Subarea IV—Planning Documents, Success for All Students, and Management Problem-Solving

Assignment 1 Sample Work Product Assignment

(Objective 0009) Demonstrate the knowledge and abilities required to develop planning documents that facilitate the work of educators, staff members, families/caregivers, and educational leaders in support of a shared mission, vision, and core values of academic success and well-being for each student.

Use the information below to complete the task that follows.

You are in your second year as principal of a high school that enrolls approximately 1,750 students. Last year you worked with stakeholders to develop a new vision for your school. One important goal associated with the new vision is to enhance career and technical educational options for students.

Most students at your school perform well on state assessments, and graduation rates are high, as are rates of admission to two- and four-year colleges for graduating seniors. However, historically the school has had lower expectations and provided less academic support for students who do not wish to attend college after high school. In recent years community stakeholders have pressured school leaders to increase and improve options for these students.

You decide to form a team to develop a plan for enhancing career and technical educational options for students. The team includes teachers, parents/guardians, students, a school counselor, and a special educator. You will chair meetings of the team.

Examinee Task

Write a memo of about 150 to 300 words to the team about the plan they will develop. In your memo:

Sample Strong Response and Scoring Rubric for the Work Product Assignment

Schools have an obligation to provide all students with programming and instruction that meets their immediate and future needs. The admission of many of our students to colleges and universities suggests that we are meeting the needs of this group of students. However, we have been less successful in meeting the needs of those students who do not wish to attend college. Inadequate career and technical educational programming may negatively affect the employment prospects and earning power of these students for the rest of their lives. By enhancing our career and technical options, we can expect to improve the motivation of these students to stay in school, as well as their ability to secure good jobs after graduation and go on to productive and satisfying careers. The broader community will also benefit by helping ensure the availability of a workforce that is well-prepared to fill a range of twenty-first century jobs.

As the team begins developing a plan to enhance career and technical education at our school, a key factor to consider is current employment trends and projected future job growth in a variety of career and technical fields. Such information can be obtained from a survey of local and regional business owners and managers and from published reports on the outlook for different types of jobs across the country. The team can use this information to focus its efforts on increasing programming in areas where employment opportunities are expected to be significant. This will increase the likelihood that our students who follow a program of study in career and technical education will obtain appropriate employment in areas of interest after graduation.

Scoring Rubric

Performance Characteristics for the Work Product Assignment

Completion The degree to which the candidate completes the assignment by responding to each specific task in the assignment.
Application of Content The degree to which the candidate applies the relevant knowledge and skills to the response accurately and effectively.
Support The degree to which the candidate supports the response with appropriate evidence, examples, and explanations based on the relevant content knowledge and skills.

Score Scale for the Work Product Assignment

The four points of the scoring scale correspond to varying degrees of performance.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response fully addresses all parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an accurate, highly effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides strong, relevant evidence, specific examples, and well-reasoned explanations.
3 The "3" response reflects a general understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses most or all parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a generally accurate, effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides sufficient evidence, some examples, and generally sound explanations.
2 The "2" response reflects a limited understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses at least some of the parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a partially accurate, partially effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides limited evidence and examples or explanations, when provided, may be only partially appropriate.
1 The "1" response reflects little or no understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses, few, if any, parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a largely inaccurate, ineffective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides little to no evidence, and if provided, examples or explanations are weak or inappropriate.
U The response is unscorable because it is unreadable, not written to the assigned topic, is written in a language other than English, or does not contain a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.

Assignment 2 Sample Work Product Assignment

(Objective 0010) Demonstrate the knowledge and abilities required to plan and implement strategies for promoting the academic success and well-being of every student.

Use the information below to complete the task that follows.

You are the new principal of an elementary school. The school enrolls nearly 500 students, approximately two-thirds of whom are English Language Learners. Through discussions with teachers and other staff, you learn that significant efforts have been made in recent years to increase the involvement of parents/guardians in the life of the school. The staff reports that communication efforts with parents/guardians have not resulted in significant and sustained family engagement. This is especially true of the parents/guardians of students identified as English Language Learners.

Examinee Task

Write a response of approximately 150 to 300 words about efforts to increase the involvement of the parents/guardians of English Language Learners in the life of your school. In your response:

Sample Strong Response and Scoring Rubric for the Work Product Assignment

One type of information that would be particularly helpful in initiating planning to increase the involvement of parents/guardians of English Language Learners in the life of the school would be derived from a survey designed to learn more about the thoughts and attitudes of these parents/guardians about school involvement. Such a survey would allow the parents/guardians of English Language Learners to identify factors that keep them from being more involved and to suggest steps the school could take to encourage greater involvement. The survey should be offered in multiple languages to ensure that all parents/guardians can participate fully. This information would assist staff in focusing their efforts effectively by addressing the specific needs and concerns of the targeted parent/guardian population.

