Preparation Manual

Domain I—Language Arts, Part I: Oral Language, Early Literacy Development, Word Identification Skills and Reading Fluency

Competency 001—The teacher understands the importance of oral language, knows the developmental processes of oral language and provides a variety of instructional opportunities for students to develop listening and speaking skills.

1. Ms. Woods teaches social studies to a diverse group of students, including several English-language learners (ELLs). She divides the class into groups of four to five students. Each student reads and presents the information in a different excerpt from the textbook to the other group members. Which of the following is a primary rationale for using the activity?

1. Discussing expository selections improves ELLs’ navigation of nonfiction text structures
2. Using prior knowledge helps ELLs make connections to unfamiliar vocabulary words
3. Providing a meaningful context increases ELLs’ comprehension of academic language
4. Requiring the use of multiple registers develops ELLs’ application of the appropriate register choice

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct because structured small group conversations allow students to practice using new vocabulary through engaging in authentic interactions with other students. Option A is incorrect because all students study their own sections of the text, so they do not have help with the text structures of their excerpts. In addition, focusing on oral language does not develop knowledge of text structures, which is linked to reading skills. Option B is incorrect because students are learning new content as they read their excerpts, so there is no connection to their prior knowledge. Option D is incorrect because students use a formal register to both read and present the information.

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Competency 002—The teacher understands the foundations of early literacy development.

2. To motivate middle school students in language arts, a teacher implements learning clubs in the classroom. Students have a class meeting on an assigned topic. They then work in groups to research the topic and reflect on the information they learn. Finally, they add what they have learned to a blog. The design of the learning clubs best shows that the teacher understands the importance of which of the following?

1. Placing students in groups based on their individual language-arts abilities
2. Allowing students to research topics that are of personal interest to them
3. Developing students’ literacy skills through multiple language-arts contexts
4. Providing students with explicit instruction to build their oral language proficiency

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Option C is correct because learning clubs allow students to meet in groups to discuss, reflect on and write about research topics, which all help to develop students’ literacy skills. Option A is incorrect because although grouping students according to their abilities is a useful practice, the scenario does not give enough information about how the students are grouped to come to this conclusion. Option B is incorrect because the students are not choosing the topic based on their personal interests; the teacher assigns the topic. Option D is incorrect because the teacher is not providing explicit instruction, and oral language is only one component of the activity.

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Domain II—Language Arts, Part II: Reading Comprehension and Assessment, Reading Applications, Written Language, Viewing and Representing and Study and Inquiry Skills

Use the information below to answer the questions that follow.

The following dialogue takes place in a middle school classroom during a class discussion about a novel. Several English-language learners are in the class.

Teacher: So, let’s discuss the last paragraph of the chapter. [The teacher posts an excerpt on the overhead and reads it aloud to students.] "The wind suddenly shifted from the north and wrapped me tightly in its cold embrace, its icy hand made my skin tingle. As I watched the car pull away, I just stood there. Shivering. No emotion, no tears, just shivering."

Teacher: What do you think the narrator wants the reader to know in this paragraph?

Student: It’s really cold, and he doesn’t like it.

Teacher: OK, that’s a good start, but I’d like you to think a little bit critically for a few minutes, using what we discussed about setting and tone yesterday. Let’s take five minutes for a think-pair-share activity. Find a partner, or create a group of three, and I want you to make a statement about how the passage communicates the tone. Each group should complete the sentences that I have written on the board. [The teacher points to the sentences that are written on the board while reading them aloud: "The tone of the passage is ______________.blank space We said this because ______________.blank space"] You can choose a tone word from our tone word list, and then make sure to include a word, phrase or sentence of text that supports your statement in the second sentence. Any questions?

Competency 004—The teacher understands the importance of reading for understanding, knows components and processes of reading comprehension and teaches students strategies for improving their comprehension.

3. Which of the following skills does the teacher primarily promote through the use of the think-pair-share strategy?

1. Decoding unfamiliar text
2. Comprehending difficult text
3. Building fluency with repeated readings
4. Developing vocabulary through interactions

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Option B is correct because the think-pair-share strategy helps students gain further comprehension by building upon each other’s ideas. The students think about the text, pair with another student and share their thinking about the text. Options A, C and D are incorrect because the think-pair-share strategy does not focus on helping students with decoding, fluency, or developing vocabulary directly.

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4. The activity most effectively promotes the oral language development of English-language learners by

1. adapting texts and allowing the use of native language.
2. making the language more accessible and comprehensible.
3. modeling pronunciation and conversational language.
4. using familiar and concrete topics for content discussion.

