A teacher of a self-contained class for students with significant cognitive disabilities wants to know exactly which steps of a morning arrival routine a new 9-year-old student can already perform so she can write instructional targets. Which type of assessment is MOST appropriate for this purpose?

A criterion-referenced checklist of the routine's component skills

A norm-referenced test of adaptive behavior with national percentiles

A standardized intelligence test yielding a full-scale score

A group-administered screening of early academic readiness

A 7-year-old student with significant cognitive disabilities and a visual impairment does not yet match photographs to real objects but reliably recognizes a cup, a spoon, and a small ball. Which schedule format is MOST appropriate for him?

An object schedule, such as a cup to stand for snack time

A written schedule listing each activity name and time in large print

A photo schedule with pictures of the classroom areas for each activity

A line-drawing schedule using standard symbols from the communication app

A preschool teacher has given a 4-year-old with autism a new communication board with 40 core words. The child rarely touches it. Which strategy is MOST likely to increase the child's use of the board?

Point to symbols on the board while talking to the child during routines

Require the child to touch a symbol before any snack or toy is given to him or her

Keep the board in a cubby and bring it out only during speech therapy

Replace the board with a single-message switch until speech emerges

Marcus, a 12-year-old with a significant intellectual disability, has had nearly identical IEP goals for three years, and each progress report notes "minimal progress." His parents ask whether his program meets the legal standard for a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Under the Supreme Court's Endrew F. decision, which question BEST states the standard the team must meet?

Is the IEP reasonably calculated to enable progress appropriate in light of his circumstances?

Does the IEP provide educational benefit that is at least more than trivial or de minimis?

Does the IEP maximize his potential in proportion to the potential of nondisabled peers?

Does the IEP keep him advancing from grade to grade at the same pace as his classmates?

The parents of Mai, a 7-year-old with multiple disabilities, speak Vietnamese and limited English. Mai's 14-year-old brother offers to interpret at the IEP meeting. What is the MOST appropriate action?

Arrange a qualified interpreter so the parents can fully take part

Let the brother interpret, since the family trusts him and knows Mai

Hold the meeting in English and mail a translated summary afterward

Ask the parents to bring an adult relative who speaks some English

A teacher supervises three paraprofessionals in a class of eight students with significant disabilities. Paraprofessionals often ask what they should be doing and which students need data collected. Which planning tool would BEST address this?

A written staff schedule showing each adult's tasks, students, and IEP targets by period

A weekly staff meeting where paraprofessionals choose their own activities and students

A rule that each paraprofessional stays with the same student for the whole day

A list of classroom rules posted near the door for staff and students to read

A 5-year-old with multiple significant disabilities does not yet use symbols. He smiles and kicks his legs when music plays and turns away and fusses when it stops. Which strategy BEST supports his communication development?

Treat the kicking and fussing as messages and respond to them

Wait until he can use picture symbols before responding to his signals

Teach him 20 manual signs through hand-over-hand practice each day

Ignore the fussing so that he learns to stay calm when activities end

Grace, a 10-year-old with a significant intellectual disability, is making steady, meaningful progress on ambitious IEP goals. Her parents ask the district to pay for a private program they believe would help her reach her maximum potential. Based on Supreme Court rulings on FAPE, which statement is accurate?

FAPE requires an appropriate program, not the best possible one

FAPE requires the district to fund the program the parents prefer

FAPE is met only when Grace reaches the same goals as her peers

FAPE requires services that maximize each student's full potential

A teacher overhears her paraprofessional discussing a student's seizures and toileting needs with another child's parent in the school parking lot. What should the teacher do?

Address it privately and train her on confidentiality rules

Ask the parent who heard the comments to keep them private

Ignore it, because paraprofessionals are not bound by FERPA

Have the paraprofessional explain student needs to all families

GACE Special Education Adapted Curriculum P–12 (731)

Free GACE Special Education Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the GACE Special Education Adapted Curriculum P–12 (731), with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Curriculum and Instruction, Foundations and Professional Knowledge in Special Education.

