PEL 238 EXAM STUDY GUIDE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. VERIFIED
2026.
Head Start - ANS Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and
Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and
parent involvement services to low-income children and families.
MARIA IS A 6TH GRADE STUDENT WHO TELLS HER SCHOOL'S SWER THAT SHE IS STRUGGLING IN
SCHOOL BECAUSE HER PARENTS DO NOT HELP HER WITH HER HOMEWORK. WHICH OF THE
FOLLOWING WOULD BE THE BEST INITIAL STEP FOR THE SWER TO TAKE TOWARDS HELPING
MARIA ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM? (SUBAREA 1 - 0001/0002)
A. CALL MARIA'S PARENTS AND ASK THEM TO HIRE A PRIVATE TUTOR.
B. ASK MARIA'S TEACHER TO ARRANGE TO HELP MARIA WITH HOMEWORK BEFORE OR AFTER
SCHOOL.
C. ARRANGE A CONFERENCE WITH MARIA'S PARENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS PREVENTING THEM
FROM HELPING MARIA WITH HER HOMEWORK AND SUGGEST COMMUNITY RESOURCES THAT
COULD ASSIST IN RESOLVING THESE ISSUES.
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
,D. LET MARIA AND HER PARENTS KNOW THAT SHE WILL BE RECEIVING AFTER-SCHOOL
DETENTION IF SHE DOES NOT COMPLETE FUTURE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. - ANS C.
ARRANGE A CONFERENCE WITH MARIA'S PARENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS PREVENTING THEM
FROM HELPING MARIA WITH HER HOMEWORK AND SUGGEST COMMUNITY RESOURCES THAT
COULD ASSIST IN RESOLVING THESE ISSUES.
FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS ARE ASSIGNED A TASK OF COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THEIR
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THEIR PARENTS' EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES, BUT THEY ARE
EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY COMPLETING THIS TASK. WHAT EXPLANATION HELPS EXPLAIN THEIR
DILEMMA? (SUBAREA 1 - 0001)
A. SENSORIMOTOR
B. PREOPERATIONAL
C. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL
D. FORMAL OPERATIONAL - ANS B. PREOPERATIONAL
WHY WAS THE HEAD START PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL? (SUBAREA ??)
A. IT ENSURES THE MEDICAL WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS.
B. IT HELPS PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL WHO ARE AGED 3-5 AND FROM LOW INCOME
FAMILIES.
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
,C. IT SUPPORTS STUDENTS WHO ARE AT-RISK OF ACADEMIC FAILURE. - ANS B. IT HELPS
PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL WHO ARE AGED 3-5 AND FROM LOW INCOME FAMILIES.
Who can receive Head Start? - ANS Preschool for All serves 3- and 4-year-old children (and 5-
year-olds who are not yet eligible for kindergarten). Based on legislatively mandated priorities,
ISBE awards PFA grants to applicants who propose to serve children, at least 80% of whom are
identified as being at risk of academic failure. Providing Head Start and Early Head Start home
and center-based programs for families and children from birth through age 5.
Head Start has been demonstrated to show successful progress in children because...
a) It helps with social-emotional and other health services.
b) Helps low-income children 3 years to transition to a public school
c) Help prepare children from low-income families for school readiness
d) Support students who are at risk of academic failure. - ANS c) Help prepare children from
low-income families for school readiness
Ecological systems theory and system of organizations - ANS The school social worker,
drawing upon the person-in-environment approach, sees the self as a professional-in-
organization; the below systems (1) interact and interrelate with one another and (2) the
individual has the capacity to construct & shape (rather than be shaped by) the systems in
which he/she/they participate
Systems Theory - ANS Factors at each level (micro, mezzo, macro) & how they interact with
one another to shape the lived experience; from which risk & protective factors derive; when
conducting an assessment (bio-psycho-social-spiritual)
Micro - IQ, age, gender, income, health, language, spirituality, recreation, emotion, cognition,
self-esteem
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
3
, Mezzo - local economy & resource, coworkers, work, family, church, neighborhood
Macro - government, discrimination & oppression, history, services & resources, cultural values,
community, economics, politics
strengths-based approach - ANS an approach to interventions that focuses on the positive
attributes of the client and the client's environment; client knows best about problem/issue &
has the strengths within themselves to be built upon; advocating and mobilizing resources for
individuals, families, or communities; empowerment (helping create influence to increase
strengths towards improving own circumstances)
Needs Assessment - ANS Tier 1 data based decision making approach to identify priority
areas for school SW services & how to address them to determine which MTSS components are
sufficient and which need to be strengthened student, school, and community needs >> what
role educational policy plays
Validity - ANS The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure
Reliability - ANS the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the
consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting
external validity - ANS extent to which a test or experiment mirrors the real world situation
about which the researcher is attempting to gain information
NASW Code of Ethics - ANS service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person,
importance of human relationships, integrity, competence
person-in-enviroment - ANS theoretical framework that guides social workers in
understanding and addressing the issues and challenges faced by individuals within their social
and environmental context
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
4
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. VERIFIED
2026.
