Question 1

No Child Left Behind Act

Accepted Answer

This 2002 law set high standards and measurable goals in order to improve individual outcomes in education.

Question 2

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Accepted Answer

A written document that's developed for each public school child who is eligible for special education.

Question 3

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Accepted Answer

A national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability.

Question 4

Montessori Method

Accepted Answer

An educational method that is centered on the child with an emphasis on independence and respect for the child's natural psychological, physical, and social development.

Question 5

Bloom's Taxonomy

Accepted Answer

A hierarchical model used to classify learning objectives into levels of complexity and specificity.

Question 6

Standardized Tests

Accepted Answer

These tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent.

Question 7

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Accepted Answer

A framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.

Question 8

Differentiated Instruction

Accepted Answer

A teaching theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to individual and diverse students.

Question 9

Project-based Learning

Accepted Answer

A student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach where students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems.

Question 10

Common Core State Standards

Accepted Answer

A set of high-quality academic standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy (ELA).

Question 11

Response to Intervention (RTI)

Accepted Answer

An approach to academic intervention used to provide early, systematic, and appropriately intensive assistance to children who are at risk for or already underperforming.

Question 12

Emergent Curriculum

Accepted Answer

A philosophy of teaching and way of planning curriculum that focuses on being responsive to children's interests.

Question 13

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Accepted Answer

A motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

Question 14

Multi-Tier System of Supports (MTSS)

Accepted Answer

A comprehensive framework used to provide targeted support for all learners.

Question 15

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Accepted Answer

A school-wide approach to make schools more predictable, positive, safe, and consistent environments for all students.

Question 16

Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Accepted Answer

The process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Question 17

Executive Functions

Accepted Answer

A set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior.

Question 18

Metacognition

Accepted Answer

The process of thinking about thinking, or the awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

Question 19

Scaffolding

Accepted Answer

A process used to model or demonstrate how to solve a problem, then step back, offering support as needed.

Question 20

Summative Assessment

Accepted Answer

Evaluation at the conclusion of a unit or units of instruction or an activity or plan to determine or judge student skills and knowledge or effectiveness of said activity or plan.

Question 21

Formative Assessment

Accepted Answer

A range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment.

Question 22

Norm-referenced Tests

Accepted Answer

A type of test, assessment, or evaluation that yields an estimate of the position of the tested individual in a predefined population.

Question 23

Criterion-referenced Tests

Accepted Answer

A style of test which uses test scores to generate a statement about the behavior that can be expected of a person with that score.

Question 24

Authentic Assessment

Accepted Answer

A form of assessment in which students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills.

Question 25

Backward Design

Accepted Answer

A method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment.

Question 26

Nevada Department of Education

Accepted Answer

The state agency that oversees public education in Nevada.

Question 27

English as a Second Language (ESL)

Accepted Answer

An educational approach that teaches English to students whose primary language is not English.

Question 28

Charter Schools

Accepted Answer

Public schools that operate under a contract, or "charter", which frees them from many regulations created for traditional public schools while holding them accountable for academic and financial results.

Question 29

Inclusion

Accepted Answer

An educational practice in which students with special needs are fully or partially integrated with the general education population and receive the majority of their instruction from a general education teacher.

Question 30

Professional Learning Communities (PLC)

Accepted Answer

Groups of educators that meet regularly, share expertise, and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students.

Question 31

Inquiry-Based Learning

Accepted Answer

An approach to learning that emphasizes the student's role in the learning process.

Question 32

English Language Learner (ELL)

Accepted Answer

Students who are in the process of acquiring English and have a primary language other than English.

Question 33

Multicultural Education

Accepted Answer

A progressive approach for transforming education that holistically critiques and addresses current shortcomings, failings, and discriminatory practices in education.

Question 34

Trauma-Informed Teaching

Accepted Answer

An approach to teaching that involves understanding student behavior in light of past trauma they may have experienced.

Question 35

Constructivism

Accepted Answer

A theory that posits that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas.

Question 36

Cognitive Load Theory

Accepted Answer

An instructional design theory based on the cognitive architecture, suggesting that effective instructional design can reduce cognitive load on learners.

Question 37

Multiple Intelligences Theory

Accepted Answer

Howard Gardner's psychological theory about people and their different types of intelligences (logical, visual, musical, etc.).

Question 38

Dual Language Education

Accepted Answer

A form of education in which students are taught literacy and content in two languages.

Question 39

Flipped Classroom

Accepted Answer

An instructional strategy and a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom.

Question 40

Nevada Academic Content Standards

Accepted Answer

A comprehensive set of learning objectives that students in Nevada are expected to achieve in various subject areas at each grade level.

Question 41

Nevada School Performance Framework

Accepted Answer

A statewide system that details the performance of each public school in Nevada.

Question 42

Nevada Alternate Assessment

Accepted Answer

An assessment designed for students with significant cognitive disabilities who cannot participate in the general statewide assessments even with accommodations.

Question 43

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Accepted Answer

A Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

Question 44

Zone of Proximal Development

Accepted Answer

A concept in the study of education and psychology introduced by psychologist Lev Vygotsky between the 1930s and 1962.

Question 45

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Accepted Answer

A multi-state effort to create new education standards that are rich in content and practice, arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education.

Question 46

Praxis Tests

Accepted Answer

A series of teacher certification exams that many states use as part of their teacher licensure and certification process.

Question 47

Secondary Education

Accepted Answer

The stage of education following primary education, typically covering the grades of 6-12.

Question 48

Nevada System of Higher Education

Accepted Answer

The body that oversees higher education in Nevada, composed of degree-granting colleges and universities.

Question 49

School Accountability Report Card (SARC)

Accepted Answer

Publicly reported documents that provide information about a school’s demographic and academic data and school plans to achieve high academic goals.

Question 50

Dyslexia

Accepted Answer

A learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words.

Question 51

Phonics

Accepted Answer

A method of teaching reading and spelling that stresses symbol-sound relationships.

Question 52

Phonemic Awareness

Accepted Answer

The ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words.

Question 53

Behaviorism

Accepted Answer

A theory of learning based on the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning, often used in classroom management strategies.

Question 54

Social Constructivism

Accepted Answer

A sociological theory of knowledge that applies the general philosophical constructivism into the social context, where humans actively construct knowledge.

Question 55

Balanced Literacy

Accepted Answer

An approach to teaching literacy that is widely used in classrooms across the country and involves several methods of teaching and learning reading and writing, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Question 56

Language Acquisition

Accepted Answer

The process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.

Question 57

Experiential Learning

Accepted Answer

A theory that says learning occurs through experience and reflection on doing.

Question 58

Nevada Educator Performance Framework

Accepted Answer

A tool used for educator evaluations in Nevada, focused on professional responsibilities, instruction, and creating and maintaining a positive learning environment.

Question 59

Professional Development

Accepted Answer

Learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice.

Question 60

School Culture

Accepted Answer

The shared beliefs, practices, and attitudes that characterize a school or school district, and affect how people behave.

Question 61

Andragogy

Accepted Answer

A theory of adult learning that details some of the ways that adults learn differently than children.

Question 62

Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)

Accepted Answer

The current codified laws of the U.S. state of Nevada.

Question 63

English Learners (ELs)

Accepted Answer

Students whose primary or home language is not English who need special assistance in order to participate fully in school.

Question 64

Prior Knowledge

Accepted Answer

What a student already knows about a topic before new learning begins.

Praxis Content Knowledge: Nevada Specifics