Texas Special Education TExES Practice Exam — 100 Questions
1. Which federal law requires schools to provide eligible students with
disabilities a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)?
A. FERPA
B. IDEA
C. Title VII
D. Section 504
Correct Answer: B. IDEA
Rationale: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public
schools to provide eligible students with disabilities a Free Appropriate Public
Education (FAPE) and establishes requirements for special education services.
2. What is the primary purpose of an Individualized Education Program
(IEP)?
A. To determine school funding
B. To document a student's disciplinary history
C. To establish individualized educational goals, services, and supports
D. To determine whether a student can graduate
Correct Answer: C. To establish individualized educational goals, services,
and supports
Rationale: An IEP identifies the student's present levels of performance,
measurable annual goals, services, accommodations, and other supports needed to
address the student's educational needs.
3. The principle of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) means that a student
with a disability should:
A. Always receive instruction in a separate classroom
B. Be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate
C. Receive instruction only from a special education teacher
D. Be placed in the most restrictive setting available
Correct Answer: B. Be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum
extent appropriate
,Rationale: LRE requires schools to educate students with disabilities alongside
nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal occurring
only when education in the general classroom cannot be achieved satisfactorily
with supplementary aids and services.
4. Which team is primarily responsible for developing a student's IEP?
A. The school principal alone
B. The student's parents and appropriate school personnel
C. The school counselor alone
D. The student's classmates
Correct Answer: B. The student's parents and appropriate school
personnel
Rationale: The IEP is developed by a team that includes the parents, qualified
school personnel, and other required participants based on the student's
circumstances.
5. What does FAPE stand for?
A. Federal Academic Placement Evaluation
B. Free Appropriate Public Education
C. Formal Assessment of Primary Education
D. Free Academic Program Evaluation
Correct Answer: B. Free Appropriate Public Education
Rationale: FAPE is a fundamental requirement under IDEA for eligible students
with disabilities.
6. A teacher notices that a student is consistently struggling academically
despite appropriate classroom instruction. What should the teacher do first?
A. Immediately recommend expulsion
B. Collect and analyze data about the student's performance
C. Automatically place the student in special education
D. Reduce all academic expectations
Correct Answer: B. Collect and analyze data about the student's
performance
,Rationale: Teachers should use systematic data collection to determine the nature
and extent of the student's difficulties before making decisions about interventions
or evaluation.
7. Which assessment is primarily used to identify a student's current academic
strengths and weaknesses?
A. Diagnostic assessment
B. Attendance record
C. School climate survey
D. Personality inventory
Correct Answer: A. Diagnostic assessment
Rationale: Diagnostic assessments provide detailed information about specific
skills and areas of difficulty and can guide individualized instruction.
8. A student has difficulty remembering multi-step directions. Which
accommodation would most directly address this need?
A. Providing directions one step at a time
B. Increasing the number of assignments
C. Removing all classroom activities
D. Giving the student a lower grade automatically
Correct Answer: A. Providing directions one step at a time
Rationale: Breaking complex directions into smaller steps reduces working-
memory demands and helps the student successfully complete tasks.
9. Which practice best demonstrates Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
A. Providing only one method for students to demonstrate learning
B. Designing instruction with multiple ways to access and demonstrate information
C. Giving every student the same intervention
D. Eliminating challenging content
Correct Answer: B. Designing instruction with multiple ways to access and
demonstrate information
, Rationale: UDL promotes flexible instructional approaches that provide multiple
means of engagement, representation, and action/expression.
10. Which is an example of an accommodation rather than a modification?
A. Reducing the complexity of grade-level standards
B. Changing the learning expectations
C. Providing extended time on an assessment
D. Replacing grade-level curriculum with significantly easier content
Correct Answer: C. Providing extended time on an assessment
Rationale: An accommodation changes how a student accesses or demonstrates
learning without fundamentally changing the learning expectation.
11. Which action is most appropriate when a teacher suspects a student may
have a disability?
A. Diagnose the disability independently
B. Ignore the concern until the end of the school year
C. Follow the school's established referral and evaluation procedures
D. Tell other parents about the concern
Correct Answer: C. Follow the school's established referral and evaluation
procedures
Rationale: Teachers should document concerns, communicate with appropriate
school personnel, and follow established procedures rather than independently
diagnosing a disability.
12. What is the primary purpose of progress monitoring?
A. To determine teacher salaries
B. To determine whether instruction and interventions are effective
C. To replace all formal assessments
D. To determine student attendance
Correct Answer: B. To determine whether instruction and interventions
are effective
1. Which federal law requires schools to provide eligible students with
disabilities a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)?
