A Clear Voice: Sample Questions from the NY Teacher Certification Examination

« Happy Belated Easter | Main | Background on AdScam - Info for Confused Americans »

March 31, 2005

Sample Questions from the NY Teacher Certification Examination

Everyone's been talking about this New York middle school teacher who paid a homeless guy $2 to take his certification test for him because he had failed it so many times he was in danger of getting fired.

Let's take a look at some sample questions from this difficult test.

Math

The next time you see lightning and hear the accompanying thunder, you can easily estimate the distance between yourself and the lightning by using the following method.

When you see a lightning bolt, start counting the seconds until you hear the thunder. Divide the total number of seconds by five. The result is the approximate distance to the lightning. Thus if you counted 10 seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of the thunder, the lightning struck about two miles away.

How does the method work? It’s simple. The speed of sound in air is about 1,125 feet—approximately one-fifth of a mile per second. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per second. The light and sound created by the lightning bolt originate at the same time, but because the speed of light is much greater than the speed of sound, we see the flash of the lightning before we hear the rumble of the thunder.

When you count the seconds between the lightning and the thunder and divide the total by five, you are in fact estimating the distance in miles—one mile per five seconds—that the sound traveled since the lightning flash.

Which of the following is a fundamental assumption of this method of estimating the distance between an observer and a bolt of lightning?

A. The wavelength of light is much shorter than the wavelength of sound.
B. The speed at which light travels is so great that the time required for the light waves to reach the observer is essentially zero.
C. Sound waves are more strongly affected by atmospheric conditions than are light waves.
D. The speed at which sound and light travel varies proportionately with the distance they travel.

Science.

Many systems in the living and physical worlds have mechanisms that use feedback to help maintain equilibrium—that is, help to keep the overall conditions of the system relatively constant over time. Which of the following processes is the best example of a mechanism that uses feedback to maintain equilibrium in the human body system?

A. the increase in breathing rate while exercising
B. the detection of temperature by a finger touching a cool surface.
C. the continual growth of hair and nails.
D. the loss of blood at the site of a cut.

Social Studies.

Which of the following would be considered primary sources in researching the factors influencing U.S. involvement in Vietnam in the 1960’s?
I. the official correspondence of Lyndon B. Johnson from 1963 to 1968, the years of his presidency.
II. a journal article, published in 1975, about Robert S. McNamara, secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968.
III. a biography, published in 1969, of John F. Kennedy, president from 1961 to 1963.
IV. an interview, taped in 1976, with Dean Rusk, secretary of state from 1961 to 1969.

A. I and II only
B. I and IV only
C. II and III only
D. III and IV only

English.

In Spring when all the flowers are in bloom,
The evening river appears smooth and motionless.
Suddenly the tidewater comes with the reflection of flittering stars;
The ebbing waves carry away the image of the moon.

This poem most closely reflects which of the following tenets of Asian belief systems?

A. the Taoist emphasis on simplicity and contemplation of the effortless processes of nature.
B. the Confucian emphasis on ethical precepts for the proper management of the social order.
C. the Shintoist emphasis on the supernatural and the power of the divine forces of nature
D. the Buddhist emphasis on enlightenment and renunciation of worldly cravings and attachments.

Did you get B, A, B, A? Congragulations. You could be a teacher in New York.

Apparently the ridiculously easy test, which has a pass rate of 95%, is typically required to be passed before one can teach in New York. However, the city of New York has a "temporary waiver" because it has been unable to find enough qualified teachers. How sad is that? It's been suggested that the reason why they can't find teachers is because they underpay them. But surely for 59,000 they could get somebody who could summarize a four line poem. (I know the cost of living is greater in New York, but come on!) Perhaps barely adequate teachers who could get jobs elsewhere just don't want to teach at terrible schools. If this is a case, bravo to New York City for changing that situation by hiring teachers who can't even understand simple scientific concepts. That's sure to improve the school system.

(Note: The sample questions listed here were choosen from 22 sample questions based on length, ie, how long it took me to type them.)

Posted by illuminaria at March 31, 2005 12:46 PM

Comments

copy/paste works well too. ha ha. who's the smartypants now?

Posted by: jim at April 1, 2005 10:29 AM

I usually do that, but this pdf was either locked to copying or my pdf reader was acting funny.

Posted by: illuminaria at April 1, 2005 12:02 PM

Not allowing copying or editing is the main feature of PDF files. To copy and paste from a PDF file, one must purchase Adobe Acrobat, and it's not cheap. The free readers don't allow text copying.

Posted by: dweeb at April 4, 2005 11:41 AM

Posted by: mortgage insurance at July 21, 2005 02:03 PM

Posted by: ativan at July 22, 2005 05:48 PM

You are invited to check out the sites on pacific poker demo pacific poker demo http://www.2002sogwipo.com/pacific-poker.html http://www.2002sogwipo.com/pacific-poker.html .

Posted by: pacific poker 40 free at July 23, 2005 12:03 PM

Posted by: poker games at July 23, 2005 09:09 PM

Posted by: gambling at July 24, 2005 06:33 AM

Posted by: no limit texas hold em game at July 25, 2005 11:13 AM

Posted by: texas hold them downloads at July 26, 2005 06:50 AM

Posted by: paxil cr at July 28, 2005 02:13 AM

Posted by: paxil cr at July 28, 2005 02:14 AM

Posted by: hoodia gordonii at July 28, 2005 02:15 AM