SPEC 445 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS ANSWERED CORRECTLY LATEST UPDATE 2026
At risk - Answers Are children who have a greater-than-usual chance of developing a disability.
Impairment - Answers Loss or reduced function of a particular body part or organ.
Disability - Answers Exists when an impairment limits the ability to perform certain tasks.
Handicap - Answers Is a problem, or disadvantage, encountered when interacting with the
environment.
Six principles of IDEA - Answers Zero Reject, Nondiscriminatory Evaluation, Free Appropriate Public
Education, Least Restrictive Environment, Procedural Safeguards, Parent Participation and Shared
Decision Making.
Legal challenges to IDEA - Answers Extended School Year, Armstrong v. Kline, FAPE and Related
Services, Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, Disciplining Students with Disabilities,
Stuart versus Nappi, Right to Education, Timothy W. v. Rochester School District.
Javits Gifted and Talented Student Education Act - Answers Provides financial incentives.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Answers Extends civil rights to people with disabilities.
Americans with Disabilities Act - Answers Extends civil rights protection to private sector
employment, all public services, public accommodation, and transportation.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act - Answers Improve the achievement of all students, with a
particular emphasis on children from low-income families.
Disciplinary Practices - Answers Requires states to explain how they will improve their school
environments by describing how they will reduce bullying and harassment.
SPED teachers requirements - Answers Must hold at least a bachelor's degree and full state
certification in SPED.
RTI - Prereferral - Answers Provide immediate instructional and/or behavioral assistance.
Nondiscriminatory multi-factored evaluation (MFE) - Answers All children suspected of having a
disability must receive this evaluation.
Individualized Education Program (IEP) - Answers Must be developed for children identified as having
a disability.
Least Restrictive Environment - Answers The IEP team must determine the least restrictive
educational environment that meets the student's needs.
Disproportionate representation - Answers Exists when a particular group receives special education
at a rate significantly higher or lower than expected.
Risk Ratio - Answers Relative likelihood of a member of a given group to be receiving special
education compared to members of the general population.
Collaboration in special education - Answers Special education is a team game where the team plans,
delivers, and evaluates the program.
Co-teaching - Answers General educator and a special educator planning and delivering instruction
together in an inclusive classroom.
IEP team members - Answers Must include parents, general education and special education
teachers, LEA representative, an individual who can interpret evaluation results, and others at the
discretion of the parent or school.
Components of IEP - Answers Includes present levels of academic achievement, measurable annual
goals, assessment methods, special education services, extent of participation with non-disabled
children, assessment accommodations, and service details.
Individual transition plan - Answers Must be developed beginning at age 16.
IEP functions - Answers Provide accountability for teachers and schools and allow realistic goal
setting.
IEP formats - Answers Vary widely across school districts.
IEP vs. Curriculum - Answers The IEP is not the same as curriculum.
IEP objectives - Answers Are not comprehensive enough to cover the entire scope and sequence of
what a student is to learn.
Annual Goal - Answers Each area of functioning that is adversely affected by the student's disability
must be represented by an annual goal.
LRE - Answers LRE is the setting that is closest to a general education classroom and also meets the
child's special educational needs.
LRE Concept - Answers LRE is a relative and wholly individualized concept.
, Removal from General Education - Answers Removal from the general education classroom should
take place when the severity of the disability is such that an appropriate education cannot be
achieved.
Placement Determination - Answers Proper placement for a child is determined by the IEP team.
Continuum of Alternative Placement - Answers A range of placement and service options.
Least Need for Specially Designed Instruction - Answers Includes general education classroom,
general education classroom with consultation, general education classroom with supplementary
instruction and services, and resource room.
Most Need for Specially Designed Instruction - Answers Includes homebound or hospital, residential
school, separate school, and separate classroom.
Inclusion - Answers Advocates of full inclusion contend that the LRE confuses segregation and
integration with intensity of services.
Family Involvement - Answers Educational effectiveness is enhanced when parents and families are
involved.
Parent's Role - Answers Parents can provide extra skill practice and teach their children new skills in
the home and community.
Adjustment Process - Answers Includes feelings of shock, denial, disbelief, anger, guilt, depression,
shame, lowered self-esteem, rejection of the child, and overprotectiveness.
Effective Communication Principles - Answers Accept parents' statements, listen actively, question
effectively, encourage, and stay focused.
