Q1. A school has both an academic calendar and an annual plan. The clearest distinction between them is that:

• (A) The calendar sets goals and resources, while the plan only lists dates
• (B) The calendar and the plan are identical documents with different names
• (C) The calendar shows when things happen during the year, while the plan states what will be achieved, with what resources and by whom
• (D) The calendar is prepared by teachers, while the plan is prepared by pupils

Q2. A school development plan that sets out new streams, staffing needs and building priorities over the next four years is best described as a plan with a:

• (A) Long-term horizon, because it guides the school’s direction over several years rather than one term
• (B) Daily horizon, because it is reviewed every morning
• (C) Weekly horizon, because it covers only one week’s lessons
• (D) Examination-only horizon, because it applies during test weeks alone

Q3. When a headteacher builds a term plan, the most sensible starting point is:

• (A) The examination timetable for the term, with revision weeks marked in advance
• (B) The topics teachers feel most confident teaching, sequenced by teacher preference
• (C) The school calendar of events and celebrations, with teaching fitted around them
• (D) The annual objectives, broken into term units, with assessment points and resources

Q4. A weekly plan for a class teacher is most useful when it:

• (A) Lists only the teacher’s leave dates for the week
• (B) Sequences the week’s lessons, homework, classwork and short assessments so the unit progresses steadily
• (C) Repeats the annual plan word for word
• (D) Records the school’s fee collection for the week

Q5. In the lesson planning cycle, the first step before choosing activities or materials should be:

• (A) Choosing a colourful worksheet
• (B) Deciding how long the lesson will last
• (C) Copying last year’s lesson plan unchanged
• (D) Clarifying the learning objectives drawn from the unit plan and what pupils should be able to do by the end

Q6. A unit plan for a science topic covers five weeks, several lessons, practical work and a unit test. How does it differ from a single lesson plan?

• (A) It is shorter and covers only one period
• (B) It deals only with examination dates
• (C) It organises a connected sequence of lessons toward broader unit objectives, while a lesson plan details one period
• (D) It replaces the need for any lesson planning

Q7. Two teachers are absent suddenly on a morning when examinations begin. Using the urgent-important distinction, arranging cover for those classes is:

• (A) Urgent and important, because it must be handled at once and directly affects teaching that day
• (B) Important but not urgent, because it can wait until next week
• (C) Neither urgent nor important, because examinations run themselves
• (D) Urgent but unimportant, because any adult can supervise an examination

Q8. Curriculum review, mentoring new teachers and building links with parents are important for a school’s future, but they rarely carry a deadline this week. The time-management risk with such tasks is that they are:

• (A) Always completed first because they are enjoyable
• (B) Easily crowded out by urgent routine, unless time is deliberately protected for them
• (C) Impossible to schedule in any school calendar
• (D) Best left entirely to the district office

Q9. A headteacher spends much of each morning answering routine telephone queries that a clerk could handle with a short briefing. In urgent-important terms, these calls are best classified as:

• (A) Important and urgent, because every telephone call matters equally
• (B) Neither urgent nor important, because they can simply be ignored
• (C) Urgent but not important, because they demand immediate attention yet contribute little to the school’s core priorities and can be delegated
• (D) Long-term strategic work, because they shape the school’s direction

Q10. A headteacher notices she spends an hour each day re-copying information that already exists in another register. This activity belongs in the not urgent and not important category mainly because it:

• (A) Adds no value to teaching or planning and consumes time that could serve the school’s priorities
• (B) Is the most important work in the school
• (C) Must be done urgently every morning
• (D) Improves examination results directly

Q11. Which of the following is the most common set of time thieves in a headteacher’s week?