Question 1 · Curriculum and Instruction
A teacher of a self-contained class for students with significant cognitive disabilities wants to know exactly which steps of a morning arrival routine a new 9-year-old student can already perform so she can write instructional targets. Which type of assessment is MOST appropriate for this purpose?
- A.A norm-referenced test of adaptive behavior with national percentiles
- B.A standardized intelligence test yielding a full-scale score
- C.A group-administered screening of early academic readiness
- D.A criterion-referenced checklist of the routine's component skills
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. A criterion-referenced checklist of the routine's component skills
A criterion-referenced checklist compares the student's performance to a defined set of skills, which tells the teacher exactly which steps are mastered and which to teach. A "norm-referenced test of adaptive behavior with national percentiles" ranks the student against peers but does not identify specific routine steps to target, and an intelligence test does not guide routine-level instruction.
Question 2 · Curriculum and Instruction
A 7-year-old student with significant cognitive disabilities and a visual impairment does not yet match photographs to real objects but reliably recognizes a cup, a spoon, and a small ball. Which schedule format is MOST appropriate for him?
- A.A written schedule listing each activity name and time in large print
- B.An object schedule, such as a cup to stand for snack time
- C.A photo schedule with pictures of the classroom areas for each activity
- D.A line-drawing schedule using standard symbols from the communication app
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. An object schedule, such as a cup to stand for snack time
A visual schedule should match the student's representational level; a student who does not yet understand photographs needs concrete objects that stand for activities. Photo, line-drawing, and print schedules all require symbolic understanding the student does not yet show, so "a photo schedule" would not yet be meaningful.
Question 3 · Curriculum and Instruction
A preschool teacher has given a 4-year-old with autism a new communication board with 40 core words. The child rarely touches it. Which strategy is MOST likely to increase the child's use of the board?
- A.Require the child to touch a symbol before any snack or toy is given to him or her
- B.Keep the board in a cubby and bring it out only during speech therapy
- C.Point to symbols on the board while talking to the child during routines
- D.Replace the board with a single-message switch until speech emerges
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Point to symbols on the board while talking to the child during routines
Aided language modeling, the partner pointing to symbols while speaking, shows the child how the system is used, much as spoken input teaches spoken language. Requiring a touch before every item adds pressure without teaching. Storing the board "in a cubby" removes access needed for learning across the day.
Question 4 · Foundations and Professional Knowledge in Special Education
Marcus, a 12-year-old with a significant intellectual disability, has had nearly identical IEP goals for three years, and each progress report notes "minimal progress." His parents ask whether his program meets the legal standard for a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Under the Supreme Court's Endrew F. decision, which question BEST states the standard the team must meet?
- A.Does the IEP provide educational benefit that is at least more than trivial or de minimis?
- B.Is the IEP reasonably calculated to enable progress appropriate in light of his circumstances?
- C.Does the IEP maximize his potential in proportion to the potential of nondisabled peers?
- D.Does the IEP keep him advancing from grade to grade at the same pace as his classmates?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Is the IEP reasonably calculated to enable progress appropriate in light of his circumstances?
Endrew F. held that an IEP must be "reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances," and that goals should be appropriately ambitious. The Court expressly rejected the "more than trivial or de minimis" benefit standard that some courts had applied. FAPE has never required that an IEP "maximize his potential," and grade-to-grade advancement is not the yardstick for a student working on an adapted curriculum.
Question 5 · Foundations and Professional Knowledge in Special Education
The parents of Mai, a 7-year-old with multiple disabilities, speak Vietnamese and limited English. Mai's 14-year-old brother offers to interpret at the IEP meeting. What is the MOST appropriate action?
- A.Let the brother interpret, since the family trusts him and knows Mai
- B.Hold the meeting in English and mail a translated summary afterward
- C.Arrange a qualified interpreter so the parents can fully take part
- D.Ask the parents to bring an adult relative who speaks some English
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Arrange a qualified interpreter so the parents can fully take part
