Free NYSTCE (New York State Teacher Certification Examinations) Exam Questions and Answers

Exhibit 1: Teacher Notes Student: Gena B. Home Language: English Age: 9 Grade: 4th IEP?: no 9/15 Reader conferences today. Talked about likes, dislikes, and possibly branching out in independent reading. Gena likes kids' and even grown-up science magazines (with pics). Also reads formulaic series books that her friends like. She is a thoughtful girl. Makes the most of these stories—her ideas about life are a lot more sophisticated and interesting than the series books we talked about! 9/20 oral reading fluency screening (fall)—Gena's rate is 72 WCPM* (more than 10 words below the fall 50th percentile benchmark of 94 WCPM), with an accuracy rate of 94%. Many self-corrections. She remembered some striking details, but overall comprehension was low (70 percent correct). 10/10 Gena is enthusiastic about science. She knows a lot, both vocabulary and concepts. Other students recognize her as an expert and she enjoys the role—already a leader in small-group activities and class discussions. 10/17 I spoke at length with Gena's parents at Open House. They say they read with her every night and she loves being read to, but she rarely wants to help read. They mentioned The Phantom Tollbooth, Harry Potter books, Madeleine L'Engle. We talked about her avid interest in science. Her uncle is a geologist. She loves museums and science documentaries on TV. *WCPM: Words Correct Per Minute Exhibit 2: Reading Literature The teacher makes a record of students' oral reading performance during a screening assessment of their oral reading fluency. After students read a passage, the teacher asks them comprehension questions. Gena's performance record is shown below, followed by a transcript of the conversation between Gena and the teacher about the text. Student: Gina B. September 20. Key. A circled word indicates a deletion. A carat indicates an insertion. A vertical line indicates a short pause. Two vertical lines indicate a long pause. A back arrow with a word above it indicates a repetition. A word above a different word indicates a substitution. A circled c indicates a self-correction. The afternoon felt hotter—the air felt moister and heavier—than usual. And the pool was closed. Shanni sighed deeply, a deep belly sigh. She and Raymond were sprawled on the bench outside the Rec Center, melting, she thought, just hoping for a breeze to lift off the river and come this way. Actually, she noticed, the billowy clouds were beginning to move. Like sheep trotting across a blue meadow, she thought, smiling broadly. And then the sun burst out into the open, sending one bright beam squarely into Shanni's eyes. "Ouch!" she said, squinting and clapping both hands over her eyes. "How ridiculous is this? Too hot, too bright, and NOTHING IS HAPPENING!" "I know," Raymond said sleepily, eyelids drooping. His mind drifted like a cloud. But then suddenly he sat bolt upright, eyes like the sun. "Shanni," he began. "I almost forgot to tell you what I heard!" Teacher's observations (as described): Above "moister," "most", a vertical line, and a circled c. Above "heavier," h, long e, v, a circled c. Above "usual," long u, s, schwa, l, a circled c. Above "sighed," "sighted"; a vertical line between "belly" and "sigh"; after "sigh," a circled c with an arrow back to the beginning of "sighed." Above "sprawled," s, p, r, short o, d, a circled c. Above "bench," "beach." Above "melting," "meeting." Vertical line before "Actually" and between "she" and "noticed"; above "noticed," n, o, t, long i, c, e, d, a circled c. Above "billowy," b, i, l, l, dash, o, w, dash, long e. Above "meadow," m, long e, d, o, w, a circled c. Two vertical lines between "smiling" and "broadly"; above "broadly," b, r, long o, d, dash, l, long e. Above "burst," "bust." Above "squarely," s, k, w, a, r, two vertical lines, a circled c. Above "squinting," s, k, w, short i, n, a circled c. Above "clapping," "clamping." Two vertical lines between "How" and "ridiculous"; above "ridiculous," r, short i, d, dash, i, k, a circled c. Between "Too hot" and "too bright," a carat and "and"; a vertical line before "HAPPENING." Above "sleepily," "sleepy." Above "drifted," "dritted"; after "like," a circled c with an arrow back to the beginning of "drifted." A vertical line between "bold" and "upright"; above "upright," "up" and a circled c. Above "heard," h, long e, r, a circled c. Teacher: Who are the characters in this part of the story? Gena: Two friends, Shanni and Raymond. Teacher: What do you learn about the characters in this passage? How would you describe Shanni? Gena: She really has an imagination, I think. She sees the clouds are moving and then she thinks, oh, they look like sheep! And that's really entertaining. But then the next second she's annoyed and kind of yelling about it's hot and bright and BO-RING. So, she's kind of, I don't know, she keeps changing her mood. Teacher: How about Raymond? What's he like? Gena: Mmm. Shanni's kind of the leader. I think he kind of goes along, following her mood, maybe. Teacher: What happens? What's going on in this scene? Gena: They meet at the beach and then they just are talking. Teacher: What do they talk about? Gena: The sun hurts Shanni's eyes. And she says, "nothing is happening!" And then Raymond says, "I'm sleepy." And "I forgot to tell you something." Teacher: Anything else? How does this part end? Gena: Well. They're just sitting around bored and talking about different things. Exhibit 3: Reading Informational Text Near the beginning of a science unit on forces and motion, the teacher has students independently read a brief informational passage in class before introducing them to a longer independent reading assignment on the same topic. As part of the in-class assignment, the teacher has students respond in their journals to questions about the text. The in-class reading assignment, the journal prompt, and Gena's journal entry appear below. Besides the force of your own muscles, gravity is probably the force you notice most. Gravity is the force that pulls things toward Earth. If you toss a ball upward, gravity pulls it back down to the ground. Gravity is an effect of gravitation. Gravitation is a force that acts between all masses and causes them to attract one another. It acts everywhere, all the time. Gravitation helps hold the moon in its orbit around Earth. It pulls the moon and Earth toward each other. This pull prevents the moon from flying off in a straight line because of its inertia.... The larger and closer two masses are, the more gravitation affects them. Sometimes the force is very weak, but it's always there. Earth's gravitation affects you more than any other object's because Earth is so large and so close to you. Directions: Read the paragraphs above. Then answer the following questions in your journal. Be sure to refer to details or examples from the passage to explain your ideas. What is the overall structure the author used when writing this passage? Explain the main idea in each paragraph and how the ideas are related to each other. How would gravity be different if you lived on the Moon or on Jupiter? Use what you learn in this passage to explain. Gena B. Oct. 1 The overall structure is giving a defenishen of gravity is intraduce something famillier about gravity you know, like when you jump up or throw a ball, you will notisse you will soon land again, that's gravity. Use the information in the exhibits to complete the task that follows. Using your knowledge of content and sound pedagogical practices in literacy and English language arts, analyze the information provided and write a response of approximately 400–600 words in which you: - identify one significant strength the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment; - identify one significant need the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment; - describe one learning activity or instructional strategy that would effectively address the student's identified need or build on the student's identified strength; and - explain how the learning activity or instructional strategy you described would be effective in addressing the student's need or building on the student's strength. Be sure to use evidence from all the exhibits in your response.

