Deck 2: The Teaching Profession

Question 1

As of 2009, _________________ of the twelve hundred colleges that train teachers were not accredited by National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

A) 10 percent
C) 33 percent
B) 18 percent
D) 42 percent

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The fact that there is no agreed-upon body of knowledge for teaching is a limitation when professional organizations try to increase teachers'

A) accountability.
C) empowerment
B) autonomy.
D) professionalism.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following statements most accurately compares teaching to other professions, such as medicine and law?

A) Teachers have more professional autonomy and make many of the major decisions affecting their work.
B) Like lawyers and doctors, teachers must go through an extensive educational process to be licensed.
C) Teachers are more affected by decisions of people outside the profession than are lawyers and doctors.
D) Teachers are accorded economic and social prestige equal to that of lawyers and doctors.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Your friend Susan found her first year of teaching to be very traumatic.She had great difficulty adjusting to the "real world" of school, and she felt overwhelmed by how much she had to learn and to handle.Which of the following might have helped her most in avoiding such negative experiences during her initial year of teaching?

A) more pedagogy (methods) courses in her teacher preparation program
B) a fifth-year preparation program
C) a mediated entry program
D) periodic, one-day, in-service training workshops

Question 5

Which of the following is not evidence that teaching is increasingly being recognized as a full-fledged profession in this country?

A) Teachers are investing more time in enhancing their own professional knowledge base through university and college education, staff development, and workshops.
B) Teachers are gaining more opportunities to participate in decision making through efforts such as school-based management.
C) Salaries and benefits for teachers have improved over the last several decades.
D) There is a great deal of variety in what is defined as a "knowledge base" for teaching.

Question 6

Which of the following presents the greatest obstacle to teachers' gaining the kind of autonomy suggested by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards?

A) Teachers do not receive training in organizing and running their own professional organizations.
B) Most teachers are not interested in gaining more autonomy in their work.
C) Because education is a public enterprise and a public responsibility, citizens and their elected officials will be slow to turn control over to teachers.
D) The teaching population in the United States is too large and too varied to govern its own professional affairs.

Question 7

By 2009, ________________states had adopted or adapted NCATE unit standards for state evaluation of teacher-education programs.

A) thirteen
C) twenty-five
B) three
D) thirty-six

Question 8

Which of the following has most significantly increased the prestige of teaching in the eyes of the public?

A) better staff development programs
B) increased level of education of teachers
C) teachers' involvement in curriculum development
D) alternative certification of teaching candidates

Question 9

In recent measures of occupational prestige, teachers rank

A) at the top of the scale alongside physicians.
B) above the ninetieth percentile.
C) at the bottom of the scale.
D) at the fiftieth percentile.

Question 10

Teaching is often thought of as a "semi profession" or "emerging profession," much like

A) doctors and nurses.
C) nursing and social workers.
B) accountants and business owners.
D) lawyers and judges.

Question 11

Preparing a good teacher in a "defined body of knowledge" often results in _______________ being a part of the teacher preparation program.

A) professional education
C) general education courses
B) "major" and "minors" in the subject area
D) all of the above

Question 12

Research suggests that the attrition rate for beginning teachers is one of the most significant contributors to the shortage of teachers in the United States.Novice teachers who leave the profession report that the "trauma" associated with the beginning year of teaching is the major factor in their decision to leave.With this in mind, describe how the concept of "mediated entry" addresses the concerns expressed by new teachers.

Question 13

When considering a defined body of knowledge as a characteristic of a profession, which of the following statements accurately describes a criticism of teacher preparation programs?

A) Too many academic content courses are required.
B) Not enough pedagogy courses are required.
C) There is a healthy mix of content and pedagogy courses.
D) Too many education courses are required.

Question 14

The phrase teaching out of license means teaching out of

A) the district in which one received tenure.
B) the grade level in which one student-taught.
C) the state in which one received one's original certification.
D) the subject in which one is certified.

Question 15

Collective bargaining can influence which of the following issues?

A) salaries only
C) school-based management only
B) working conditions only
D) all of the above

Question 16

Which of the following is not an impediment to teaching being considered a profession?

A) a lack of professional associations
B) a defined body of knowledge and skills beyond that grasped by laypersons
C) autonomy in deciding about spheres of work
D) control over licensing standards and entry requirements

Question 17

Compared to the salary of the average college graduate, teacher pay is

A) lower.
B) about the same.
C) higher.

Question 18

Interest in staff development has increased because it is being seen as

A) a cost-efficient way to retain teachers.
B) a way to stay current with the latest educational trends.
C) a means of removing ineffective teachers from teaching.
D) a way to improve student scores on standardized achievement tests.

Question 19

Many educators believe that increasing teachers' autonomy in deciding about spheres of work will enhance the status of the teaching profession.A number of the issues and trends discussed in Chapter 2 have implications for teacher empowerment.Choose three of the topics covered in the chapter, and discuss how and why each can help enhance teachers' status.

Question 20

Considering the ten points discussed in Chapter 2 regarding the characteristics of a professional, evaluate where we are in today's society at considering teachers professionals.Utilize at least three characteristics in your support of the point.