• (A) Lesson observation, teacher mentoring and curriculum planning
• (B) Annual planning, staff appraisal and parent meetings
• (C) Examination supervision and syllabus review
• (D) Unscheduled visitors, unclear priorities, unnecessary meetings and poor delegation

Q12. A headteacher circulates the agenda and background papers for a staff meeting three days in advance. The main time-management benefit is that participants:

• (A) Can skip the meeting entirely
• (B) Arrive prepared, so discussion is shorter and decisions are better informed
• (C) Are not expected to contribute anything
• (D) Can use the meeting time for marking instead

Q13. After a staff meeting, the headteacher circulates minutes recording each decision, the person responsible and the deadline. The main management value of these minutes is that they:

• (A) Replace the school’s annual plan
• (B) Provide a record for visitors to the school
• (C) Turn discussion into accountable action that can be followed up at the next meeting
• (D) Reduce the number of teachers in the school

Q14. A headteacher protects instructional time by refusing to schedule routine administrative meetings during teaching periods. This policy best reflects the principle that:

• (A) Teaching and learning time is the school’s core business and should not be displaced by routine administration
• (B) Meetings are unnecessary in schools
• (C) Administration should only happen after school hours
• (D) Teachers should never attend meetings

Q15. A school in an area affected by seasonal closures builds two spare weeks into its annual plan, labelled for catch-up and revision. This contingency planning is valuable because it:

• (A) It lengthens the teaching year by adding the spare weeks to the end of the session
• (B) Gives the school planned flexibility to recover lost teaching without abandoning units
• (C) It allows the school to cover the syllabus faster by teaching two units at once in the spare weeks
• (D) It reduces the need for homework, because catch-up can be done entirely in the spare weeks

Q16. The clearest difference between a strategic decision and a tactical decision in a school is that a strategic decision:

• (A) Is made every morning by the duty teacher
• (B) Concerns only the purchase of stationery
• (C) Applies a fixed rule to a single pupil’s admission
• (D) Has a longer horizon and wider scope, shaping the school’s direction, while a tactical decision implements that direction over the medium term

Q17. A department sets out how it will improve reading in Grades 6 to 8 over the next two terms, with weekly reading sessions, library use and monthly checks. This is best classified as:

• (A) A strategic decision about the school’s five-year direction
• (B) A tactical decision, because it is a medium-term departmental plan for achieving a broader goal
• (C) An operational decision about today’s cover
• (D) A programmed decision governed by a fixed rule

Q18. On a rainy morning several buses are late and the headteacher rearranges the first two periods so that no class misses its core lesson. This is best classified as an operational decision because it:

• (A) Handles an immediate, day-to-day problem within existing arrangements
• (B) Sets the school’s long-term direction
• (C) Creates a new subject for the next session
• (D) Revises the departmental plan for the whole year

Q19. A school has applied the same textbook reorder rule for several years, even though enrolment patterns have changed and stock now piles up unused. This experience best illustrates a limitation of programmed decisions, namely that they:

• (A) Usually produce the best outcome because the rule has been proven over time
• (B) Require senior approval for every routine case before action can be taken
• (C) Can become rigid and unsuitable when conditions change, so rules need periodic review
• (D) Are designed for one-off crises with no precedent to guide them

Q20. A non-programmed decision in a school is best recognised by the fact that it is:

• (A) Settled by a fixed rule applied every term
• (B) Novel and unstructured, with no established procedure to apply
• (C) Limited to ordering routine supplies
• (D) Made automatically by a computer system

Q21. A headteacher deciding on next year’s intake uses ten years of enrolment figures, which show a clear pattern: in eight years out of ten, enrolment rises by 5 to 8 percent. This decision is being made under conditions of risk rather than uncertainty, because:

• (A) The outcome is completely certain
• (B) No information of any kind is available
• (C) The decision has already been made by the district
• (D) Past data allow probabilities to be estimated, even though the exact outcome is not known

Q22. A headteacher knows exactly how many periods, rooms and teachers are available next term, and the timetable can be built with known outcomes for each option. This decision is being made under conditions of:

• (A) Uncertainty, because nothing is known
• (B) Risk, because only probabilities are known
• (C) Certainty, because the relevant facts and outcomes are known
• (D) Crisis, because no timetable exists yet

Q23. Teachers who help shape a new assessment policy are far more willing to carry it out faithfully than teachers who merely receive it as an order. The main benefit of participative decision-making illustrated here is:

• (A) Greater ownership and commitment to implementation
• (B) Faster decisions in every situation
• (C) Removal of the headteacher’s accountability
• (D) A guarantee that the policy will be perfect

