Deck 2: Teaching As a Profession

Question 1

Which of the following statements best defines pay for performance?

A) Pay for performance has never been shown to work.
B) Only a few states have ended the legal barriers to prevent linking teacher pay to student performance.
C) The 2006 Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant program provides opportunities for performance-based compensation systems.
D) Pay for performance refers to salary plans that reward individual teachers, groups of teachers, or schools related to student performance.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a profession?

A) A Bachelor's degree minimum requirement
B) A clearly defined, highly developed, specialized knowledge base
C) Autonomy in making decisions about selected aspects of work
D) A code of ethics related to services rendered

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements is false about teacher salaries?

A) After being adjusted for inflation, teacher salaries rose only 6.2% between 1997 and 2007.
B) The U.S. Census Bureau shows that the annual salary teachers receive has fallen sharply in relation to other workers with college degrees.
C) In 2010, public school teachers earned, on average, 20% less than workers in other professions that require similar levels of education and skills.
D) All are correct

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Darling-Hammond and Bransford found that teachers' personal attributes, teaching effectiveness, and teacher preparation factors were related to increased student achievement. Which of the following is not one of those characteristics?

A) The teacher's verbal ability
B) The teacher's knowledge of content and understanding of how to teach it to a diverse range of students
C) The teacher's summed IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient) divided by the undergraduate GPA
D) The teacher's scores on state licensing exams that measure both basic skills and teaching knowledge
E) All are correct

Question 5

Which of the following is the best definition of professionalism?

A) The study of professions
B) Taking responsibility for one's professional development and growth
C) The act of being a professional
D) The act of accepting money for an action instead of acting without payment

Question 6

Which of the following statements is true?

A) The first American schoolmasters were women.
B) By 1870, men outnumbered women as teachers.
C) Teaching, as a profession, has largely been shaped by a gendered bureaucracy in which men supervised and trained women, who actually did the teaching.
D) None are correct

Question 7

Education's defined body of knowledge is best described as

A) Education has no agreed-upon body of knowledge
B) Education has an emerging body of knowledge
C) Education has a defined body of knowledge
D) None are correct

Question 8

Which states had the highest average salary levels for teachers?

A) New York and Massachusetts
B) South Dakota and North Dakota
C) Utah and Colorado
D) Maryland and Virginia

Question 9

Which of the following is the best definition for normal schools?

A) A school for students who do not require special education services
B) A school where the student and teacher demographics match the demographics of the community
C) A secondary level of education that prepares individuals to become teachers of pre-school students
D) Historically, a one or two-year training institution for prospective teachers
E) None are correct

Question 10

Which of the following statements is true?

A) 77% of teachers say they are treated as professionals.
B) 67% of teachers say their health insurance benefits are fair for the work they do.
C) 61% of teachers say their retirement benefits are fair for the work they do.
D) 65% of teachers say their salaries are not fair for the work they do.
E) All are correct
F) None are correct

Question 11

Which of the following have contributed to the improved status of teaching?

A) Teacher education levels have risen
B) Many teachers have Master's degrees and some have doctoral degrees
C) Teaching has become much more complex
D) Teachers work successfully with a variety of people
E) All are correct

Question 12

Which of the following statements is true concerning pay for performance (merit pay)?

A) Almost 70% of Americans believe that teachers should be paid on their effectiveness and not from a standard salary scale.
B) Approximately 99% of all U.S. teacher pay scales are based on years of experience and graduate degrees.
C) In 2010, the first U.S. based scientifically researched study of performance pay (up to $15,000) did not increase student test scores.
D) Paying for years of service is not an efficient way to attract high-quality teachers and has little impact on student achievement.
E) All are correct
F) None are correct

Question 13

Which of the following is not a characteristic of a profession?

A) A lengthy period of specialized training
B) Control of licensing and certification standards related to entry requirements
C) Minimum earnings in excess of $100K per year
D) Self-governing and self-policing authority by membership regarding professional ethics

Question 14

Which of the following statements is true concerning teacher prestige?

A) The percentage of the population who view teachers as having very great prestige has risen from 29% to 51% since 1977.
B) Teachers are viewed as having the same level of prestige as used car salespersons.
C) The percentage of the population who view teachers as having very great prestige has dropped from 51% to 29% since 1977.
D) None are correct

Question 15

Which of the following is the best definition of a profession?