Barriers to Parent-Teacher Partnerships - Answers Treating parents as vulnerable clients instead of
equal partners.
RERUN Approach - Answers Includes Reflect, Explain, Reason, Understand, and Negotiate.
Home-School Communication Methods - Answers Teachers should never rely on written messages as
the sole method of communication.
IDEA Definition of Intellectual Disabilities - Answers Significant subaverage intellectual functioning is a
score of two or more standard deviations below the mean on standardized intelligence tests.
Adaptive Behavior - Answers Intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations in both
intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior.
Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities - Answers Includes cognitive functioning, memory, learning
rate, attention, generalization and maintenance, motivation, and social relationships.
Causes of Intellectual Disabilities - Answers More than 350 risk factors associated with ID have been
identified.
Educational Goals - Answers Includes academic curriculum and functional curriculum.
Self-Determination - Answers Special educators can help students with intellectual disabilities identify
their goals.
IDEA Definition of Learning Disabilities - Answers A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or using language spoken or written.
Learning Disabilities Characteristics - Answers Students with learning disabilities have difficulty
attending to a task or display high rates of hyperactivity.
Comorbidity - Answers 45.1% have a comorbidity between L D and A D H D.
Impact of Learning Disabilities - Answers Students with L D and A D H D score lower on letter and
word identification tasks, teachers' ratings of reading levels, and parents' reports of social skills.
Behavioral Problems - Answers Higher-than-usual incidence of challenging behavior among students
with learning disabilities.
Academic and Behavioral Relationship - Answers Unclear whether the academic deficits or the
behavior problems cause the other difficulty or whether both are products of other causal factors.
Prevalence of Learning Disabilities - Answers In the 2018-2019 school year, nearly 2.38 million
students age 6 to 21 years received special education under the L D category.
Percentage of Students with Disabilities - Answers This figure represents 38% of all school-age
children with disabilities and about 3.6% of the total school-age population.
Causes of Learning Disabilities - Answers In most cases the cause of L D is unknown.
Brain Damage or Dysfunction - Answers Neuroimaging technologies reveal structural differences in
the left temporal lobe of individuals with dyslexia.
Genetics and Learning Disabilities - Answers There is growing evidence that genetics may account for
at least some family links with reading disabilities.
At risk - Answers Are children who have a greater-than-usual chance of developing a disability.
Impairment - Answers Loss or reduced function of a particular body part or organ.
Disability - Answers Exists when an impairment limits the ability to perform certain tasks.
Handicap - Answers Is a problem, or disadvantage, encountered when interacting with the
environment.
Six principles of IDEA - Answers Zero Reject, Nondiscriminatory Evaluation, Free Appropriate Public
Education, Least Restrictive Environment, Procedural Safeguards, Parent Participation and Shared
Decision Making.
Legal challenges to IDEA - Answers Extended School Year, Armstrong v. Kline, FAPE and Related
Services, Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, Disciplining Students with Disabilities,
Stuart versus Nappi, Right to Education, Timothy W. v. Rochester School District.
Javits Gifted and Talented Student Education Act - Answers Provides financial incentives.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Answers Extends civil rights to people with disabilities.
Americans with Disabilities Act - Answers Extends civil rights protection to private sector
employment, all public services, public accommodation, and transportation.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act - Answers Improve the achievement of all students, with a
particular emphasis on children from low-income families.
Disciplinary Practices - Answers Requires states to explain how they will improve their school
environments by describing how they will reduce bullying and harassment.
SPED teachers requirements - Answers Must hold at least a bachelor's degree and full state
certification in SPED.
RTI - Prereferral - Answers Provide immediate instructional and/or behavioral assistance.
Nondiscriminatory multi-factored evaluation (MFE) - Answers All children suspected of having a
disability must receive this evaluation.
Individualized Education Program (IEP) - Answers Must be developed for children identified as having
a disability.
Least Restrictive Environment - Answers The IEP team must determine the least restrictive
educational environment that meets the student's needs.
Disproportionate representation - Answers Exists when a particular group receives special education
at a rate significantly higher or lower than expected.
Risk Ratio - Answers Relative likelihood of a member of a given group to be receiving special
education compared to members of the general population.
Collaboration in special education - Answers Special education is a team game where the team plans,
delivers, and evaluates the program.
Co-teaching - Answers General educator and a special educator planning and delivering instruction
together in an inclusive classroom.