Head Start - ANS Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and
Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and
parent involvement services to low-income children and families.
MARIA IS A 6TH GRADE STUDENT WHO TELLS HER SCHOOL'S SWER THAT SHE IS STRUGGLING IN
SCHOOL BECAUSE HER PARENTS DO NOT HELP HER WITH HER HOMEWORK. WHICH OF THE
FOLLOWING WOULD BE THE BEST INITIAL STEP FOR THE SWER TO TAKE TOWARDS HELPING
MARIA ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM? (SUBAREA 1 - 0001/0002)
A. CALL MARIA'S PARENTS AND ASK THEM TO HIRE A PRIVATE TUTOR.
B. ASK MARIA'S TEACHER TO ARRANGE TO HELP MARIA WITH HOMEWORK BEFORE OR AFTER
SCHOOL.
C. ARRANGE A CONFERENCE WITH MARIA'S PARENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS PREVENTING THEM
FROM HELPING MARIA WITH HER HOMEWORK AND SUGGEST COMMUNITY RESOURCES THAT
COULD ASSIST IN RESOLVING THESE ISSUES.
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
,D. LET MARIA AND HER PARENTS KNOW THAT SHE WILL BE RECEIVING AFTER-SCHOOL
DETENTION IF SHE DOES NOT COMPLETE FUTURE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS. - ANS C.
ARRANGE A CONFERENCE WITH MARIA'S PARENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT IS PREVENTING THEM
FROM HELPING MARIA WITH HER HOMEWORK AND SUGGEST COMMUNITY RESOURCES THAT
COULD ASSIST IN RESOLVING THESE ISSUES.
FIFTH GRADE STUDENTS ARE ASSIGNED A TASK OF COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THEIR
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES WITH THEIR PARENTS' EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES, BUT THEY ARE
EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY COMPLETING THIS TASK. WHAT EXPLANATION HELPS EXPLAIN THEIR
DILEMMA? (SUBAREA 1 - 0001)
A. SENSORIMOTOR
B. PREOPERATIONAL
C. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL
D. FORMAL OPERATIONAL - ANS B. PREOPERATIONAL
WHY WAS THE HEAD START PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL? (SUBAREA ??)
A. IT ENSURES THE MEDICAL WELL-BEING OF STUDENTS.
B. IT HELPS PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL WHO ARE AGED 3-5 AND FROM LOW INCOME
FAMILIES.
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
,C. IT SUPPORTS STUDENTS WHO ARE AT-RISK OF ACADEMIC FAILURE. - ANS B. IT HELPS
PREPARE CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL WHO ARE AGED 3-5 AND FROM LOW INCOME FAMILIES.
Who can receive Head Start? - ANS Preschool for All serves 3- and 4-year-old children (and 5-
year-olds who are not yet eligible for kindergarten). Based on legislatively mandated priorities,
ISBE awards PFA grants to applicants who propose to serve children, at least 80% of whom are
identified as being at risk of academic failure. Providing Head Start and Early Head Start home
and center-based programs for families and children from birth through age 5.
Head Start has been demonstrated to show successful progress in children because...
a) It helps with social-emotional and other health services.
b) Helps low-income children 3 years to transition to a public school
c) Help prepare children from low-income families for school readiness
d) Support students who are at risk of academic failure. - ANS c) Help prepare children from
low-income families for school readiness
Ecological systems theory and system of organizations - ANS The school social worker,
drawing upon the person-in-environment approach, sees the self as a professional-in-
organization; the below systems (1) interact and interrelate with one another and (2) the
individual has the capacity to construct & shape (rather than be shaped by) the systems in
which he/she/they participate
Systems Theory - ANS Factors at each level (micro, mezzo, macro) & how they interact with
one another to shape the lived experience; from which risk & protective factors derive; when
conducting an assessment (bio-psycho-social-spiritual)
Micro - IQ, age, gender, income, health, language, spirituality, recreation, emotion, cognition,
self-esteem
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
3
, Mezzo - local economy & resource, coworkers, work, family, church, neighborhood
Macro - government, discrimination & oppression, history, services & resources, cultural values,
community, economics, politics
strengths-based approach - ANS an approach to interventions that focuses on the positive
attributes of the client and the client's environment; client knows best about problem/issue &
has the strengths within themselves to be built upon; advocating and mobilizing resources for
individuals, families, or communities; empowerment (helping create influence to increase
strengths towards improving own circumstances)
Needs Assessment - ANS Tier 1 data based decision making approach to identify priority
areas for school SW services & how to address them to determine which MTSS components are
sufficient and which need to be strengthened student, school, and community needs >> what
role educational policy plays
Validity - ANS The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure
Reliability - ANS the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the
consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting
external validity - ANS extent to which a test or experiment mirrors the real world situation
about which the researcher is attempting to gain information
NASW Code of Ethics - ANS service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person,
importance of human relationships, integrity, competence
person-in-enviroment - ANS theoretical framework that guides social workers in
understanding and addressing the issues and challenges faced by individuals within their social
and environmental context
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
4
