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1 | | The lack of rigorous professional teacher training in the 1800s and into the 1900s |
| | A) | allowed teachers to overstate their qualifications without fear of being held to a common standard. |
| | B) | contributed to the less than professional treatment offered to teachers. |
| | C) | was remedied by the rise of the state-supported normal school. |
| | D) | led to a brief domination of the teaching field by males. |
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2 | | Board certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) |
| | A) | rarely leads to any monetary rewards for the teachers who achieve it. |
| | B) | is fairly rare among the entire teacher population; only some 3 percent of the millions of teachers in the U.S. are board-certified. |
| | C) | is supported by most states through funding for their teachers to prepare for board certification. |
| | D) | is often determined by tests and observation that the candidate teachers are unaware of. |
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3 | | The Carnegie Forum's report A Nation Prepared called for |
| | A) | an increase in alternative teacher preparation programs. |
| | B) | board-certification of all teachers that had achieved a certain level of experience in their profession. |
| | C) | an end to the undergraduate teaching major, to be replaced by master's level degrees. |
| | D) | an end to board-certification of teachers due to scarce resources in the schools. |
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4 | | By the 1950s, many of the state teachers' colleges |
| | A) | had closed down due to lack of interest. |
| | B) | had led to too few male students in elementary school positions |
| | C) | had done away with their teaching majors. |
| | D) | had evolved into state colleges. |
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5 | | The majority of teachers reported in an NEA survey that they were satisfied with |
| | A) | the intellectual challenge and autonomy in their classrooms. |
| | B) | the support and encouragement of supervisors. |
| | C) | their job security and collegial relationships. |
| | D) | All these answers are correct. |
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6 | | Alternative teacher training programs |
| | A) | assume the task of teaching college graduates the matter of the subject they will teach. |
| | B) | are lessening in popularity due to criticisms about teacher preparedness. |
| | C) | are offered in some form in almost every state. |
| | D) | are populated mostly by new college graduates in their early and mid-20s. |
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7 | | In the colonial era, teachers |
| | A) | earned as much as farmers, and even a bit more than merchants, enjoying relatively high status. |
| | B) | were trained in teaching academies and focused particularly on maintaining good discipline and promoting Christian values. |
| | C) | at the elementary level typically had not even attended secondary school. |
| | D) | attended "normal schools," whose rising status enabled them to compete successfully for the scarce teaching positions. |
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8 | | Teachers working at the secondary level before the era of normal schools |
| | A) | were working in a career field mostly considered permanent. |
| | B) | rarely had any college education. |
| | C) | had usually received some college education. |
| | D) | were more often trained in America than in Europe. |
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9 | | Research on the relative effectiveness of alternative teacher training programs |
| | A) | demonstrates that on-the-job training prepares teachers faster for the realities of the classroom. |
| | B) | finds that these programs benefit students from low-income areas far more than would be the case if they relied on finding traditional program-educated teachers. |
| | C) | shows that teachers trained in alternative programs have a far weaker grasp of their subject area than teachers from traditional training programs. |
| | D) | is not yet conclusive. |
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10 | | Tomorrow's Teachers and A Nation Prepared both called for |
| | A) | higher standards for teachers in the U.S. |
| | B) | higher salaries for teachers working in high needs areas, such as special education and languages. |
| | C) | establishing "normal schools" to standardize teacher preparation. |
| | D) | lengthening teacher training programs to four years. |
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11 | | Which of the following statements about Teach for America is FALSE? |
| | A) | It receives government funding because of its mission to place teachers in under-resourced urban and rural schools. |
| | B) | It is criticized by educators such as Linda Darling-Hammond, who believes it is unprofessional and irresponsible. |
| | C) | It attracts a greater proportion of teachers of color than traditional, university-based teacher education programs. |
| | D) | It is a "fast track" training program for motivated college graduates to become teachers and serve in some of America's most difficult classrooms. |
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12 | | Teacher residency programs |
| | A) | have shortened the amount of teacher training time used by programs like Teach for America in order to get teachers into the classroom faster. |
| | B) | are alternative teacher training programs that actually mirror in practice the main suggestions for improvement of the Teach for America program. |
| | C) | require that teachers commit to a teaching time of two years. |
| | D) | offer more training time for teachers but have lower retention rates than Teach for America. |
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13 | | Which of the following is an accurate assessment of recent trends or performance of American students on key tests? |
| | A) | Despite overall improvement in test taking, students of color have not shown any dramatic improvement in test scores. |
| | B) | Most teenagers report that they are unsatisfied with the problem-solving and leadership skills they learned in school. |
| | C) | Although test scores have risen, the number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses has fallen. |
| | D) | U.S. students are staying in school longer and taking more challenging courses than ever before. |
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14 | | Which of the following is NOT a criterion of a profession, as determined by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education? |
| | A) | It provides essential services to the individual and society. |
| | B) | Individual practitioners are characterized by a strong service motivation and lifetime commitment to competence. |
| | C) | It allows for relative freedom from direct or public job supervision. |
| | D) | There is markedly less emphasis on theoretical and conceptual bases for practice. |
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15 | | Which of the following statements accurately characterizes teacher opinions of their career field? |
| | A) | Less than half of teachers in 2008 reported that they earned a decent salary. |
| | B) | The vast majority of teachers believe that their curriculum is excellent or good. |
| | C) | The American public still respects many professions, such as scientists, judges, and doctors, more than the teaching profession. |
| | D) | Less than half of teachers believe that they are well-prepared for their profession. |
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