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Option B is correct because the provision of sentence stems and word banks help to make language more accessible for English-language learners. Option A is incorrect because adapted text is not used and students are not working in their native language. Option C is incorrect because there is not any specific modeling of pronunciation occurring in this activity. Option D is incorrect because the concept of tone is an abstract idea that might be difficult for English-language learners.

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Competency 005—The teacher understands reading skills and strategies appropriate for various types of texts and contexts and teaches students to apply those skills and strategies to enhance their reading proficiency.

5. Which of the following is the most appropriate group response to fill in the sentences the teacher wrote on the board?

1. The tone is solemn. We said this because "No emotion, no tears, just shivering" shows a somber reflection on the present event.
2. The tone is nostalgic. We said this because "As I watched the car pull away, I just stood there" shows a contemplative thought about a past event.
3. The tone is terrifying. We said this because "The wind suddenly shifted from the north" shows fear of an upcoming winter storm.
4. The tone is morose. We said this because "Its icy hand made my skin tingle" shows the results of past physical pain.

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Option A is correct because the words convey a lack of emotion, emphasizing solemnity and the starkness of the moment. Option B is incorrect because nostalgia would use words that conveyed more of a positive feeling. Option C is incorrect because the text does not indicate fear; rather sadness is present. Option D is incorrect because the physical pain described in the passage is more figurative, which seems to be missed in this description.

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6. To best help students with comprehension of the excerpt, the teacher should review which of the following literary devices?

1. Alliteration
2. Foreshadowing
3. Irony
4. Personification

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Option D is correct because personification is endowing inanimate objects with human characteristics. The wind is described in the excerpt as having human characteristics. Option A is incorrect because alliteration is a poetic or literary effect achieved by using several words that begin with the same or similar consonants, as in "Whither wilt thou wander, wayfarer?". Option B is incorrect because foreshadowing is a suggestion of what is going to happen. Option C is incorrect because irony is a contrast or discrepancy between one thing and another.

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7. Although students in a middle school science class are able to glean specific facts from a textbook chapter, they are unable to restate the broad concepts presented in the reading. Which of the following activities should the teacher have the students do first to address the issue?

1. Summarizing the main ideas in the chapter
2. Defining the important vocabulary words in the chapter
3. Reading the chapter aloud with a partner
4. Discussing their favorite part of the chapter

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Option A is correct because summarizing the text would be the teacher’s best first step to promote students’ understanding of the main ideas of the text and help students restate the broad concepts of the text. Option B is incorrect because focusing on the meaning of vocabulary words would not be the first strategy to use to help students understand the broad concepts of the text. Option C is incorrect because reading aloud helps students’ fluency but not their comprehension of the broad concepts of the text. Option D is incorrect discussing their favorite part of the textbook chapter will not necessarily direct students toward the broad concepts. In fact, if students are gleaning the details, this strategy may reinforce their focus on the specific facts.

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Use the information below to answer the questions that follow.

During writing workshop, Ms. Elstak, a fourth-grade teacher, has a conference with a student, Kyle, about his personal narrative.

The personal narrative reads as follows: I went to Corpus Kristy for vacashun last summer. It was fun, while there my family and I stayed in a luckshurious hotel. The most ecksiting thing, was getting to go on a yhat bigger that the Titanick. On the last day we went fishing. My bruther Sam did not like the water very much. It was too bad becuz we spent alot of time on boats. End of personal narrative. The incorrect spelling in the narrative is the spelling of Christy is spelt with a K, vacation has the incorrect spelling of v a c a s h u n, luxurious has the incorrect spelling of l u c k s h u r i o u s, exciting has the incorrect spelling of e c k s i t i n g, yacht has the incorrect spelling of y h a t, titanic has the incorrect spelling of t i t a n i c k, brother has the incorrect spelling of b r u t h e r, because has the incorrect spelling of b e c u z.

Competency 006—The teacher understands the conventions of writing in English and provides instruction that helps students develop proficiency in applying writing conventions.

8. Based on his writing piece, which of the following will best help Kyle improve his spelling?

1. Memorizing the spelling of high-frequency words
2. Sorting words that contain irregular spelling patterns
3. Having a peer editor circle the misspelled words in the piece
4. Applying knowledge of phonics to his spelling

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Option B is correct because the majority of words the student misspelled have irregular spellings. Word sorting will help the student identify common spelling patterns (such as the prefix "ex" and the suffix "tion") that can be applied in his current and future writing. Option A is incorrect because the student spelled most high-frequency words correctly. Option C is incorrect because a peer editor may not be able to recognize all the errors in the writing piece, nor will the peer editor help the student learn ways to improve spelling. Option D is incorrect because the writing piece shows evidence that the student is using knowledge of phonics to spell the words (e.g., "shun" for "tion" in vacation). The misspelled words have irregular spellings.