A. FERPA
B. IDEA
C. Title VII
D. Section 504
Correct Answer: B. IDEA
Rationale: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public
schools to provide eligible students with disabilities a Free Appropriate Public
Education (FAPE) and establishes requirements for special education services.
2. What is the primary purpose of an Individualized Education Program
(IEP)?
A. To determine school funding
B. To document a student's disciplinary history
C. To establish individualized educational goals, services, and supports
D. To determine whether a student can graduate
Correct Answer: C. To establish individualized educational goals, services,
and supports
Rationale: An IEP identifies the student's present levels of performance,
measurable annual goals, services, accommodations, and other supports needed to
address the student's educational needs.
3. The principle of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) means that a student
with a disability should:
A. Always receive instruction in a separate classroom
B. Be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate
C. Receive instruction only from a special education teacher
D. Be placed in the most restrictive setting available
Correct Answer: B. Be educated with nondisabled peers to the maximum
extent appropriate
,Rationale: LRE requires schools to educate students with disabilities alongside
nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate, with removal occurring
only when education in the general classroom cannot be achieved satisfactorily
with supplementary aids and services.
4. Which team is primarily responsible for developing a student's IEP?
A. The school principal alone
B. The student's parents and appropriate school personnel
C. The school counselor alone
D. The student's classmates
Correct Answer: B. The student's parents and appropriate school
personnel
Rationale: The IEP is developed by a team that includes the parents, qualified
school personnel, and other required participants based on the student's
circumstances.
5. What does FAPE stand for?
A. Federal Academic Placement Evaluation
B. Free Appropriate Public Education
C. Formal Assessment of Primary Education
D. Free Academic Program Evaluation
Correct Answer: B. Free Appropriate Public Education
Rationale: FAPE is a fundamental requirement under IDEA for eligible students
with disabilities.
6. A teacher notices that a student is consistently struggling academically
despite appropriate classroom instruction. What should the teacher do first?
A. Immediately recommend expulsion
B. Collect and analyze data about the student's performance
C. Automatically place the student in special education
D. Reduce all academic expectations
Correct Answer: B. Collect and analyze data about the student's
performance
,Rationale: Teachers should use systematic data collection to determine the nature
and extent of the student's difficulties before making decisions about interventions
or evaluation.
7. Which assessment is primarily used to identify a student's current academic
strengths and weaknesses?
A. Diagnostic assessment
B. Attendance record
C. School climate survey
D. Personality inventory
Correct Answer: A. Diagnostic assessment
Rationale: Diagnostic assessments provide detailed information about specific
skills and areas of difficulty and can guide individualized instruction.
8. A student has difficulty remembering multi-step directions. Which
accommodation would most directly address this need?
A. Providing directions one step at a time
B. Increasing the number of assignments
C. Removing all classroom activities
D. Giving the student a lower grade automatically
Correct Answer: A. Providing directions one step at a time
Rationale: Breaking complex directions into smaller steps reduces working-
memory demands and helps the student successfully complete tasks.
9. Which practice best demonstrates Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
A. Providing only one method for students to demonstrate learning
B. Designing instruction with multiple ways to access and demonstrate information
C. Giving every student the same intervention
D. Eliminating challenging content
Correct Answer: B. Designing instruction with multiple ways to access and
demonstrate information
, Rationale: UDL promotes flexible instructional approaches that provide multiple
means of engagement, representation, and action/expression.
10. Which is an example of an accommodation rather than a modification?
A. Reducing the complexity of grade-level standards
B. Changing the learning expectations
C. Providing extended time on an assessment
D. Replacing grade-level curriculum with significantly easier content
Correct Answer: C. Providing extended time on an assessment
Rationale: An accommodation changes how a student accesses or demonstrates
learning without fundamentally changing the learning expectation.
11. Which action is most appropriate when a teacher suspects a student may
have a disability?
A. Diagnose the disability independently
B. Ignore the concern until the end of the school year
C. Follow the school's established referral and evaluation procedures
D. Tell other parents about the concern
Correct Answer: C. Follow the school's established referral and evaluation
procedures
Rationale: Teachers should document concerns, communicate with appropriate
school personnel, and follow established procedures rather than independently
diagnosing a disability.
12. What is the primary purpose of progress monitoring?
A. To determine teacher salaries
B. To determine whether instruction and interventions are effective
C. To replace all formal assessments
D. To determine student attendance
Correct Answer: B. To determine whether instruction and interventions
are effective