Q24. A school building catches fire during the school day and pupils must be evacuated at once. The main limitation of participative decision-making in this situation is that it:

• (A) Always produces a worse evacuation plan
• (B) Removes all authority from the headteacher
• (C) Requires teachers to vote on every detail
• (D) Takes time that an emergency does not allow, so a prompt directive decision is more appropriate

Q25. A headteacher asks staff for their views on a new homework policy, considers them carefully, and then makes the final decision herself, explaining her reasons. This process is best described as consultation, and it differs from full participation in that:

• (A) Staff views are ignored completely
• (B) Staff are invited to contribute views, but the final decision remains with the headteacher
• (C) The headteacher is forbidden from explaining her decision
• (D) Pupils make the final decision instead

Q26. A committee of teachers from different subjects designs a remedial programme and, pooling their classroom experience, spots a timetable clash and a resource shortage that no single teacher had seen. The main advantage of this group decision-making is that it:

• (A) Makes the decision in half the usual time
• (B) Removes the need for any follow-up
• (C) Brings wider information and varied perspectives to the problem
• (D) Guarantees unanimous agreement

Q27. In a staff meeting, junior teachers stay silent about flaws in a proposed plan because senior colleagues have already praised it and nobody wants to break the apparent agreement. This group decision-making danger is best described as:

• (A) Groupthink, because pressure for consensus suppresses dissent and critical examination
• (B) Satisficing, because a satisfactory option was chosen
• (C) Filtering, because a message was softened upward
• (D) Delegation, because the decision was passed to the group

Q28. A school committee agrees to adopt a new reading programme only when every member can accept the decision, even though some members still have reservations. This outcome is best described as:

• (A) A majority vote, because the largest group imposed its view
• (B) Consensus, because the decision is one that all members can live with and support in implementation
• (C) A directive order, because the headteacher decided alone
• (D) An incremental adjustment, because last year’s programme was repeated

Q29. A school adopts an excellent new discipline policy, but nobody is named as responsible for it, no deadline is set, and no resources are allocated. The most likely reason implementation fails is that the decision lacked:

• (A) A good intention behind it
• (B) Approval from the district office
• (C) A long written explanation
• (D) Clear ownership, deadlines and resources to turn the decision into action

Q30. When evaluating a decision about a new timetable, the fairest test is to compare:

• (A) Actual outcomes, such as clash-free periods and syllabus progress, with the objectives the timetable was meant to achieve
• (B) How much effort went into preparing the timetable, regardless of its results
• (C) Whether staff liked the timetable’s appearance
• (D) How quickly the timetable was printed

Q31. When launching a new school plan, the headteacher begins by explaining why the change is needed and what problem it solves, before describing the new procedures. This order is wise because staff implement a plan more willingly when they:

• (A) Understand its purpose and rationale, not merely its instructions
• (B) Receive the instructions in writing only
• (C) Are told nothing about the reasons behind it
• (D) Learn about it from rumour first

Q32. To put a new term plan into action, the headteacher holds a staff briefing and follows it with a written action plan showing tasks, owners and dates. This combination of downward channels is effective because:

• (A) Oral briefings alone are always sufficient
• (B) Written plans alone need no explanation
• (C) Parents are informed instead of teachers
• (D) The briefing allows questions and emphasis, while the written plan gives everyone the same lasting reference

Q33. A department head writes to the headteacher that the new practical schedule cannot be met because the laboratory is double-booked on two days. This upward message is valuable in plan implementation because it:

• (A) Announces a new policy to the whole school
• (B) Alerts senior management to an obstacle early, while the schedule can still be adjusted
• (C) Coordinates two departments at the same level
• (D) Replaces the written term plan

Q34. The English and science departments hold a joint meeting to align their project deadlines so pupils are not given two major projects in the same week. This is horizontal communication in plan implementation, and its main value is:

• (A) Reporting progress to the district office
• (B) Issuing instructions from the headteacher
• (C) Coordinating peer units whose plans affect each other and shared pupils
• (D) Collecting fees from parents

Q35. A subject coordinator discusses the budget for new laboratory materials directly with the school clerk, although they work in different departments and at different levels. This diagonal communication is useful in plan implementation when it:

