Mindful Continuing Education

1. To obtain accurate information about English Language Learners, schools should reassure parents that the such information is used solely to offer appropriate educational services, not for determining legal status or for immigration purposes.

2. Recommendations to assist with developing the content of home language survey (HLS) instruments and procedures that will provide accurate information include each of the following EXCEPT:

3. Once students are identified as potential ELs, they must be assessed with a valid and reliable assessment to determine if they are indeed ELs, and LEAs and SEAs commonly refer to these assessments as "classification/grouping tests."

4. The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the U.S.Department of Justice (DOJ) have approved three HLS questions that are considered minimally compliant under the law, including 'What is the primary language used in the home,' 'What is the language most often spoken by the student?' and 'What is the language that the student first acquired?'

5. In addition to assessing language use and acquisition, home language surveys may ask parents about which language they prefer for receiving written and oral school communication.

6. EL programs must be designed to enable ELs to attain both English proficiency and parity of participation in the standard instructional program within a reasonable length of time, and EL services and programs must be educationally sound in theory and:

7. Which of the following does NOT accurately describe newcomer services for recent arrivals and students with interrupted formal education (SIFE)?

8. District systems should be created to address the needs of long term English learners, and a priority must be to develop annual benchmark expectations for English Learners based on age/developmental level of the EL student as well as what is the norm for all student learners.

9. While reforms for English learners must be articulated and sustained, the district must also create a convincing instructional strategy that is capable of teaching ELLs to the highest standards, and that includes reviewing general education and ELL programs to ensure that there is an explicit focus on cultivating English language development and:

10. Dual Language or Two-Way Immersion is a program designed to impart English language skills so that the ELs can transition and succeed in an English-only mainstream classroom while remaining proficient in their native language.

11. When staffing an EL program, necessary personnel include:

12. LEAs must hire teachers qualified and certified to teach ELs, or support unqualified staff as they work towards obtaining the qualifications within a reasonable period of time, which is generally within five years.

13. LEAs must provide ELs with adequate and appropriate resources that include sufficient quantities of applicable instructional materials, as well as each of the following EXCEPT:

14. Schools and LEAs should ensure that all EL program, core-content, and special education teachers who deliver instruction to ELs with disabilities receive PD specifically related to teaching dually identified ELs.

15. Core principles to structure PD opportunities to facilitate successful outcomes for EL teachers and their students include engaging participants as learners, providing practice, feedback, and follow-up, measuring changes in teacher knowledge and skills, measuring changes in student performance, and building on a foundation of:

16. Cultural awareness is an important component of a professional development program, and educators must understand and appreciate EL students' different cultural backgrounds in order to maximize their achievement opportunities.

17. Oral language proficiency allows students to participate in academic discussions, understand instruction, and build literacy skills, and the best ways to increase oral language is through grammar exercises, listening activities, and cooperative learning projects.

18. Opportunities to learn and practice academic language are essential for all students, including English language learners, and it requires skills in multiple domains, including vocabulary, syntax/grammar, and:

19. The dimension of "efficacy" considers how well the teacher manages time and routines so that instructional time is maximized, and captures the degree to which downtime is minimized for students.

20. One important measure of whether ELs are able to attain equal participation in the standard instructional program within a reasonable length of time is whether a beginner EL will be able to earn a regular high school diploma in four years.

21. ELs tend to be underrepresented in gifted and talented programs, and face several barriers related to admission to these programs such as a lack of identification of students from underrepresented populations who may be gifted, frequent mobility among some ELs, lack of assessment instruments that are culturally appropriate, a lack of professional development for general education teachers about ELs, and:

22. Special attention must be paid to ensure that the needs of ELs who are gifted and have a disability, who are known as multi-distinct students, are consistently met, particularly in the areas of guidance and counseling.

23. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts and Mathematics as well as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) require that ELs meet rigorous, grade level academic standards, and that instruction focuses on providing ELs with opportunities to engage in activities which are designed to build conceptual understanding and language competence in tandem through:

24. While ELLs with high levels of schooling can often bring to bear conceptual knowledge developed in their first language when reading in English, and ELLs with limited or interrupted schooling will need to acquire background knowledge prerequisite to educational tasks at hand.

25. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that students learn to participate in mathematical reasoning?

26. To capture a holistic profile of all students, the most important criteria is gathering correlational and descriptive information from students and family members using socially sensitive methods of assessment.

27. Keeping English Learner (EL) students in EL programs for extended periods is generally beneficial in achieving the program's educational goals.

