Study Guide

Field 033: Educational Diagnostician
Sample Selected-Response Questions

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Sample General Test Directions

A sample of the general directions for the New Mexico Content Knowledge Assessment of Educational Diagnostician is shown below.

Each question in this test is a selected-response question with four answer choices. Read each question carefully and choose the ONE best answer. Try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure about an answer, it is better to guess than to not answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for guessing.

You may NOT use any type of calculator or reference materials during the testing session.

Sample Selected-Response Questions

This section presents sample selected-response questions for you to review as part of your preparation for the New Mexico Content Knowledge Assessment of Educational Diagnostician. To demonstrate how the test competencies may be assessed, each sample question is preceded by the competency that it measures. On an actual test, the competencies will not be given.

The sample selected-response questions are designed to illustrate the nature of the test questions. They should not be used as a diagnostic tool to determine your individual strengths and weaknesses. The selected-response questions require you to demonstrate more than the ability to recall factual information. They ask you to think critically about the information, to analyze it, to consider it carefully, or to apply it to a hypothetical situation.

Work through each question carefully before viewing the answer.

Competency 0001
Understand typical and atypical human growth and development.

1. Which of the following cognitive skills do individuals typically develop last?

  1. using logic to solve problems
  2. sorting and grouping items into categories
  3. forming and testing a hypothesis
  4. using symbols to represent concepts
Answer
Correct Response: C.

Competency 0002
Understand processes of learning and factors that affect learning.

2. Students with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are likely to experience the most success through learning activities that incorporate:

  1. verbal concepts and categories.
  2. inductive reasoning and problem solving.
  3. small-group and whole-class discussions.
  4. visual aids and prompts.
Answer
Correct Response: D.

Competency 0003
Understand curricula, instructional methods, and learning environments that are responsive to the strengths and needs of all students.

3. The individualized educational plan (IEP) of a first-grade student with fine-motor delays includes the services of an occupational therapist (OT). Which of the following would likely be the best approach for providing the student with these services?

  1. scheduling regular sessions during which the OT comes into the classroom and works one-on-one with the student
  2. arranging for the student to be served by the OT in the resource room during nonacademic class-room activities
  3. incorporating the student's OT goals into everyday activities in the classroom in the company of the student's peers
  4. having the OT prepare activities and materials that the classroom teacher can use as the basis for whole-class projects
Answer
Correct Response: C.

Competency 0004
Understand how to select, adapt, evaluate, and conduct assessments for the purpose of determining appropriate recommendations and interventions for students with exceptional learning needs.

4. A middle school student has lived in the United States for eight years, is an English Language Learner (ELL), and has received bilingual education since entering school. The Student Assistance Team (SAT) has referred the student to the multidisciplinary team (MDT) for an assessment due to difficulty in written expression. Which of the following questions would be the most important to consider when planning the assessment process for this student?

  1. Have tests been selected that include only nonverbal formats?
  2. Have language proficiency and acculturation been addressed?
  3. Have environmental and socio-economic factors been considered?
  4. Have tests been selected that include only a variety of verbal formats?
Answer
Correct Response: B.

Competency 0005
Understand procedures for conducting assess-ments of students with exceptional learning needs.

5. An educational diagnostician is administering a standardized achievement test to a third grader who has been struggling with mathematical calculation. During one of the math subtests, the student turns to the educational diagnostician and asks, "Did I get it right? What's the right answer?" Which of the following would be the educational diagnostician's most appropriate response?

  1. "Yes, your answer is correct."
  2. "You might want to check your work again."
  3. "I can only answer general questions when we are done."
  4. "I will go over each problem when we are done and let you know."
Answer
Correct Response: C.

Competency 0006
Understand how to score, record, and interpret assessment results.

6. An educational diagnostician is admin-istering a standardized achievement test to a tenth grader as part of a three year reevaluation. After several subtests, the school fire alarm starts ringing, and the educational diagnostician and the student must leave the building. Approximately 45 minutes later, they resume testing. Which of the following best explains how this event is most likely to affect the assessment results?

  1. Interruptions during testing disrupt the student's concentration.
  2. Extensions in time give the student a chance to reconsider responses.
  3. Interruptions during testing reduce the student's motivation.
  4. Extensions in time give the student a chance to start over.
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Competency 0007
Understand how to use assessment results within the multidisciplinary team process for developing individualized educational plans (IEPs) and for planning interventions that address the strengths and needs of students with exceptionalities.

7. A second-grade student has been referred for an evaluation due to an inability to make academic progress. The educational diagnostician begins the evaluation by administering a standardized individual achievement test. The student earns scores in the 80th to 90th percentile range for mathematics calculation and reasoning and in the 30th percentile range for reading. Based on this information, the educational diagnostician should do which of the following next?

  1. Administer an informal screening test to evaluate the student's basic written skills.
  2. Compare the student's silent versus oral reading abilities.
  3. Administer a reading inventory to evaluate the student's basic skills in more detail.
  4. Examine work samples to compare the student's reading versus spelling abilities.
Answer
Correct Response: C.

Competency 0008
Understand the roles and responsibilities of the educational diagnostician.

8. An educational diagnostician wants to help the teachers in an elementary school become better able to recognize when one of their students may be gifted. The educational diagnostician could best achieve this goal by:

  1. regularly circulating articles on giftedness in early and middle childhood.
  2. offering an in-service presentation on the types and characteristics of giftedness.
  3. raising awareness of the school's gifted students by creating displays of their work in common areas.
  4. using faculty meetings to remind teachers of state laws and policies regarding services to gifted students.
Answer
Correct Response: B.

Competency 0009
Understand how to communicate effectively and work collaboratively with students with exceptional learning needs, their parents/ guardians, school personnel, and community members to provide students with appropriate educational services.

9. Which of the following strategies by an educational diagnostician would best help ensure that the parents/guardians of all students with disabilities understand their legal rights to due process?

  1. providing and explaining the information to individual families of students with disabilities in their home language, both in writing and orally
  2. organizing copies of each of the relevant laws and regulations into a binder and encouraging families of students with disabilities to borrow the binder at their convenience
  3. supplying families with the names of publications, professional organizations, and Web sites that provide legal information to the families of students with disabilities
  4. scheduling an evening meeting early in the school year to review the laws for families of students with disabilities and answer any questions
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Competency 0010
Understand the historical, legal, and ethical foundations of the field of educational diagnosis.

10. Which of the following is the primary rationale for early identification of young children who may be at risk for disabilities?

  1. to ensure that young children who may have special needs are enrolled in school-based programs during infancy or toddlerhood
  2. to enable early intervention personnel to monitor and collect data on children's progress in the years before they enter school
  3. to foster caregivers' ability to support their children's development in areas that show signs of potential delays
  4. to gather information that will allow early childhood educators to design the most appropriate programs for children entering preschool and kindergarten
Answer
Correct Response: C.