Question 21

The need for mediated entry is supported by______________________________.

A) No Child Left Behind
C) education reform groups
B) the definition of "highly qualified"
D) all of the above

Question 22

Merit pay is given to a teacher who has

A) caused student achievement scores to rise.
B) demonstrated superior performance.
C) participated in staff development activities.
D) taught in the district twenty years or more.

Question 23

Critics of merit pay say that it will reduce

A) the educational experience for students.
C) the salaries of average-ability teachers.
B) competition and favoritism.
D) conformity in classroom teaching.

Question 24

Which of the following statements about professional organizations for teachers (such as the NEA, the AFT, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) is most accurate?

A) The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) clearly dominates the decision-making process in public education.
B) Public education has been able to achieve a balanced and effective working relationship among all the educational interest groups.
C) It is difficult to argue that there is an educational interest group that wields the same amount of influence as the American Medical Association (AMA) does for medicine or the Bar does for law.
D) Teachers do not need an organization that represents their professional interests.

Question 25

What has been a major contributor to the rise in the level of "occupational prestige" that teachers are rated?

A) increased levels of education and complex nature
B) need for more "highly qualified teachers"
C) abstract skill and education
D) language acquisition

Question 26

Urban teachers prefer to join the AFT primarily because of the organization's

A) research on urban conditions.
B) provision for membership by administrators.
C) publications directed toward urban teachers.
D) use of traditional union tactics.

Question 27

Over thirty-four states legally require _____________, while it is permissible in eleven states.

A) professional registration
C) systematic mentoring
B) the ability to determine all benefits
D) collective bargaining

Question 28

_____________ percent of teachers leave the profession in the first five years.

A) 15
C) 45
B) 25
D) 65

Question 29

Often new teachers pursue their staff development in hopes of achieving _______________.

A) tenure
C) professional growth
B) a Master's degree
D) continuous training

Question 30

The educational reform movement of the 1980's and 1990's contributed to __________________.

A) pressure on districts for increased salaries
B) reductions of benefits for teachers
C) alignment of professional standards
D) awareness of basic rights

Question 31

A newly developing trend with teaching qualifications is for teachers to _________________.

A) specialize in just one area and always teach that area.
B) teach out-of-field in subject areas where they are not recognized as experts.
C) become experts and limit teaching time.
D) teach extended months of the year.

Question 32

Professional standard boards in each state have the authority to _______________________.

A) issue certificates
C) renew certificates
B) revoke certificates
D) all of the above

Question 33

The _________________ has prepared a certification process that is supported by both the AFT and NEA for a national recognition.

A) National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
B) American Federation of Teachers
C) National Education Association
D) National Association of Educators

Question 34

Specialized professional organizations generally do not provide

A) conferences.
B) information on trends and policies.
C) political lobbies at the national and state levels.
D) publications.

Question 35

_______________ do not permit collective bargaining.

A) Charter schools
C) Public schools
B) Private schools
D) Colleges and universities

Question 36

In terms of the development of an organizational and service model, individual parent-teacher associations can best be described as:

A) uniform
C) affiliated
B) subordinate
D) sovereign

Question 37

In 2006, the average teacher's salary was ________________ below that of comparable workers.

A) 15 percent
C) 35 percent
B) 25 percent
D) 5 percent

Question 38

_____________________ has driven the need for highly qualified teachers to emerge from other professions through alternative certification methods.

A) The No Child Left Behind Act
B) IDEA
C) The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
D) NCATE

Question 39

Which of the following organizations has historically most closely represented teacher interests through traditional union activities such as collective bargaining and strikes?

A) American Federation of Teachers
B) National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
C) National Educational Association
D) Phi Delta Kappa

Question 40

The AFT does not allow membership of

A) transportation workers.
C) cafeteria employees
B) municipal workers.
D) school administrators.

Question 41

The division and rivalry of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers is often seen as

A) a healthy choice.
C) detrimental to the teaching profession.
B) a separation by geographical location.
D) a joint effort.

Question 42

What are the reasons for increased interest in staff development for teachers?

Question 43

Merit pay is often considered a(n) __________________ for superior performance.

A) reward
C) union issue
B) negotiation
D) continuous training

Question 44

Describe common topics of discussion that collective bargaining often covers outside of salary negotiations.

Question 45

Why would teachers be interested in joining specialized professional organizations?

Question 46

What potential hardships might occur when each state sets its own certification requirements?

Question 47

Provide two examples of groups recruited to teaching by alternative certification, and describe why this path to certification would probably reduce the professional status of teachers.

Question 48

Why does Chapter 2 support the need for a formal, systematic mediated entry for new teachers?

Question 49

Carlos has just attended an end-of-the year party with his fellow first-year teachers of the Orchard Valley School District.According to statistics, approximately what percentage of the teachers present will not return to the profession in the coming year?

A) 5
C) 20
B) 15
D) 40

Question 50

The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) has chosen to focus its attention nationally on a variety of educational issues.What are some of these issues?

Question 51

When one considers that teachers do not decide about the "spheres of work", who instead controls the decision making? What are some of the deciding factors?