One key issue to consider when initiating planning to implement the desired change is current teacher attitudes and outreach efforts with regard to the parents/guardians of English Language Learners. Teachers may need professional development on the importance of involving the parents/guardians of all of their students, as well as specific strategies to use to encourage the involvement of the families of the English Language Learners in their classes. Without positive teacher attitudes and responsive outreach, school efforts to increase the involvement of the parents/guardians of English Language Learners in the life of the school are unlikely to succeed.

Scoring Rubric

Performance Characteristics for the Work Product Assignment

Completion The degree to which the candidate completes the assignment by responding to each specific task in the assignment.
Application of Content The degree to which the candidate applies the relevant knowledge and skills to the response accurately and effectively.
Support The degree to which the candidate supports the response with appropriate evidence, examples, and explanations based on the relevant content knowledge and skills.

Score Scale for the Work Product Assignment

The four points of the scoring scale correspond to varying degrees of performance.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response fully addresses all parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an accurate, highly effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides strong, relevant evidence, specific examples, and well-reasoned explanations.
3 The "3" response reflects a general understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses most or all parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a generally accurate, effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides sufficient evidence, some examples, and generally sound explanations.
2 The "2" response reflects a limited understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses at least some of the parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a partially accurate, partially effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides limited evidence and examples or explanations, when provided, may be only partially appropriate.
1 The "1" response reflects little or no understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses, few, if any, parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a largely inaccurate, ineffective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides little to no evidence, and if provided, examples or explanations are weak or inappropriate.
U The response is unscorable because it is unreadable, not written to the assigned topic, is written in a language other than English, or does not contain a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.

Assignment 3 Sample Management Problem-Solving Assignment

(Objective 0011) Demonstrate the knowledge and abilities required to apply systems and resource management strategies to address management challenges faced by schools and school districts.

Use the information below to complete the task that follows.

You are the new principal of a middle school. The school enrolls nearly 1,200 students and is presently operating at close to its full capacity. Six weeks before the start of the fall term, one wing of the school is severely damaged during an intense storm. The district superintendent informs you that repairs will be combined with needed renovations, and the wing will be closed for the upcoming year. The wing houses 20 percent of the school's classroom space. Offices for the administration, teachers, and staff, as well as common space, such as the gymnasium and the cafeteria, are housed in the main building and are unaffected by the closure. The superintendent asks you to develop a plan for finding classroom space for students and staff displaced by the closing of the wing.

Examinee Task

Write a response of approximately 150 to 300 words about how you could address the displacement of students and staff resulting from the closure of the school wing. In your response:

Sample Strong Response and Scoring Rubric for the Management Problem-Solving Assignment

In this situation, my overriding concern would be to minimize the disruption of student learning at the school by minimizing changes in class schedules, course offerings, and teacher assignments. My goals would be to allow students to take their planned courses (especially core courses) as much as possible and to minimize disruptions in teacher assignments and schedules to ensure that all classes are appropriately staffed and to prevent a significant reduction in teacher morale. Increasing class sizes would be undesirable, as it may involve teacher contract issues, but if it must be done in a few cases, students should be distributed among many existing classes to minimize the impact.

The first step I would take in redistributing students to the undamaged parts of the school would be to gather relevant data about students and about spaces that are and are not affected by the closure of the wing. This would include information about the number of students affected, their grade levels, class assignments, and special needs requirements. It would also include information about the types of classroom space affected (e.g., science labs, computer labs, larger vs. smaller classrooms) and about the types of classroom space that are available in the undamaged portions of the school.

Collecting these data about students and classrooms affected by the closure is a necessary first step for redistributing students to classes in the undamaged parts of the building while minimizing disruptions to student learning. Constructing an inventory of available space would allow student needs to be matched with existing resources. If space can be found in the undamaged part of the building, entire classes could be transferred intact. For any students who may need to be redistributed to existing classrooms, knowledge of both their needs and the characteristics of these classes will facilitate this transition.

Scoring Rubric

Performance Characteristics for the Management Problem-Solving Assignment

Completion The degree to which the candidate completes the assignment by responding to each specific task in the assignment.
Application of Content The degree to which the candidate applies the relevant knowledge and skills to the response accurately and effectively.
Support The degree to which the candidate supports the response with appropriate evidence, examples, and explanations based on the relevant content knowledge and skills.

Score Scale for the Management Problem-Solving Assignment

The four points of the scoring scale correspond to varying degrees of performance.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response fully addresses all parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an accurate, highly effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides strong, relevant evidence, specific examples, and well-reasoned explanations.
3 The "3" response reflects a general understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses most or all parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a generally accurate, effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides sufficient evidence, some examples, and generally sound explanations.
2 The "2" response reflects a limited understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses at least some of the parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a partially accurate, partially effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides limited evidence and examples or explanations, when provided, may be only partially appropriate.
1 The "1" response reflects little or no understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses, few, if any, parts of the assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a largely inaccurate, ineffective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response provides little to no evidence, and if provided, examples or explanations are weak or inappropriate.
U The response is unscorable because it is unreadable, not written to the assigned topic, is written in a language other than English, or does not contain a sufficient amount of original work to score.
B There is no response to the assignment.