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Exhibit 1: Teacher Notes Student: Winnie F. Home Language: English Age: 8 Grade: 3rd IEP? no Jan. 25 Winnie's turn to present a character sketch to her reading group (Fly to the Moon, Luna Yun). She spoke clearly and insightfully about Luna. She used props effectively to tie her description of Luna to key moments in the book (props: a picture of an orange cat; an envelope addressed to Luna Yun; a shell to stand for what she said at the beach). Feb. 6 Winnie loves word play, and she's got a knack for it. During the simile activity today, she was a leading voice. "As noisy as a field of crickets" "As determined as a truck on a hill" (She explained, a hill tries to stop heavy trucks but it can only slow them down.) Feb. 8 Silent reading is a slow process for Winnie. She works very diligently in class. She did not finish the in-class reading ("Digging Fossils") in the 15 minutes I allotted before discussion groups. She was visibly frustrated. Feb. 15 Oral reading fluency screening (fall): Winnie's rate is 74 WCPM* (more than 10 words below the winter 50th percentile benchmark of 92 WCPM) with an accuracy rate of 99%. Some gaps in comprehension. *WCPM: Words Correct Per Minute Exhibit 2: Reading Literature The teacher makes a record of students' oral reading performance during a screening assessment of their oral reading fluency. After students read the passage, the teacher asks them comprehension questions. Winnie's performance record is shown below, followed by a transcript of the conversation between Winnie and the teacher about the text. Student: Winnie F. February 15. Key: An oval indicates deletion. A single vertical line indicates a short pause. A back arrow with a word above it indicates a repetition. A carat indicates an insertion. Two vertical lines indicate a long pause. A word written above another word indicates a substitution. A circled C indicates a self-correction. Passage: Stepping from the open field into the forest was like passing from day to night in an instant. Sudden, bone-chilling gloom fell like a heavy curtain between the travelers and the sun. The trees grew very close together here. Ahead, the path wove like a snake around large rocks and giant trees. As they hurried forward, tree roots in the path seemed to reach up and grab hold of their feet to stop them. Barely inside the dark maze, they were stumbling and knocking into each other. "Wait," said Jenny from the tail end of the group. "Wait. Let's sit down just for a minute, so our eyes can adjust to the dark." The three friends climbed onto a large, flat boulder beside the path and grew quiet. That's when they began hearing the crows. First one cawed from above them. Then another nearby. Then another, and another. "They're talking about us," said Freddie. "They're warning their friends that we're coming." "No," said Maria. "They're warning us. Go back. Not one step further, or else!" Use the information provided in the exhibits to complete the task that follows. Using your knowledge of content and sound pedagogical practices in literacy and English language arts, analyze the information provided and write a response of 400–600 words in which you: - identify one significant strength the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment; - identify one significant need the student demonstrates in the development of text comprehension or foundational reading skills, citing specific evidence from the exhibits to support your assessment; - describe one learning activity or instructional strategy that would effectively address the student's identified need or build on the student's identified strength; and - explain how the learning activity or instructional strategy you described would be effective in addressing the student's need or in building on the student's strength. Be sure to use evidence from all the exhibits in your response.