28. . Prior to placing an EL student into an EL program that contains a degree of segregation, an LEA should ensure each of the following criteria is met EXCEPT:

29. In order for SEAs and LEAs to determine whether their EL programs unnecessarily segregate ELs from non-ELs, suggested questions to ask include:

30. The Diversity Self-Assessment tool is designed to help generate conversation among teachers and other education personnel on the topic of diversity, and is one instrument that is intended to help schools, LEAs, and SEAs create welcoming and inclusive environments for ELs.

31. When educators, administrators, and other stakeholders answer questions about diversity and perceptions, they are given the opportunity to examine their assumptions and biases in a way that is:

32. When monitoring whether or not the 'vision' of a program supports inclusion, key questions to ask include, 'Does the LEA value celebrate student diversity as reflected in its organizational vision or mission statement,' 'Is leadership knowledgeable about civil rights laws as they pertain to English Learners?' and:

33. Which of the following is NOT one of the four potential factors that may contribute to the misidentification of special education needs and learning disabilities among students who are ELs?

34. For an EL student with a disability, the IEP team should include professionals with training, and preferably expertise, in second language acquisition and how to differentiate between the student's needs stemming from a disability or lack of ELP.

35. If parents decline disability-related services under IDEA and Section 504, the SEA and LEA are not obligated to provide language assistance services to ELs.

36. When analyzing and utilizing the results of a disability evaluation, a key must be whether or not the recommended services will allow ELs with a disability to be involved and make progress in the general education curriculum and to participate in extracurricular activities.

37. According to the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, states should create a comprehensive policy for ELs with exceptionalities that provides extensive guidance to localities based on:

38. By determining the root of each student's difficulties, educators can select the most appropriate and effective teaching and learning strategies to use.

39. When an IEP team is developing a plan for a student with limited English proficiency, effective framing questions may include each of the following EXCEPT:

40. Which of the following is NOT an accurate statement about selecting appropriate accommodations for the students with disabilities?

41. A parent's decision on whether or not to have a child participate in EL services must be voluntary and based on a full understanding of the EL child's rights, the range of services available to the child, and the benefits of such services to the child.

42. If an LEA finds that a student is struggling after opting out of the EL program, they should take appropriate steps to assist the student by:

43. ELs who opt out of programs or services must have their ELP reassessed a minimum of once every _______ until they exit EL status.

44. When developing processes and providing support for ELs, having a way to explore the cause of high opt-out rates for EL services if and when they occur should be considered.

45. Notification forms that LEAs use to inform parents of their children's EL status and their right to opt out need to be provided in a language that the parent understands, and may include a statement such as, 'The overall goal of the EL program is for students to become fully proficient in English and to master state standards for academic achievement as rapidly as possible.'

46. In order to maintain legal compliance when a parent chooses to opt their child out of EL programs or services, a LEA should provide documentation that parents have been notified of their child's rights, the range of EL services that their child could receive, and the benefits of such EL services, before voluntarily waiving them.

47. Establishing rigorous monitoring systems that include periodic benchmarks allows LEAs to:

48. Exiting EL students either too soon or too late raises civil rights concerns, as EL students who are exited too soon are denied access to EL services while EL students who are exited too late may be denied access to parts of the general curriculum.

49. Each of the following is an accurate statement about monitoring EL progress in core content areas EXCEPT:

50. LEAs should collect longitudinal data to monitor and compare the performance of current ELs, former ELs, and never-ELs in the LEA's standard instructional program, preferably through data collection aligned with annual measurable achievement objectives (AMAOs).

51. Possible data sources to obtain EL program implementation information include file and record reviews, staff interviews and surveys, enrollment data in advanced, gifted, and special education courses, choice programs, and extracurricular activities, input from parents, student surveys, or focus group meetings, and grievances or complaints made to the district regarding program implementation, service delivery, or access to programs.

52. According to The Promoting Excellence Appraisal System (PEAS) developed by the George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education to support higher achievement among ELs, effective instructional program design must research-based and aligned with:

53. Communication with limited English proficient (LEP) parents in a language they can understand provides a foundation for students' academic success and creates a welcoming school community, while also providing parents access to all the necessary information about their child’s education.

54. Which of the following is NOT one of the key questions that should be addressed to ensure that SEAs, LEAs, and schools are adequately notifying and informing parents?

55. Experts recommend identifying family strengths in order to engage with families as partners in their children's education and to develop strong relationships between home, school, and community.