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9. Which of the following grammatical concerns is present in Kyle’s writing?

1. A subject-verb agreement error
2. A sentence fragment
3. A comma splice
4. A misplaced modifier

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Option C is correct because a comma splice is using a comma incorrectly between two independent clauses, which Kyle does in his writing. Option A is incorrect because there is no evidence of a problem with subject-verb agreement. Option B is incorrect because Kyle’s sentences are all complete and vary from simple to complex. Option D is incorrect because a misplaced modifier is a word, phrase or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies, which does not occur in Kyle’s writing.

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Competency 007—The teacher understands that writing to communicate is a developmental process and provides instruction that promotes students' competence in written communication.

10. A teacher reviews the following transitional words and phrases with students: "if…then," "as a result," and "therefore." With that choice of transitions, the teacher is best preparing students to write a composition using a

1. list of steps.
2. descriptive or specific example.
3. cause and effect pattern.
4. sequence of events.

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Option C is correct because the transitional phrases listed show a cause-and-effect relationship. For example, "If she does not come home by her curfew, then her mother will be angry." Options A and D are incorrect because a writer uses transitional phrases such as "first, second, last, finally" to elaborate with a list of steps or sequence of events. Option B is incorrect because a writer uses transitional phrases such as "For example," "For instance," or "This is shown when..." to elaborate using examples.

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11. Ms. Coignet notices that her students are struggling with making decisions to improve their writing. They understand how to make their stories longer, but they are leaving some parts vague. To best improve the students’ revision process, Ms. Coignet should teach the students how to make use of which of the following?

1. A list of sparkle words, which are more precise synonyms for the words used most frequently in their stories
2. A box-and-explode strategy, in which students draw a box around a main idea in their story and then add details to expand, or explode, the main idea
3. A technique for varying sentence lengths, in which students highlight the end of each sentence and count and record the total number of words in the sentence
4. A checklist for the revision process to use when rereading and revising their own stories and for reading and checking a partner’s story

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct because the box-and-explode strategy helps students elaborate their ideas more clearly. Option A is incorrect because even though word choice will improve the students’ story, they are struggling with how to elaborate their ideas. Option C is incorrect because this activity is focused on revising sentence fluency rather than on elaboration. Option D is incorrect because although a checklist is an assessment tool to help students check if they need more revision, it will not teach the students a strategy for revising their story.

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12. A language arts teacher wants students to have an opportunity to write for an authentic audience and purpose. The assignment that best achieves the teacher’s goal is writing a

1. review of an imaginary movie from the point of view of a critic.
2. sympathy letter to a character in a story who is in an argument with a family member.
3. letter to the principal stating a personal opinion about a school-related issue.
4. front-page newspaper article about a true event in students’ lives.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct because the audience is real, and the students are writing in their own voice about a subject of personal importance. Option A is incorrect because the movie is imaginary and the audience and purpose are contrived, so the activity is not an authentic writing task. Option B is incorrect because the character in the story is not a real person, so the activity is not an authentic writing task. Option D is incorrect because front-page newspaper articles do not focus on events in students’ lives, so the activity is not an authentic writing task.

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Use the information below to answer the questions that follow.

Ms. Zaragoza prepares to teach a unit on a novel set during the Great Depression. Before students begin reading the novel, she shows the students photographs of a variety of people taken by photojournalists during the time period.

Competency 008—The teacher understands skills for interpreting, analyzing, evaluating and producing visual images and messages in various media and provides students with opportunities to develop skills in this area.

13. Ms. Zaragoza primarily demonstrates an understanding of the importance of increasing comprehension through which of the following strategies?

1. Previewing important features of the novel
2. Connecting personal experience to the themes of the novel
3. Analyzing common art styles from the time period of the novel
4. Building background about the context of the novel

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Option D is correct because showing the students' pictures taken during the Great Depression is a strategy designed to interest students in the historical setting and context of the novel. Option A is incorrect because the photos are not features of the novel and nothing is mentioned about the features in the stimulus. Option B is incorrect because the scenes in the photographs will not likely be part of students' personal experience. Option C is incorrect because although the photographs are examples of the art of the time, the main purpose of the activity is not to provide an art history lesson but to establish the historical context.

