Free Special Education: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Special Education: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A teacher screens a student's performance solely to select instructional strategies for the classroom curriculum. Under IDEA, how is this screening classified?

   1. A.An initial evaluation establishing special education eligibility
   2. B.An instructional screening that does not establish eligibilityCorrect answer: B
   3. C.A reevaluation determining continued special education eligibility
   4. D.An independent evaluation resolving disputed eligibility findings

   Explanation: Section 300.302 states, "The screening of a student by a teacher or specialist to determine appropriate instructional strategies for curriculum implementation shall not be considered to be an evaluation for eligibility for special education and related services." Selecting instructional strategies does not itself determine eligibility.

   Reference: IDEA Regulations: Screening for Instructional Purposes — 34 CFR 300.302

2. 2Which refractive error involves a cornea curved more steeply in some areas than others, so that light bends differently depending on where it strikes?

   1. A.Presbyopia
   2. B.Hyperopia
   3. C.AstigmatismCorrect answer: C
   4. D.Myopia

   Explanation: NEI explains, "Astigmatism occurs when light is bent differently depending on where it strikes the cornea and passes through the eyeball." Uneven corneal curvature distinguishes this error from age-related near focusing difficulty and the typical length-related mechanisms of myopia or hyperopia.

   Reference: National Eye Institute: Facts About Astigmatism — How does astigmatism occur?, p. 2

3. 3What is the relationship between the expanded core curriculum and the general education curriculum for a student with visual impairment?

   1. A.The ECC replaces academic subjects whenever a student uses braille.
   2. B.The ECC is reserved for students who have completed academic requirements.
   3. C.The ECC supplements academics with skills addressing needs related to visual impairment.Correct answer: C
   4. D.The ECC removes the need to provide accessible general education materials.

   Explanation: The guidelines introduce the ECC "In addition to the general education curriculum instruction that all students receive". It addresses disability-related access and independence skills alongside academics, rather than replacing the general curriculum.

   Reference: 2020 Guidelines and Standards for Educating Students with Visual Impairments — Section I, Need for This Document, p. 8

4. 4After students learn important course content, which review schedule reflects spaced learning intended to support long-term retention?

   1. A.Revisit key content after delays across several later lessons.Correct answer: A
   2. B.Complete every review immediately after the first explanation.
   3. C.Study the content once and remove it from later practice.
   4. D.Replace later retrieval with a single longer initial presentation.

   Explanation: IES recommends, "Space learning over time." Distributed revisiting supports retention; concentrating all review in the initial session or eliminating later practice does not use spacing.

   Reference: IES: Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning — Recommendation 1

5. 5In assessment terminology, what does reliability refer to?

   1. A.The representativeness of the test's coverage of an intended content domain
   2. B.The proportion of examinees who obtain a score above a passing threshold
   3. C.The consistency of measurements or of a measuring instrumentCorrect answer: C
   4. D.The soundness of interpreting test scores for a particular intended purpose

   Explanation: The NAEP glossary defines reliability as "Consistency of a set of measurements or of the measuring instrument." Content representativeness, passing proportions, and validity of score interpretation are different assessment concepts.

   Reference: National Assessment of Educational Progress: Glossary of Terms — reliability entry

6. 6Which process describes the evidence development underlying the IES Teacher-Delivered Behavioral Interventions practice guide?

   1. A.Selecting interventions according to the number of online testimonials
   2. B.Treating the panel members' own studies as exempt from quality review
   3. C.Equating repeated publication of the same claim with independent replication
   4. D.Systematically searching for studies and reviewing them against WWC standardsCorrect answer: D

   Explanation: The guide states that identified studies were "screened and reviewed to determine whether they meet What Works Clearinghouse standards." This links recommendations to systematically reviewed evidence rather than popularity, repetition, or exemption from review.

   Reference: Teacher-Delivered Behavioral Interventions in Grades K–5 — Introduction, Box I.1, p. 5

7. 7School staff suspect that a student has a disability and needs special education, although the student continues to advance from grade to grade. How does IDEA child find apply?

   1. A.Advancement postpones child find until the student's next grade retention.
   2. B.Advancement limits child find to a review of the student's report cards.
   3. C.Advancement removes the student from child find while grades remain passing.
   4. D.Advancement does not remove the student from the child find requirement.Correct answer: D

   Explanation: Child find includes "Children who are suspected of being a child with a disability under §300.8 and in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade". Passing grades do not exclude a student whose suspected disability creates special education needs.

   Reference: IDEA Regulations: Child Find — 34 CFR 300.111(c)(1)

8. 8What is the term for the age-related refractive difficulty that makes close work harder for middle-aged and older adults?

   1. A.PresbyopiaCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Strabismus
   3. C.Nystagmus
   4. D.Amblyopia

   Explanation: NEI explains, "Presbyopia makes it hard for middle-aged and older adults to see things up close". The other terms concern eye alignment, involuntary movement, or reduced visual development, rather than this age-related near-focusing problem.

   Reference: National Eye Institute: Refractive Errors — What are the types of refractive errors?

9. 9An instructional plan helps a student explore accessible hobbies and participate in enjoyable individual and group activities outside required academic work. Which ECC area is most directly addressed?

   1. A.Recreation and leisure skillsCorrect answer: A
   2. B.Compensatory academic skills
   3. C.Orientation and mobility
   4. D.Career education

   Explanation: The guidelines describe "recreation and leisure activities that they can enjoy as children and throughout their lives." Exploring hobbies and enjoyable participation directly targets this ECC area, even though access may also draw on other skills.

   Reference: 2020 Guidelines and Standards for Educating Students with Visual Impairments — Section VI, Recreation and Leisure skills, p. 22

10. 10A teacher wants students to strengthen memory by actively retrieving previously taught information. Which activity directly uses that mechanism?

    1. A.Reviewing the teacher's worked answers to the practice questions
    2. B.Copying a complete answer key into a study notebook
    3. C.Attempting a low-stakes quiz before checking the answersCorrect answer: C
    4. D.Replaying a recorded explanation of the lesson's key ideas

    Explanation: IES recommends "quizzing with active retrieval of information". Producing an answer before checking it exercises retrieval. Reviewing worked answers, copying an answer key, and replaying explanations are restudy activities rather than this act of retrieving the answer.

    Reference: IES: Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning — Recommendation 5, expanded guidance