Praxis PLT: K-6 Practice Questions

D: English language learners (ELLs) can be expected to perform the same work as other students so long as they have sufficient scaffolding to understand the concepts on which they are working. This includes preteaching essential vocabulary and making connections to concepts with which ELLs are already familiar, as in choice (D). Multicultural references can help students understand concepts and feel more at home during the lesson. Allowing ELLs to skip the more complex work the class is doing (A) or work on addition (B) ensures that these students will fall farther behind the class in math without advancing in the development of their English language skills. Asking these students to read problems aloud (C) not only does not reveal whether the students understand what is being asked, as there may be no correlation between their pronunciation and comprehension, but also may make them feel uncomfortable if they encounter unfamiliar words.

A: A school guidance counselor has extensive training in responding to allegations or concerns about abuse or neglect in students’ homes; (A) is the right answer. (B) is incorrect; while an assistant principal is someone with whom a teacher might share concerns about a student’s welfare, it is the guidance counselor who, by training and job description, is primarily responsible for coordinating a response to those kinds of concerns. The IEP team leader’s job is to tailor curricula and the school environment to the special needs of particular students; a person with this role would likely report abuse allegations to a counselor rather than coordinate the school’s response, so (C) is incorrect. An occupational therapist is there to help students with special needs navigate and adapt to the challenges of the school environment, not to coordinate services for a student in an unsafe home environment; (D) is incorrect.

A: The issue of clothing choices is one that affects students, parents, and teachers. Because any change in the dress code will impact these families, choice (A) is the best response. Going straight to the school board with a petition (B) is likely to alienate people who were not given a chance to have a voice in the process. Leading “by example” (C) is not likely to change what students choose to wear for themselves. To notify parents with an email that sounds as if a decision has already been made without their feedback (D) may create confusion and resentment if they have not been aware of prior discussions.

A: Educational objectives are explicit statements that clearly express what students will be able to do at the conclusion of a lesson. Choice (A) requires students to describe and demonstrate knowledge of full and half notes. Because this objective includes tasks that the teacher can observe and thus use to clearly measure whether learning has taken place, (A) is the correct answer. While it is important for lessons to allow students to “grasp the fundamentals” and “develop an appreciation,” as in choice (B), or “understand,” as in choice (C), such goals can be difficult to observe and measure. Because neither (B) nor (C) includes any method of observing whether students have met those goals, both are incorrect. Finally, taking a multiple-choice test, choice (D), is one way of measuring educational objectives, but the ability to pass a test is not in and of itself an educational objective.