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Competency 009—The teacher understands the importance of study and inquiry skills as tools for learning in the content areas and promotes students’ development in applying study and inquiry skills.

14. On which of the following elements of the photographs should Ms. Zaragoza have the students focus to develop a better understanding of the historical setting depicted in the photographs?

1. The use of lighting
2. The use of camera angling
3. The people’s expressions
4. The people’s clothing

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Option D is correct because the clothing and styles that were worn by the people in the photographs provide insight into the time period. Options A and B are incorrect because the lighting and camera angling are artistic elements that are not a part of the setting or historical time period presented. Option C is incorrect because while the expressions help establish the tone and mood of the photographs, they do not provide information about the setting.

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Use the information below to answer the questions that follow.

Mr. Walick plans to have his seventh-grade students research a topic related to a unit on American history using online sources. He provides students with the following worksheet that they will use while searching web-based resources.

1. Does the website have a title? If so, what is it?
2. Does the website have advertisements?
3. Is the author’s name and contact information on the website?
4. How does the author support the main ideas?
5. Does the author provide a list of sources?

Competency 009—The teacher understands the importance of study and inquiry skills as tools for learning in the content areas and promotes students' development in applying study and inquiry skills.

15. A primary purpose of the worksheet is to teach students how to

1. document the source of information.
2. evaluate the reliability of the information in a source.
3. gather information from a source.
4. locate a source with complete information.

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Option B is correct because the questions are designed to help the student determine whether the source can be trusted to provide reliable information. Option A is incorrect because the worksheet guides the student to evaluate the source of information rather than just collect the information. Option C is incorrect because the worksheet does not ask the student to record information from the source. Option D is incorrect because the worksheet does not guide students on how to find a source that provides complete information about a research topic.

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16. To best help students answer question 4, Mr. Walick should provide them with a checklist that promotes their ability to

1. identify sentence structures.
2. evaluate the level of formality.
3. identify conventional errors.
4. evaluate the organizational pattern.

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Option D is correct because the question asks students to look at how the author supports the main ideas, which can often be determined by looking at the organizational pattern. Options A, B and C are incorrect because having students identify the sentence structures, evaluate the level of formality or find the conventional errors will not help them to focus on the way the author supports the main ideas.

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Domain III—Social Studies Content

Competency 010—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of significant historical events and developments, multiple historical interpretations and ideas and relationships between the past, the present and the future, as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

17. Which of the following was the most significant cause of conflicts between Native American groups and White settlers in Texas in the mid-1800s?

1. Disputes over land use
2. Disagreements over water rights
3. Tensions concerning use of oil revenues
4. Religious controversies

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Option A is correct. Native American groups and White settlers in mid-nineteenth-century Texas clashed most frequently over land. Most Native American groups, such as the Comanche, Kiowa and Apache, were nomadic or semi-nomadic while many White settlers were farmers or ranchers. Conflicting patterns of land use and differing ideas about ownership of land led to frequent conflicts. Option B is incorrect because water rights were not a significant factor in most conflicts. Option C is incorrect because while there were religious differences between Native Americans and White settlers, these were not usually the main cause of conflict. Option D is incorrect because oil drilling did not begin in Texas until significantly later, and oil revenues were not a cause of friction between Native Americans and White settlers in the mid-nineteenth century.

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18. The Great Depression of the 1930s and the economic recession that began in 2008 were similar in that both were triggered by

1. a major decline in the value of real estate in the United States.
2. a decrease in the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the overall United States Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
3. a rapid decrease in the prices of agricultural commodities produced in the United States.
4. a collapse in United States financial markets after a period of excessive borrowing.

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Option D is correct. During the 1920s many Americans borrowed heavily to purchase stocks and engaged in risky speculative investments. When stock prices rapidly declined in October 1929, investor panic lead to a collapse of the stock market. Similarly, in the 2000s Americans borrowed heavily to purchase homes and lenders engaged in risky speculative trading in mortgages, and when large numbers of people began to default on home loans, financial markets also collapsed. Option A is incorrect because a decline in real estate values was an effect but not a major cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Option B is incorrect because manufacturing as a percentage of GDP was not declining in the 1920s. Option C is incorrect because the prices of agricultural products did not rapidly decline before the financial collapse of the late 2000s.

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19. Supporters of the passage of the Constitution in the 1780s had several important goals they hoped to achieve. From today’s perspective, they were most successful at achieving which of the following?