• (A) Cuts across levels and departments to solve a specific practical problem quickly, without bypassing accountability
• (B) Replaces all formal reporting in the school
• (C) Allows staff to ignore the headteacher entirely
• (D) Is used to spread rumours about colleagues

Q36. A teacher who believes the new assessment system is unfair hears only the parts of the headteacher’s briefing that seem to confirm that belief, and ignores the safeguards described. This barrier is best described as:

• (A) A physical barrier caused by poor acoustics
• (B) An organisational barrier caused by too many layers
• (C) Information overload caused by too many circulars
• (D) Selective perception, because existing beliefs filter which parts of a message are noticed and remembered

Q37. Junior teachers hesitate to tell the headteacher that a new plan is failing in their classes, because they fear being seen as incompetent. The barrier that most directly blocks this upward communication is:

• (A) A semantic barrier in the wording of the plan
• (B) A physical barrier in the school building
• (C) A status barrier, because the difference in position discourages frank upward reporting
• (D) A language barrier in the circular

Q38. At the end of each month, departments report progress against the term plan, the headteacher discusses the reports with them, and next month’s targets are revised. This regular cycle is best described as a feedback loop in plan implementation, because:

• (A) It issues new orders without any discussion
• (B) Results from implementation are fed back to planners, who adjust the plan in response
• (C) It coordinates two departments at the same level only
• (D) It informs parents of examination dates only

Q39. When a school plan is communicated in writing, its main advantage over oral communication alone is that written messages are:

• (A) Permanent and identical for all receivers, so they can be checked and referred back to during implementation
• (B) Always read immediately by every teacher
• (C) Impossible to misunderstand
• (D) Quicker to change than a spoken instruction

Q40. When a headteacher explains a complicated timetable change face to face, its main advantage over a written circular alone is that oral communication allows:

• (A) A permanent record for future reference
• (B) The same message to reach hundreds of people at once
• (C) Immediate questions, clarification and reading of reactions, so misunderstandings are caught at once
• (D) No need for any follow-up in writing

Q41. During a period of change, teachers quickly share practical tips in the staffroom about how to handle the new lesson format. This informal communication is useful for plan implementation, but its main risk is that:

• (A) Informal messages spread faster than formal notices, so they reach staff before the official plan
• (B) Informal tips are shared only among teachers who already work closely together
• (C) Informal sharing takes time away from formal meetings, reducing time for planned discussion
• (D) Informal messages can be distorted as they spread, so they need checking against the official plan

Q42. A headteacher discovers that two departments are working from different versions of the term plan, one old and one revised. The communication breakdown most directly responsible is:

• (A) A psychological barrier caused by staff anxiety
• (B) Failure to ensure that the revised message reached all receivers and replaced the earlier version
• (C) A physical barrier caused by a noisy corridor
• (D) A semantic barrier caused by difficult vocabulary

Q43. In a planning discussion, a headteacher listens to a teacher’s objection without interrupting, then summarises the objection and asks if the summary is fair, before giving her own view. This active listening technique is valuable because it:

• (A) Confirms accurate understanding and signals respect, which encourages honest contribution to the plan
• (B) Delays all decisions indefinitely
• (C) Shows agreement with every objection raised
• (D) Replaces the need for a written plan

Q44. A circular announcing a new school plan says that departments should improve results soon, without stating targets, responsibilities or dates. The main communication weakness is lack of:

• (A) Length, because the circular was too short
• (B) Formal approval from the district office
• (C) Colourful presentation
• (D) Clarity and specificity, because vague messages cannot guide coordinated action

Q45. A school keeps parents informed about a new improvement plan through termly progress letters and a parent meeting each term, rather than a single announcement at the start of the year. This approach is better because it:

• (A) Gives parents examination papers to mark
• (B) Removes the need for any school plan
• (C) Sustains two-way communication with parents throughout implementation, building trust and support for the plan
• (D) Allows the school to charge parents extra fees

Q46. A headteacher tracks syllabus coverage weekly during the term, and at the end of the term judges whether the year’s targets were met. The distinction illustrated here is that monitoring is:

