CLEP Practice Exam Questions

Question 1

Which of the following learning outcomes usually undergoes the largest loss within 24 hours of acquisition?

(A) The learning of meaningful material
(B) The learning of rote material
(C) The formulation of concepts
(D) The application of principles
(E) The making of generalizations

Answer 1

(B) The learning of rote material

Question 2

Which of the following are functions of an Individualized Education Program (IEP)?

I. Supports classroom teachers

II. Creates a relationship (partnership) between regular classroom and resource team

III. Provides an instructional program to meet the needs of the individual student

IV. Allows the school professionals to solely make decisions without consulting parents

(A) III only
(B) I and III only
(C) III and IV only
(D) I, II, and III only
(E) I, II, III, and IV

Question 3

To measure students’ understanding of a theorem in geometry, it is best for a teacher to have the students do which of the following?

(A) Write out the theorem
(B) Recall the proof of the theorem
(C) Demonstrate that they have memorized the theorem
(D) Solve a problem that is given in the textbook
(E) Solve a related problem that is not in the textbook

Question 4

A child who is frightened by a dog and develops a fear of other dogs is exhibiting which of the following principles of learning?

(A) Discrimination learning
(B) Negative transfer
(C) Behavior shaping
(D) Stimulus generalization
(E) Cognitive dissonance

Question 5

In experimental studies of the motor development of identical twins, one twin is given practice at a particular skill early and the other twin six weeks later. The fact that it generally takes less practice for the later-trained twin to acquire the skill is evidence for the importance of

(A) heredity
(B) maturation
(C) intelligence quotient
(D) individual differences
(E) early experience

Question 6

The psychological frame of reference that deals extensively with the effects of unconscious motivation on behavior is

(A) behaviorism
(B) structuralism
(C) psychoanalysis
(D) humanism
(E) Gestalt psychology
unanswered

Question 7

Of the following, learning is best defined as

(A) development that occurs without external stimulation
(B) the process of overcoming obstacles during instinctual behavior
(C) effort that is persistent, selective, and purposeful
(D) the modification of behavior through experience
(E) the gathering of data to test hypotheses

Answer 7

(C) effort that is persistent, selective, and purposeful

Question 8

A preschool child sees a teacher roll a ball of clay into a sausage-like shape. The teacher asks, “Is the amount of clay the same as before?” The child insists that the sausage shape consists of more clay than the ball did. According to Jean Piaget, this mistake by the child occurs principally because of which of the following?

(A) A poorly stated question by the teacher
(B) Erroneous earlier learning by the child
(C) The greater attractiveness of the sausage shape
(D) A cognitive impairment
(E) A lack of understanding of the conservation principle

Question 9

Longitudinal studies of cognitive abilities during middle and later adulthood indicate which of the following declines most with age?

(A) Speed of information processing
(B) Size of vocabulary
(C) Wisdom
(D) Quality of verbal reasoning
(E) Crystallized intelligence

Question 10

Which of the following is true if a test is reliable?

(A) The results will be approximately the same if the test is given again under similar conditions.
(B) The test measures what it was designed to measure.
(C) The predictive validity of the test is high.
(D) The objectives measured by the test are important.
(E) The test scores can be interpreted objectively by anyone simply by using the test manual.

Question 11

Which of the following correlation coefficients has the highest predictive value?

(A) .80
(B) .60
(C) .00
(D) –.70
(E) –.90

Question 12

Which of the following statistics is most affected by extreme scores?

(A) Mean
(B) Median
(C) Mode
(D) Rank correlation
(E) Interquartile range

Question 13

Which of the following perspectives on teaching would most likely support the idea that instruction should emphasize a positive relationship between teachers and students?

(A) Behavioral
(B) Humanistic
(C) Cognitive
(D) Psychoanalytic
(E) Maturational

Question 14

A certain researcher studied Stephanie’s development of mathematical proof and justification from grade 1 through grade 5 by collecting videotapes, portfolios, notes, student interviews, and small-group evaluations of Stephanie over the five-year period. This type of study is referred to as

(A) an experimental study
(B) a case study
(C) a matched-group study
(D) a correlational study
(E) a survey

Question 15

Frank, a fifteen year old, is capable of reasoning abstractly without the use of real objects to assist him. According to Jean Piaget, Frank is in which of the following stages of cognitive development?