1. Avoidance of political parties and partisan politics
2. Establishment of a system of checks and balances within the federal government
3. Freedom from involvement in foreign conflicts
4. Peaceful compromise between northern and southern states over the issue of slavery

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Option B is correct because many of the checks and balances established by the Constitution continue to function within the federal government today. Option A is incorrect because despite the concerns of many supporters of the Constitution, parties and partisan politics quickly became a feature of the United States political system. Option C is incorrect because the United States became involved in foreign conflicts soon after ratification of the Constitution. Option D is incorrect because controversy over slavery eventually led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

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20. Which of the following economic developments in Texas can be most directly attributed to the Columbian Exchange?

1. The spread of cattle ranching
2. The diffusion of maize cultivation
3. The establishment of the petroleum industry
4. The spread of cotton cultivation

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Option A is correct. The Columbian Exchange is a term used to describe the deliberate and accidental transfer of plant, animal and disease species between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres that began as a result of European exploration and colonization of the Americas. The Columbian Exchange had a profound effect on the populations and economic development of virtually the entire world. Option A is correct because cattle, which were not indigenous to the Americas, were introduced into Texas by Spanish colonists as part of the Columbian Exchange. Option B is incorrect because maize (corn) was indigenous to the Americas and was brought to the Texas region by Native Americans in the pre-Columbian period. Option C is incorrect because the development of the petroleum industry in Texas occurred long after the Columbian Exchange was already accomplished, and it was not a direct effect of the exchange. Option D is incorrect because although widespread cotton cultivation was initiated in Texas by Europeans and Africans, the varieties of cotton they raised were mostly indigenous to the Americas; thus this is not an instance of the Columbian Exchange.

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Use the maps and the scenario description below to answer the question that follows.

A legend is below the maps which represents the meaning of the shading. Black represents over 90%, dark grey represents 89% through 70%, light grey represents 69% through 50%, and a light grey striped area represnts under 50%. Map 1 fully shaded in a dark grey. Map 2 is divided into 4 sections the top half is shaded in dark grey and the bottom half is shaded in light grey. Map 3 is divided into 32 small sections with two being shaded black, 12 being shaded dark grey, 12 being shaded light grey, and 6 shaded with light grey stripes. Finally Map 4 has a completely white foreground with 5 black dots scattered across the top edge of the country.

Competency 011—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of geographic relationships involving people, places and environments in Texas, the United States and the world as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

21. The education ministry of a developing country is deciding where to allocate resources for a new initiative to increase the country’s literacy rate. The four maps shown depict patterns of literacy rates at various scales. Map 1 shows the overall rate for the entire country, Map 2 shows it by province, Map 3 shows it by district and Map 4 shows the literacy rates for the country’s five largest cities. Which map would probably be most useful for determining where to allocate resources?

1. Map 1
2. Map 2
3. Map 3
4. Map 4

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Option C is correct because, of the four maps shown, it provides the most detail about the spatial distribution of literacy in the country, which is an important factor in deciding where to allocate resources such as money and personnel. Option A is incorrect because Map 1 shows no detail about the spatial distribution of literacy within the country. Option B is incorrect because Map 2 shows some detail, but less than Map 3. Option D is incorrect because Map 4 shows some detail, but only for a subset of the entire country.

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22. In describing places, geographers distinguish between the site and the situation of a place. Which of the following describes the situation of the city of Houston, as opposed to the site?

1. Houston is located on Galveston Bay
2. Houston is located near several large oil fields
3. Houston is located in a place with a humid subtropical climate
4. Houston is located at 29 degrees north latitude, 95 degrees west longitude

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Option B is correct. In geographic terms, site refers to the characteristics of the place itself, such as landforms, climate, etc. Situation refers to the location of a place relative to its surroundings. Option B describes the location of Houston relative to a resource that is important to the city’s economy; thus it is an aspect of Houston’s situation. Option A is incorrect because a description of Houston’s location in relation to landforms such as Galveston Bay is an aspect of the site of the city, not its situation. Option C is incorrect because the climate of a place is also an aspect of Houston’s site, not its situation. Option D is incorrect because, in geographic terms, latitude and longitude describe Houston’s absolute location, not its situation.

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23. Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies the concept of chain migration?