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Tara is a seventh-grade student classified as having an emotional disability. She attends general education classes for most of the school day and receives consultant teacher services from a special education teacher. She also attends individual and group counseling sessions each week. Recently, Tara has exhibited disruptive behavior in her general education classes that has interfered with her ability to learn. A behavioral intervention plan was developed for Tara to address this behavior, and the special education teacher will be collaborating with her general education teachers to implement the plan. Which approach would likely be most effective for the special education teacher to use in collaborating with the general education teachers?

• AA. establishing a notebook system in which the teachers can record their observations of Tara, and using this information to update the plan as needed
• BB. meeting with the teachers to discuss the plan, and conducting classroom observations of Tara to monitor her progress
• CC. providing the teachers with copies of the results of Tara's functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and explaining how the results were used to develop the behavioral intervention plan
• DD. asking the teachers to read through the plan carefully, and offering to be available for support as situations arise with Tara in their classrooms

The primary purpose of the Child Find provisions included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been:

• AA. establishing a federal database of every child in preschool through twelfth grade who receives special education services that includes the disability category and related services.
• BB. requiring that every child who has a disability diagnosed before 36 months of age receive early intervention services in a clinical setting.
• CC. maintaining that every child from birth through 8 years of age who attends public schools participates in a mandatory annual comprehensive special education evaluation.
• DD. ensuring that school districts have a process in place for identifying and evaluating every child from birth through 21 years of age who is suspected of having a disability.

A special education teacher co-teaches a sixth-grade science class with a general education teacher. The integrated co-teaching class has twelve students with disabilities, including students with learning disabilities, and other health impairments. The teachers are planning an assignment in which students will keep daily journals of their observations of the movement of the Sun, Moon, and stars. Which strategy would be the best for promoting all students' active participation in this activity?

• AA. meeting with the students who have disabilities to discuss the assignment and identifying any subtasks from which they should be excused
• BB. dividing the class into small, heterogeneous groups and assigning a proficient writer in each group to write the journal entries for that group
• CC. giving the special education teacher the primary responsibility for monitoring and directing the work of the students who have disabilities
• DD. allowing students to choose among a variety of formats, including drawing, writing, and digital media, to use to record and present their findings

An intellectual disability is primarily characterized by:

• AA. a significant limitation in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior.
• BB. stereotypical behaviors that result in difficulty sustaining attention on tasks.
• CC. a strong discrepancy between a student's intellectual aptitude and academic performance.
• DD. ongoing patterns of inattention that affect a student's educational performance.

