NES Special Education Exam, With
Complete Solution
Which of the following disabilities is degenerative and often leads to death in
adolescence or early adulthood?
a. muscular dystrophy
b. epilepsy
c. type 1 diabetes
d. spina bifida
a. muscular dystrophy
Compared with children without hearing loss, children born with hearing loss are
more likely to experience significant delays in which of the following
developmental domains?
a. cognitive
b. emotional
c. fine-motor
d. language
d. language
Which of the following fine-motor skills do children typically develop LAST?
a. turning door knobs
b. drawing circles
c. cutting shapes with scissors
d. turning one page of a book at a time
c. cutting shapes with scissors
Compared with students with mild intellectual disabilities, students with learning
disabilities are more likely to have:
a. satisfying social relationships when they reach adulthood.
b. successful experience in a general education classroom placement.
c. deficits in fine- and/or gross-motor skill development.
d. one or more specific cognitive difficulties rather than global delays.
d. one or more specific cognitive difficulties rather than global delays.
Students with mild intellectual disabilities tend to exhibit which of the following
characteristics?
a. difficulty applying newly learned skills to a different context.
b. relative strength in retaining information in short-term memory.
c. difficulty learning by observing others.
d. relative strength in maintaining attention to the task at hand.
a. difficulty applying newly learned skills to a different context.
Which of the following gross-motor skills do children typically develop LAST?
a. catching a ball with their arms held straight.
b. jumping forward, taking off, and landing with two feet.
c. walking upstairs using alternating feet.
d. kicking a stationary ball.
b. jumping forward, taking off, and landing with two feet.
Which of the following students is demonstrating characteristics most often
associated with an emotional impairment?
,a. a second-grade student who frequently complains of a stomach ache in the
morning before going to school.
b. a first-grade student who prefers to play with one particular child on the
playground.
c. a kindergarten student who cries on the first-day of school and clings to his
parent for several minutes before joining the class.
d. a first-grade student who makes a point of informing the teacher when other
students are breaking the rules.
a. a second-grade student who frequently complains of a stomach ache in the morning
before going to school.
Which of the following students is demonstrating characteristics most often
associated with autism spectrum disorder (ADHD)?
a. a second-grade student who prefers to play with kindergarteners, has difficulty
learning new skills, and needs assistance with dressing.
b. a kindergarten student who does not engage in pretend play, takes exclusively
about astronomy, and misinterprets social clues.
c. a third-grade student who refuses to comply with teacher requests, steals
lunch money from other students, and does not hand in homework.
d. a first-grade student who has difficulty with letter-sound correspondence, has
poor fine-motor skills, and is physically clumsy.
b. a kindergarten student who does not engage in pretend play, takes exclusively about
astronomy, and misinterprets social clues.
Which of the following is generally the MOST advanced linguistic skill a typical
eight-year old can be expected to demonstrate?
a. participating in a debate about a controversial issue.
b. using a wide variety of connective words correctly (e.g. although, however,
unless)
c. telling a story that includes cause-and-effect relationships.
d. understanding the meaning of figurative language (e.g. metaphors, similes)
c. telling a story that includes cause-and-effect relationships.
Which of the following social/emotional abilities typically appears for the first
time during adolescence?
a. understanding one's own particular strengths and taking pleasure in one's
accomplishments.
b. understanding that the perspective of others may be influence by their
background or circumstances.
c. understanding that two people can have very different emotional responses to
the same situation.
d. understanding how different types of body language can reflect a person's
emotions.
b. understanding that the perspective of others may be influence by their background or
circumstances.
Which of the following students is demonstrating characteristics most often
associated with a pragmatic language disorder?
a. a third-grade student who is unable to comprehend a text when asked to read it
aloud but can understand the same text when reading it silently.
, b. a fifth-grade student who has difficulty completing written assignments and
handing them in on time.
c. a sixth-grade student who is unable to recall newly learn vocabulary words
from various subjects.
d. a fourth-grade student who has difficulty understanding conversational turn
taking.
d. a fourth-grade student who has difficulty understanding conversational turn taking.
Which of the following symptoms is most characteristic of an absence seizure?
a. staring blankly for a brief time.
b. experiencing uncontrolled muscle spasms.
c. losing consciousness for several minutes.
d. having sudden muscle stiffness.
a. staring blankly for a brief time.
A student has a disability that impairs both his understanding of spatial
relationships and his perceptual-motor skills. Which of the following math tasks
would likely pose the greatest difficulty to the student?
a. calculating the area of a given rectangle by applying a formula.
b. reversing a mathematical operation to check an answer.
c. constructing congruent geometric shapes on graph paper.
d. eliminating irrelevant information when solving a word paper.
c. constructing congruent geometric shapes on graph paper.
A middle school student with learning disabilities in reading and writing and
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) recently began taking a prescribed
stimulant medication. Which of the following behavioral changes should the
student's special education teacher expect to observe?
a. diminished ability to interact socially.
b. improved ability to present oral reports to the class.
c. diminished ability to think creatively.
d. increased ability to focus on academic tasks.
d. increased ability to focus on academic tasks.
A student with a mild intellectual disability and an emotional impairment
frequently becomes physically aggressive when frustrated. The most effective
way for the student's family to support her social/emotional development would
be to:
a. help resolve conflicts with her peers that result from her inappropriate school
behavior.
b. advocate for her to participate in a greater number of inclusive school
activities.
c. implement a behavior management strategy at home that complements her
school behavioral plan.
d. expand her community-based social experiences to include leisure activities.
c. implement a behavior management strategy at home that complements her school
behavioral plan.
A student with short-term memory deficits would likely have the most difficulty
with which of the following tasks?
a. reading the alphabet.