1. Members of a religious minority migrate from their native country to escape persecution by the government
2. A group of people from the same village migrate to a city in another country and are later joined by relatives and neighbors from the same village
3. Some members of a group of migrants, while traveling toward their intended destination, decide to settle in an intervening location because it has better job prospects
4. After a severe drought, a group of peasant farmers abandon their farms and move to a nearby city in search of employment

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct. Chain migration refers to the situation when an individual or a group move to a new location and then are joined by others from the same original location. Option A is incorrect because the situation described better exemplifies the concept of push factors in migration. Option C is incorrect because the situation described better exemplifies the concept of intervening opportunities. Option D is incorrect because the situation described better exemplifies the concepts of push and pull factors in migration.

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Competency 012—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of economic systems and how people organize economic systems to produce, distribute and consume goods and services as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

24. Which of the following best illustrates the concept of opportunity cost as defined by economists?

1. A country is able to produce more advanced computers than another country can because its labor force is more skilled
2. A student is unable to attend a birthday party because she is playing in a soccer match at the same time
3. A car manufacturer is able to charge more for a new car model because it gets better gas mileage
4. A hotel is forced to raise its room prices during the winter because heating costs are high

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct because in economics, the term opportunity cost refers to something valued by an individual that must be given up in order to undertake something else. In option B, the student gives up the chance to attend a birthday party because she is playing in a soccer match. Giving up the chance to go to the party is the opportunity cost of playing in the match. Option A is incorrect because the situation described is an example of comparative advantage. Option C is incorrect because the situation described is an example of the ability of producers to charge higher prices for upgraded features. Option D is incorrect because the situation described is an example of a cost of providing a service being passed on to the consumer.

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25. In the 1990s, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) lowered tariffs and other trade barriers between the United States and Mexico. As a result, many United States corporations established maquiladoras, manufacturing centers in Mexico near the United States-Mexico border. Parts and materials are shipped to maquiladoras and assembled into products which are then exported to the United States and other countries. The main incentive for companies to set up these manufacturing centers is

1. stricter environmental regulations in Mexico.
2. lower labor costs in Mexico.
3. lower energy costs in Mexico.
4. increasing demand for consumer goods in Mexico.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct because labor costs in Mexico were significantly lower than in the United States. Thus, when NAFTA removed trade barriers, United States companies found it worthwhile to ship parts and materials to Mexico to have goods assembled there and then exported to the United States and other countries because the lower labor costs more than outweighed the additional transport costs. Option A is incorrect because environmental regulation is not stricter in Mexico, and besides, manufacturers typically do not seek to relocate to new areas with stricter environmental regulations. Option C is incorrect because energy costs were not significantly lower in Mexico. Option D is incorrect because, although Mexico’s demand for consumer goods was increasing at the time, the trend was not a major factor in the establishment of maquiladoras, which primarily produced goods for export.

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Use the scenario below to answer the question that follows.

In the market for a certain type of industrial glue, there are two main products: Maxi-Hold and Stik-All. Currently, Maxi-Hold sells for $1515 dollars per unit and Stik-All sells for $1313 dollars per unit. However, increases in the price of the chemicals used to make Stik-All will force the company that produces it to raise the price to $1616 dollars per unit. The company that produces Maxi-Hold does not plan to raise its price. Maxi-Hold and Stik-All are substitutes for each other.

Competency 012—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of economic systems and how people organize economic systems to produce, distribute and consume goods and services as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

26. Given the scenario described above, which of the following indicates what will happen to the quantity demanded of Maxi-Hold and Stik-All?

The rows of the table represent each answer choice labeled A through D. Row 1, or A reads increase on the left and increase on the right. Row 2, or B reads decrease on the left and decrease on the right. Row 3, or C reads increase on the left and decrease on the right. And row 4, or D reads decrease on the left and increase on the right.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct because all other things being equal, an increase in the price for a good will normally lead to a decrease in the quantity demanded of that good and to an increase in the quantity demanded of any good that is a substitute for the first good. In this scenario, Maxi-Hold and Stik-All are substitutes for each other, and they are the main products in the market, so an increase in the price of Stik-All, while the price of Maxi-Hold remains the same, will lead to less Stik-All and more Maxi-Hold being demanded. Options A, B and D are incorrect because none of them describes a likely change in the demand for the two products.