(A) Concrete operations
(B) Tertiary circular reactions
(C) Preoperations
(D) Formal operations
(E) Sensorimotor

Question 16

Using the principle of successive approximations involves which of the following?

(A) Reinforcing responses that represent progress toward a desired response
(B) Making a succession of trials designed to provide information about a problem
(C) Acquiring a behavior change through imitation of models demonstrating the behavior
(D) Averaging repeated measures for adequate assessment of a variable
(E) Testing possible solutions until success is obtained in problem solving

Question 17

Which of the following best characterizes the concept of a critical or sensitive period in development?

(A) A bridge between two cognitive stages, such as the transition between preoperational and concrete-operational thinking
(B) An age period during which a behavior must develop if it is to develop normally
(C) An age period during which the child tends to display a certain class of behaviors, such as the “terrible twos”
(D) An age period during which the child’s sense of self-worth is especially vulnerable to social criticism
(E) An age period during which children are influenced more by peers than by adults
unanswered

Question 18

Some psychologists theorize that behavioral development, like anatomical development, proceeds from the simple to the complex, from homogeneous to heterogeneous, and from the general to the specific. Which of the following terms refers to these developmental trends?

(A) Constancy
(B) Assimilation
(C) Metacognition
(D) Differentiation
(E) Transfer

Question 19

When teachers enforce or reinforce certain values and behaviors with their students, they are carrying out what role?

(A) content or subject-matter expert
(B) socialization agent
(C) classroom manager
(D) motivator
(E) counselor

Answer 19

(B) socialization agent

Question 20

A teacher who wants to foster moral development in accordance with Lawrence Kohlberg’s scheme would be most likely to

(A) provide students with social service internships
(B) provide opportunities for students to discuss moral dilemmas
(C) group students according to the same level of moral development
(D) group students according to mixed levels of moral development
(E) group students by gender in order to acknowledge their differences in moral development

Answer 20

(A) provide students with social service internships

Question 21

Paying attention to new information is important in the learning process because such attention brings information from

(A) an external environment into the sensory register
(B) an external environment into long-term memory
(C) the sensory register into working memory correct
(D) working memory into long-term memory
(E) the sensory register into long-term memory

Answer 21

(C) the sensory register into working memory

Question 22

George Miller’s research finding that humans have a processing capacity of seven plus-orminus two items applies to which of the following types of memory?

(A) Sensory register
(B) Explicit
(C) Implicit
(D) Short-term
(E) Procedural

Answer 22

(D) Short-term

Question 23

Mr. Janoff, a social studies teacher, sometimes has students who request copies of his notes or slides from class. He explains that it is better for students to take the notes themselves. Taking notes helps students improve their

(A) retrieval
(b) bottom-up processing
(C) encoding
(D) use of the keyword strategy
(E) use of mnemonics

Answer 23

(C) encoding

Question 24

According to cognitive learning theorists, students will best be able to learn a new concept or skill if the contents of the lesson are

(A) memorized and recited
(B) written into a lesson plan as observable behavioral objectives
(C) presented with the most modern technology possible
(D) related to concepts and skills they had previously mastered
(E) presented in a series of startling and complex visual stimuli

Answer 24

(D) related to concepts and skills they had previously mastered

Question 25

A student wants to win a contest by memorizing the most decimal places for pi. Which of the following is the best strategy for the student to use to enhance recall of the numbers?

(A) Grouping the numbers in chunks of 5, 6, or 7
(B) Reciting the numbers many times
(C) Memorize numbers in chunks of 25
(D) Writing out the numbers on paper
(E) Trying to find a pattern in any given sequence

Answer 25

(A) Grouping the numbers in chunks of 5, 6, or 7