.  Using the attached “Teacher Professional Growth Plan,” create a professional growth plan with two areas for professional growth that aligns to the mission, vision, and beliefs. The professional growth plan must be designed to help the teacher improve an aspect noted from the classroom observation.
C.  Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
D.  Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.