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Competency 013—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of government, democracy and citizenship, including ways in which individuals and groups achieve their goals through political systems, as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

27. As part of the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the plaintiffs arguing for the legal abolition of racial segregation in schools pursued the innovative strategy of introducing evidence concerning

1. the widespread disapproval of school segregation in many areas of the United States.
2. the low cost of integrating public schools.
3. the absence of racial segregation in the school systems of many other countries.
4. the psychological and social damage suffered by children in segregated schools.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct because the legal team arguing that school segregation laws should be struck down presented extensive evidence from psychologists, sociologists and other experts about the negative effects of school segregation on African-American children. Such testimony was an important part of their argument that racially segregated schools were inherently unequal. Option A is incorrect because evidence regarding public disapproval of school segregation was not an important part of the plaintiffs’ case. Option B is incorrect because the plaintiffs did not advance arguments concerning the likely cost of desegregation. Option C is incorrect because the plaintiffs did not offer arguments based on the school systems in other countries.

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28. In the United States, responsibility for monitoring elections and regulating voter registration and eligibility is primarily held by the

1. federal government.
2. state governments.
3. county governments.
4. municipal governments.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct because the governments of the fifty states are primarily responsible for regulating elections and voter registration. Options A, C and D are incorrect because county, municipal and the federal government do not have primary responsibility for these tasks.

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Use the passage below from the Federalist Papers to answer the question that follows.

"It is equally evident, that the members of each department should be as little dependent as possible on those of the others, for the emoluments annexed to their offices [i.e. their pay and benefits]... But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several [separate] powers in the same department consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others..."

The Federalist Paper #51, 1788

Competency 013—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of government, democracy and citizenship, including ways in which individuals and groups achieve their goals through political systems, as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

29. Which of the following principles of government is the primary topic of the passage above?

1. Checks and balances
2. Judicial review
3. Individual rights
4. Popular sovereignty

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct. The author of this installment of the Federalist papers (either Alexander Hamilton or James Madison) tried to address one of the primary concerns of opponents of the proposed new constitution: that the new government would become too powerful. In this passage, he is describing a mechanism to limit the overall power of the government by creating a system of competing departments that would each restrain the others, which is known as the system of checks and balances. Option B is incorrect because although judicial review is an example of checks and balances, the passage is describing the principle in general terms, and the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review did not become established until some years after the ratification of the Constitution. Option C is incorrect because individual rights are not discussed in this passage. Option D is incorrect because popular sovereignty is not discussed in this passage.

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Competency 014—The teacher understands and applies knowledge of cultural development, adaptation and diversity and understands and applies knowledge of interactions among science, technology and society, as defined by the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

30. Which of the following was a major change in human lifestyles that occurred as a direct result of the domestication of plants and animals during the Neolithic Revolution?

1. Living in fixed settlements became much more common
2. Wealth began to be more equally distributed and social stratification generally decreased
3. Conflict between different societies became much less frequent
4. Communal ownership of property became more prevalent

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct. Before the domestication of plants and animals, humans depended on hunting and gathering, and most lived in small nomadic groups, except in a few areas where there was sufficient concentration of game, fish or edible plants to support a fixed population. The development of agriculture made fixed settlements possible and in fact necessary for most societies. Option B is incorrect because the development of agriculture generally led to increasingly unequal distribution of wealth and greater social stratification. Option C is incorrect because there is no clear evidence that conflict between different societies became less frequent as a result of the domestication of plants and animals. Option D is incorrect because in many societies, the transition to agriculture probably led to the development of the notion of family or individual ownership of land and other property, as opposed to communal ownership.

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Domain IV—Social Studies Foundations, Skills and Instruction

Competency 015—The teacher understands the foundations of social studies education and applies knowledge of skills used in the social sciences.

31. It would be most appropriate for an eighth-grade United States History teacher to introduce the term Anti-Federalists during a lesson on the

1. First Continental Congress.
2. Declaration of Independence.
3. United States Constitution.
4. Emancipation Proclamation.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct because the term Anti-Federalists is used to describe political figures in early United States history who opposed the creation of a stronger federal government in the years before the ratification of the Constitution. Option A is incorrect because the First Continental Congress met before the Revolution and was focused on protesting the actions of the British government. Option B is incorrect because the nature and powers of the United States government were not a major subject of controversy when the Declaration of Independence was debated. Option D is incorrect because the Emancipation Proclamation occurred long after the Anti-Federalist movement had disappeared.

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Use the information below to answer the question that follows.

Students in a sixth-grade social studies class read the following excerpt from their social studies textbook about agricultural crops of the world.

In the wet farmlands of China, rice is the primary crop. While in the United States Midwest, rice does not grow well, but wheat flourishes.