Complete Solution
Which of the following disabilities is degenerative and often leads to death in
adolescence or early adulthood?
a. muscular dystrophy
b. epilepsy
c. type 1 diabetes
d. spina bifida
a. muscular dystrophy
Compared with children without hearing loss, children born with hearing loss are
more likely to experience significant delays in which of the following
developmental domains?
a. cognitive
b. emotional
c. fine-motor
d. language
d. language
Which of the following fine-motor skills do children typically develop LAST?
a. turning door knobs
b. drawing circles
c. cutting shapes with scissors
d. turning one page of a book at a time
c. cutting shapes with scissors
Compared with students with mild intellectual disabilities, students with learning
disabilities are more likely to have:
a. satisfying social relationships when they reach adulthood.
b. successful experience in a general education classroom placement.
c. deficits in fine- and/or gross-motor skill development.
d. one or more specific cognitive difficulties rather than global delays.
d. one or more specific cognitive difficulties rather than global delays.
Students with mild intellectual disabilities tend to exhibit which of the following
characteristics?
a. difficulty applying newly learned skills to a different context.
b. relative strength in retaining information in short-term memory.
c. difficulty learning by observing others.
d. relative strength in maintaining attention to the task at hand.
a. difficulty applying newly learned skills to a different context.
Which of the following gross-motor skills do children typically develop LAST?
a. catching a ball with their arms held straight.
b. jumping forward, taking off, and landing with two feet.
c. walking upstairs using alternating feet.
d. kicking a stationary ball.
b. jumping forward, taking off, and landing with two feet.
Which of the following students is demonstrating characteristics most often
associated with an emotional impairment?
,a. a second-grade student who frequently complains of a stomach ache in the
morning before going to school.
b. a first-grade student who prefers to play with one particular child on the
playground.
c. a kindergarten student who cries on the first-day of school and clings to his
parent for several minutes before joining the class.
d. a first-grade student who makes a point of informing the teacher when other
students are breaking the rules.
a. a second-grade student who frequently complains of a stomach ache in the morning
before going to school.
Which of the following students is demonstrating characteristics most often
associated with autism spectrum disorder (ADHD)?
a. a second-grade student who prefers to play with kindergarteners, has difficulty
learning new skills, and needs assistance with dressing.
b. a kindergarten student who does not engage in pretend play, takes exclusively
about astronomy, and misinterprets social clues.
c. a third-grade student who refuses to comply with teacher requests, steals
lunch money from other students, and does not hand in homework.
d. a first-grade student who has difficulty with letter-sound correspondence, has
poor fine-motor skills, and is physically clumsy.
b. a kindergarten student who does not engage in pretend play, takes exclusively about
astronomy, and misinterprets social clues.
Which of the following is generally the MOST advanced linguistic skill a typical
eight-year old can be expected to demonstrate?
a. participating in a debate about a controversial issue.
b. using a wide variety of connective words correctly (e.g. although, however,
unless)
c. telling a story that includes cause-and-effect relationships.
d. understanding the meaning of figurative language (e.g. metaphors, similes)
c. telling a story that includes cause-and-effect relationships.
Which of the following social/emotional abilities typically appears for the first
time during adolescence?
a. understanding one's own particular strengths and taking pleasure in one's
accomplishments.
b. understanding that the perspective of others may be influence by their
background or circumstances.
c. understanding that two people can have very different emotional responses to
the same situation.
d. understanding how different types of body language can reflect a person's
emotions.
b. understanding that the perspective of others may be influence by their background or
circumstances.
Which of the following students is demonstrating characteristics most often
associated with a pragmatic language disorder?
a. a third-grade student who is unable to comprehend a text when asked to read it
aloud but can understand the same text when reading it silently.
, b. a fifth-grade student who has difficulty completing written assignments and
handing them in on time.
c. a sixth-grade student who is unable to recall newly learn vocabulary words
from various subjects.
d. a fourth-grade student who has difficulty understanding conversational turn
taking.
d. a fourth-grade student who has difficulty understanding conversational turn taking.
Which of the following symptoms is most characteristic of an absence seizure?
a. staring blankly for a brief time.
b. experiencing uncontrolled muscle spasms.
c. losing consciousness for several minutes.
d. having sudden muscle stiffness.
a. staring blankly for a brief time.
A student has a disability that impairs both his understanding of spatial
relationships and his perceptual-motor skills. Which of the following math tasks
would likely pose the greatest difficulty to the student?
a. calculating the area of a given rectangle by applying a formula.
b. reversing a mathematical operation to check an answer.
c. constructing congruent geometric shapes on graph paper.
d. eliminating irrelevant information when solving a word paper.
c. constructing congruent geometric shapes on graph paper.
A middle school student with learning disabilities in reading and writing and
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) recently began taking a prescribed
stimulant medication. Which of the following behavioral changes should the
student's special education teacher expect to observe?
a. diminished ability to interact socially.
b. improved ability to present oral reports to the class.
c. diminished ability to think creatively.
d. increased ability to focus on academic tasks.
d. increased ability to focus on academic tasks.
A student with a mild intellectual disability and an emotional impairment
frequently becomes physically aggressive when frustrated. The most effective
way for the student's family to support her social/emotional development would
be to:
a. help resolve conflicts with her peers that result from her inappropriate school
behavior.
b. advocate for her to participate in a greater number of inclusive school
activities.
c. implement a behavior management strategy at home that complements her
school behavioral plan.
d. expand her community-based social experiences to include leisure activities.
c. implement a behavior management strategy at home that complements her school
behavioral plan.
A student with short-term memory deficits would likely have the most difficulty
with which of the following tasks?
a. reading the alphabet.