IDEA requires the district to take whatever action is necessary to ensure parents understand IEP meeting proceedings, including arranging an interpreter for parents whose native language is not English. A child sibling lacks interpreting training and should not carry confidential or emotionally difficult information. A summary afterward prevents real participation during the meeting.
Question 6 · Curriculum and Instruction
To check the reliability of frequency data on a student's requests for help, the teacher and a paraprofessional count independently during the same 30-minute period. The teacher records 18 requests and the paraprofessional records 20. What is the total count interobserver agreement?
- A.80%
- B.90%
- C.95%
- D.111%
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 90%
Total count agreement is the smaller count divided by the larger count, times 100: 18 / 20 = 0.90, or 90%. "111%" comes from dividing the larger count by the smaller (20 / 18), which can never be correct for an agreement percentage.
Question 7 · Curriculum and Instruction
A teacher supervises three paraprofessionals in a class of eight students with significant disabilities. Paraprofessionals often ask what they should be doing and which students need data collected. Which planning tool would BEST address this?
- A.A written staff schedule showing each adult's tasks, students, and IEP targets by period
- B.A weekly staff meeting where paraprofessionals choose their own activities and students
- C.A rule that each paraprofessional stays with the same student for the whole day
- D.A list of classroom rules posted near the door for staff and students to read
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. A written staff schedule showing each adult's tasks, students, and IEP targets by period
A written staff schedule (zone or activity matrix) tells each adult where to be, which students to support, and which IEP objectives and data to address in each period, under the teacher's direction. Having paraprofessionals "choose their own activities" removes the teacher's responsibility for planning instruction.
Question 8 · Curriculum and Instruction
A 5-year-old with multiple significant disabilities does not yet use symbols. He smiles and kicks his legs when music plays and turns away and fusses when it stops. Which strategy BEST supports his communication development?
- A.Wait until he can use picture symbols before responding to his signals
- B.Teach him 20 manual signs through hand-over-hand practice each day
- C.Ignore the fussing so that he learns to stay calm when activities end
- D.Treat the kicking and fussing as messages and respond to them
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Treat the kicking and fussing as messages and respond to them
For pre-symbolic communicators, partners should interpret and consistently respond to potentially communicative behaviors, which teaches that behavior affects others. Waiting for symbols misses current communication. Ignoring his fussing removes a way he is already expressing protest.
Question 9 · Foundations and Professional Knowledge in Special Education
Grace, a 10-year-old with a significant intellectual disability, is making steady, meaningful progress on ambitious IEP goals. Her parents ask the district to pay for a private program they believe would help her reach her maximum potential. Based on Supreme Court rulings on FAPE, which statement is accurate?
- A.FAPE requires the district to fund the program the parents prefer
- B.FAPE is met only when Grace reaches the same goals as her peers
- C.FAPE requires services that maximize each student's full potential
- D.FAPE requires an appropriate program, not the best possible one
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. FAPE requires an appropriate program, not the best possible one
In Rowley, the Court held that IDEA does not require schools to maximize a child's potential, and Endrew F. kept that rule while requiring appropriately ambitious progress. Because Grace's IEP is producing meaningful progress, the district is not obligated to fund the parents' preferred private program. FAPE is individualized, so it is not defined by matching peers' goals.
Question 10 · Foundations and Professional Knowledge in Special Education
A teacher overhears her paraprofessional discussing a student's seizures and toileting needs with another child's parent in the school parking lot. What should the teacher do?
- A.Ask the parent who heard the comments to keep them private
- B.Address it privately and train her on confidentiality rules
- C.Ignore it, because paraprofessionals are not bound by FERPA
- D.Have the paraprofessional explain student needs to all families
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Address it privately and train her on confidentiality rules
Paraprofessionals must keep student information confidential, and the supervising teacher is responsible for addressing breaches and making sure staff are trained. Asking the other parent for discretion does not correct the staff member's practice. All school staff with access to records are bound by FERPA and IDEA confidentiality rules.

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