IEP team members - Answers Must include parents, general education and special education
teachers, LEA representative, an individual who can interpret evaluation results, and others at the
discretion of the parent or school.
Components of IEP - Answers Includes present levels of academic achievement, measurable annual
goals, assessment methods, special education services, extent of participation with non-disabled
children, assessment accommodations, and service details.
Individual transition plan - Answers Must be developed beginning at age 16.
IEP functions - Answers Provide accountability for teachers and schools and allow realistic goal
setting.
IEP formats - Answers Vary widely across school districts.
IEP vs. Curriculum - Answers The IEP is not the same as curriculum.
IEP objectives - Answers Are not comprehensive enough to cover the entire scope and sequence of
what a student is to learn.
Annual Goal - Answers Each area of functioning that is adversely affected by the student's disability
must be represented by an annual goal.
LRE - Answers LRE is the setting that is closest to a general education classroom and also meets the
child's special educational needs.
LRE Concept - Answers LRE is a relative and wholly individualized concept.
, Removal from General Education - Answers Removal from the general education classroom should
take place when the severity of the disability is such that an appropriate education cannot be
achieved.
Placement Determination - Answers Proper placement for a child is determined by the IEP team.
Continuum of Alternative Placement - Answers A range of placement and service options.
Least Need for Specially Designed Instruction - Answers Includes general education classroom,
general education classroom with consultation, general education classroom with supplementary
instruction and services, and resource room.
Most Need for Specially Designed Instruction - Answers Includes homebound or hospital, residential
school, separate school, and separate classroom.
Inclusion - Answers Advocates of full inclusion contend that the LRE confuses segregation and
integration with intensity of services.
Family Involvement - Answers Educational effectiveness is enhanced when parents and families are
involved.
Parent's Role - Answers Parents can provide extra skill practice and teach their children new skills in
the home and community.
Adjustment Process - Answers Includes feelings of shock, denial, disbelief, anger, guilt, depression,
shame, lowered self-esteem, rejection of the child, and overprotectiveness.
Effective Communication Principles - Answers Accept parents' statements, listen actively, question
effectively, encourage, and stay focused.
Barriers to Parent-Teacher Partnerships - Answers Treating parents as vulnerable clients instead of
equal partners.
RERUN Approach - Answers Includes Reflect, Explain, Reason, Understand, and Negotiate.
Home-School Communication Methods - Answers Teachers should never rely on written messages as
the sole method of communication.
IDEA Definition of Intellectual Disabilities - Answers Significant subaverage intellectual functioning is a
score of two or more standard deviations below the mean on standardized intelligence tests.
Adaptive Behavior - Answers Intellectual disability is characterized by significant limitations in both
intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior.
Characteristics of Intellectual Disabilities - Answers Includes cognitive functioning, memory, learning
rate, attention, generalization and maintenance, motivation, and social relationships.
Causes of Intellectual Disabilities - Answers More than 350 risk factors associated with ID have been
identified.
Educational Goals - Answers Includes academic curriculum and functional curriculum.
Self-Determination - Answers Special educators can help students with intellectual disabilities identify
their goals.
IDEA Definition of Learning Disabilities - Answers A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological
processes involved in understanding or using language spoken or written.
Learning Disabilities Characteristics - Answers Students with learning disabilities have difficulty
attending to a task or display high rates of hyperactivity.
Comorbidity - Answers 45.1% have a comorbidity between L D and A D H D.
Impact of Learning Disabilities - Answers Students with L D and A D H D score lower on letter and
word identification tasks, teachers' ratings of reading levels, and parents' reports of social skills.
Behavioral Problems - Answers Higher-than-usual incidence of challenging behavior among students
with learning disabilities.
Academic and Behavioral Relationship - Answers Unclear whether the academic deficits or the
behavior problems cause the other difficulty or whether both are products of other causal factors.
Prevalence of Learning Disabilities - Answers In the 2018-2019 school year, nearly 2.38 million
students age 6 to 21 years received special education under the L D category.
Percentage of Students with Disabilities - Answers This figure represents 38% of all school-age
children with disabilities and about 3.6% of the total school-age population.
Causes of Learning Disabilities - Answers In most cases the cause of L D is unknown.
Brain Damage or Dysfunction - Answers Neuroimaging technologies reveal structural differences in
the left temporal lobe of individuals with dyslexia.
Genetics and Learning Disabilities - Answers There is growing evidence that genetics may account for
at least some family links with reading disabilities.