Dominic is a seven-year-old student who was referred for a special education evaluation due to a lack of progress in mathematics despite receiving Response to Intervention (RtI) intensive interventions. The Committee on Special Education (CSE) determines that he is eligible for special education services due to a learning disability in mathematics. Excerpts from his evaluations and teacher observations are shown below. Excerpts from the Brigance Comprehensive Inventory of Basic Skills II® (CIBS II®) | Skill (Underline the skill for each correct response and make notes as appropriate.) | Number of Correct Responses | × | Point Value | = | Student's Score | | Rote counting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 10 | × | 0.5 point each | = | 5/5 | | Numeral Comprehension (Matches quantity with numerals) 2 1 4 3 5 | 0 | × | 2 points each | = | 0/10 | Anecdotal Teacher Observation, November Dominic is able to rote count to 20. He is not able to complete the daily calendar skills or count the number of students in class (e.g., 12 boys, 11 girls) despite the fact that I have demonstrated these skills every day since September. Dominic does not recognize numerals 1 to 10, match quantities of items, or indicate which group of items has more or less, even when using highly motivating objects (e.g., stickers, toy animals). On the basis of the information provided, which intervention should the special education teacher recommend for Dominic?

• AA. daily curriculum-based probes focused on developing computational fluency
• BB. intensive practice that incorporates interactive mathematics software focused on developing counting and matching skills
• CC. multisensory instructional techniques focused on developing number concepts
• DD. weekly self-charting of progress focused on developing mastery in basic mathematics skills

Which component must be included in the individualized education program (IEP) of a student with a disability?

• AA. documentation of which staff will be held accountable for monitoring the student's progress
• BB. a description of the student's present levels of educational performance
• CC. an explanation of the academic responsibilities expected of the student's parents/guardians
• DD. the student's projective level of achievement, based on the student's disability profile

Before the school year begins, a special education teacher is meeting with a fifth-grade teacher whose class will include Kyle, a student with high-functioning autism. Kyle enjoys making detailed drawings of bridges during free time. Although Kyle is quite verbal, he demonstrates difficulty in social communication and pragmatic language skills. When there are changes in his routine, Kyle becomes very anxious and bangs his head with his fist. In the fifth-grade classroom, Kyle will be supported by a paraprofessional. The fifth-grade teacher asks for advice regarding how to create a safe, productive learning environment for Kyle. Which response would be most appropriate for the special education teacher to make?

• AA. "Provide Kyle with a visual schedule and ask the paraprofessional to review the schedule with him at the beginning of each day."
• BB. "Set up a study carrel in the classroom where the paraprofessional can work with Kyle one-on-one without distractions."
• CC. "Establish cooperative-learning groups so that Kyle can gain practice in developing his conversational skills."
• DD. "Seat Kyle next to an outgoing classmate who can model for him how to transition from one class activity to the next."

A special education teacher is part of a team of teachers who are designing a behavioral intervention plan (BIP) to support a student with traumatic brain injury (TBI). A portion of the BIP is shown below. Target Behavior: Verbal refusal to comply with teacher-given directions Behavior Motivation: Functional behavioral assessment (FBA) results indicate behavior is escape-motivated. Antecedents include situations in which the student is unclear on task expectations. Intervention: Prevention Strategies: The teacher will preview task expectations with the student, giving clear, concise directions. The teacher will provide visual supports and/or comprehension scaffolds, when needed. The teacher will provide the student with opportunities to ask questions or ask for assistance with difficult assignments or tasks. According to this information, which additional strategy would likely be most effective to include in the BIP?

• AA. The teacher will break down assignment components with the student to create a sequential task checklist.
• BB. The teacher will sit next to the student during small-group work to closely monitor the student's work focus.
• CC. The teacher will allow the student to select several peers of the student's choice to work with on group tasks.
• DD. The teacher will ensure that the student understands how participation will affect the final grade for the task.