A) Any occupation for which an employee is paid wages
B) Any technical occupation that requires a level of education for which an employee is paid wages
C) Any skilled occupation that requires a level of education for which an employee is paid relatively high wages
D) Any occupational group that applies abstract knowledge and has expertise and influence to practice

Question 16

Generally, which of the following is false about new teachers compared with retiring teachers?

A) Fewer and fewer new teachers have worked in other career fields before entering teaching.
B) More mid-career individuals are entering teaching.
C) New teachers are entering teaching from non-traditional routes.
D) Increasingly, newer teachers entering the profession through alternative routes rely more on innate teaching ability than professional teacher preparation classes to prepare them for successful teaching.

Question 17

"Apprenticeship of observation" is best defined as

A) An internship component of professional education
B) An experience of working beside a skilled tradesperson where one learns by watching
C) Laypersons who have spent a great deal of time watching a profession that they mistakenly consider themselves experts
D) None are correct

Question 18

Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford professor, found certain teacher factors that were more important in predicting student success than student poverty, minority status, and language background.  Which one of the following is not one of those factors?

A) Teachers who had an undergraduate GPAs of greater than 3.8
B) Teachers who had a major in the subject they were teaching and were fully certified
C) Teachers who had a high-quality teacher education program
D) None are correct

Question 19

Which of the following statements is true concerning NCATE?

A) NCATE stands for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
B) NCATE recently merged with the Teacher Accreditation Council (TEAC).
C) By 2009, 29 states had adopted NCATE standards.
D) All are correct
E) None are correct

Question 20

Which of the following statements is false concerning teachers' satisfaction with their profession?

A) K-12 teacher satisfaction has fallen to its lowest level since the 1980s.
B) In a 2012 MetLife Survey, teachers expressing being "very satisfied" dropped 15 points in the two-year time frame between 2009 and 2011.
C) In a 2012 MetLife Survey, teachers saying they were "very likely" or "fairly likely" to leave the profession increased 12 percentage points between 2009 and 2011.
D) All are correct
E) None are correct

Question 21

Darling-Hammond and Bransford found that teachers' personal attributes, teaching effectiveness, and teacher preparation factors were related to increased student achievement. Which of the following is not one of those characteristics?

A) Teaching behaviors that include purposefully, diagnostically, and skillfully using a broad repertoire of approaches that respond to student and curricular needs
B) The teacher's ongoing voluntary professional learning
C) The teacher's enthusiasm for learning
D) The teacher's use of asking students higher-order thinking questions and probing their proboscis
E) All are correct

Question 22

List and explain four key areas that characterize a profession.

Question 23

List and explain four components that must be included in a successful professional development program.

Question 24

Cite three reasons for and three reasons against merit pay based on student performance.  Explain each reason thoroughly.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Teachers are licensed.
B) Teacher education programs are accredited.
C) Licensure and certification frequently are used interchangeably.
D) All are correct
E) None are correct

Question 26

In terms of teacher licensure, which of the following statements is false?

A) With the advent of No Child Left Behind, teacher licensure is administered from the Federal Government since each teacher must be "highly qualified".
B) Each state has varying teacher licensure requirements.
C) Teacher licensure usually requires formal academic training, completion of an accredited teacher education program, passing some test, and a criminal background check
D) All are correct

Question 27

Linda Darling-Hammond and John Bransford found 12 certain teachers' personal attributes and teaching effectiveness and their teacher preparation factors were related to increased student achievement. List 8 of those items and provide a brief explanation of the items.

Question 28

List and explain four of the specific rules and regulations regarding teacher certification that are common to most states.

Question 29

Which of the following is not a condition of meeting NCLB's "highly qualified teacher"?

A) A college degree
B) Full state certification or licensure
C) Demonstration of content knowledge
D) Graduating with a minimum GPA of 3.25
E) All are correct

Question 30

Which of the following best describes induction and mentoring?

A) Induction is a sustained professional development program designed to support, train, and retain new teachers while mentoring pairs a veteran teacher with a new teacher in a coaching relationship.
B) Mentoring is a sustained professional development program designed to support, train, and retain new teachers while induction pairs a veteran teacher with a new teacher in a coaching relationship.
C) Mentoring and induction are identical to each other.
D) Induction deals specifically with new science, math, technology, and engineering teachers.
E) Mentor was assigned to raise Telemachus by Odysseus while he was away at the Trojan war. That is where we get the word "mentor".

Question 31

Should teachers strike? Provide three reasons for and three reasons against teacher strikes. Explain each reason fully.