32. Which of the following is the most appropriate inference for students to make after reading the excerpt?

1. Geography plays an important role in determining crop production
2. Economic demand for a crop depends on the population of the area
3. Scarcity of rice is an important economic issue in the United States Midwest
4. Farmers in the United States Midwest modify the environment to increase the production of wheat

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option A is correct because the passage describes a particular instance of this general geographic principle. Option B is incorrect because the passage does not deal directly with supply and demand. Option C is incorrect because there is nothing in the passage that suggests scarcity of rice would be an important economic issue in the United States Midwest. Option D is incorrect because there is nothing in the passage that deals with modification of the environment for the purpose of improving agricultural productivity.

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33. A teacher has given students an assignment to research how the Texan volunteers at the Alamo reacted to the Mexican commander Santa Anna’s siege. Which of the following is a primary source that will best help students answer the question?

1. A diary belonging to General Santa Anna
2. A presentation of artifacts from the Alamo given by a Texas historian
3. A letter written by Colonel William B. Travis during the battle
4. An encyclopedia article about Susannah Dickinson, a survivor of the Alamo

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct because a letter from Colonel Travis, the Texan commander of the volunteers at the Alamo, is a primary source and, because it was written during the battle, it would probably provide useful information about the garrison’s reaction to the siege. Option A is incorrect because, although Santa Anna’s diary is a primary source, the Mexican general probably did not have direct knowledge of the Texans’ reactions to his army’s attack. Option B is incorrect because artifacts are usually not directly useful for revealing people’s states of mind. Option D is incorrect, because, although it deals with someone who had direct knowledge of the volunteers’ state of mind, an encyclopedia article is not a primary source, and an entry about Dickinson would probably not provide much information about the reactions of the Texan volunteer soldiers during the siege.

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Competency 016—The teacher plans and implements effective instruction and assessment in social studies.

34. In general, portfolio assessments have which of the following advantages as compared to standardized end-of-course assessments?

1. Portfolio assessments can be scored more quickly
2. Students’ scores on portfolio assessments are easier to compare from year to year
3. Portfolio assessments can be used to measure student progress within a course
4. Portfolio assessments produce statistically more reliable scores

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option C is correct because portfolio assessments, in which student performance is assessed on the basis of a body of work, can be used to gauge an individual student’s progress. If the students turn in parts of the portfolio throughout the course, the quality of their work earlier in the course can be compared to the quality of their work later. Standardized end-of-course assessments, by contrast, do not allow for this kind of evaluation. Option A is incorrect because the scoring of portfolio assessments is generally more complex and time-consuming than is the case with standardized end-of-course assessments. Option B is incorrect because scores on portfolio assessments are generally more difficult to compare from year to year than is the case with scores from standardized end-of-course assessments. Option D is incorrect because portfolio assessments often yield scores that are statistically less reliable than the scores obtained from standardized end-of-course assessments.

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35. A sixth-grade social studies teacher has just completed a lesson on the differences between limited and unlimited governments. Which of the following would most effectively assess a student’s ability to apply the new concepts just learned?

1. A vocabulary quiz defining the terms "limited" and "unlimited"
2. An exit card identifying five countries that have a limited government
3. A survey soliciting student opinion about the limits on United States government
4. A journal entry describing what it would be like to live under an unlimited government

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option D is correct because writing a journal entry is a form of assessment that would be more likely to provide evidence of students’ ability to apply the concepts they have just learned. A valid response would necessitate an implicit or explicit comparison between the student’s own experience living under a limited government in the United States and the experience of living under an unlimited government. Option A is incorrect because it describes a less useful form of assessment; knowledge of the vocabulary does not necessarily equate to ability to apply the concept. Option B is incorrect because it focuses on only one of the two types of governments discussed in the lesson. Option C is incorrect because it also focuses on only one of the two types of government.

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36. According to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for social studies, seventh-grade social studies students are expected to be able to evaluate the validity of a source based on language, corroboration with other sources and information about the author.

Which of the following fifth-grade standards is a prerequisite that specifically relates to developing this new skill in seventh grade?

1. Utilizing social studies terminology regularly and appropriately
2. Identifying different points of view relating to historical events
3. Expressing individual ideas about social studies topics orally
4. Creating written and visual materials based on historical data

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Option B is correct because the ability to identify different points of view is necessary before a student can assess the validity of a source. Option A is incorrect because utilizing social studies vocabulary is a more general skill that does not relate to the skill of assessing validity as specifically as does option B. Option C is incorrect because assessments of the validity do not necessarily have to be expressed orally. Option D is incorrect because the skill of creating materials based on data is not a prerequisite of source evaluation.

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