• (A) The same activity as evaluation, with a different name
• (B) Ongoing tracking of progress during implementation, while evaluation is a judgement of overall achievement at the end of a cycle
• (C) Only about financial spending
• (D) Only about pupil attendance

Q47. A term plan states that Unit 4 in mathematics will be completed by 15 March, and that date is used to check progress. In planning language this checkpoint is best called a:

• (A) Milestone, because it marks a defined point of progress on the way to a larger goal
• (B) Budget, because it concerns money
• (C) Span of control, because it concerns supervision
• (D) Grapevine message, because it travels informally

Q48. Which of the following is the most useful set of indicators for monitoring a school improvement plan?

• (A) The number of visitors to the school and the colour of new paint
• (B) The length of staff meetings and the number of circulars issued
• (C) Syllabus coverage against milestones, pupil attendance, and assessment results against targets
• (D) The age of the school building and the number of classrooms

Q49. A school committee asks the headteacher to account for why the remedial programme met its targets in two departments but not in a third. Accountability in this sense means that the headteacher is:

• (A) Blamed personally for every classroom problem
• (B) Expected to follow orders without explanation
• (C) Free to spend the budget without reporting
• (D) Answerable for results, and expected to explain performance and what will be done about shortfalls

Q50. A headteacher asks a deputy to take charge of organising the annual examinations, including preparing the schedule and briefing invigilators. The deputy now carries responsibility for the examinations, which means she is:

• (A) Free to ignore the headteacher’s instructions
• (B) Personally blamed for all school problems
• (C) Obliged to carry out the assigned task and answer for how she carries it out
• (D) No longer supervised by anyone

Q51. The deputy organising examinations is given authority to change invigilation duties and to use the examination budget within approved limits. This authority is necessary for delegation to work because, without it, the deputy would:

• (A) Have too much power over other teachers
• (B) Hold responsibility for a task she cannot actually carry out, since she could not make the decisions it requires
• (C) Be accountable to nobody at all
• (D) Finish the work far too quickly

Q52. A headteacher supervises twelve experienced teachers who teach routine, well-established courses, using a common scheme of work and regular department meetings. The span of control here is workable at this width mainly because:

• (A) The teachers are inexperienced and need constant direction
• (B) The work is entirely new and unpredictable
• (C) The school has no communication system at all
• (D) Routine work, experienced staff and clear common procedures reduce the supervision each person needs

Q53. A school introduces so many supervisory layers that a teacher’s request for laboratory materials takes three weeks to reach the headteacher. The main drawback of this narrow span of control is that it:

• (A) Slows communication and decision-making through many layers, and distances senior managers from classroom needs
• (B) Gives teachers too much freedom
• (C) Reduces the number of supervisors needed
• (D) Makes examination results improve automatically

Q54. A school coordinates its departments by using a common lesson-plan format, a shared examination calendar and standard procedures for reporting results. This coordination method is best described as coordination by:

• (A) Direct supervision of every lesson by the headteacher
• (B) Standardisation, because common formats, calendars and procedures align separate units without constant meetings
• (C) Mutual adjustment through informal discussion alone
• (D) Removing all departmental plans

Q55. Two teachers informally agree to swap a classroom and adjust their lesson order so that a shared set of maps can be used by both classes. This coordination by mutual adjustment works best when:

• (A) The units are large and work independently, coordinating only through written reports
• (B) The units share resources but each follows a fixed timetable set centrally
• (C) The units are small, interdependent and able to communicate directly and informally
• (D) The units are supervised closely by a single coordinator who approves every adjustment

Q56. A headteacher reviews monthly reports and intervenes only where spending or attendance has moved beyond an agreed tolerance, leaving areas that are on track to run as planned. This practice is best described as:

• (A) Concurrent control, because action is taken while teaching is under way
• (B) Feedforward control, because standards are set before the term begins
• (C) Direct supervision, because the headteacher personally checks every classroom each week
• (D) Management by exception, focusing attention only where results deviate from standards

Q57. A control system that reports syllabus slippage only at the end of the year is of limited value, because good control should be:

• (A) Timely, so deviations are reported while corrective action is still possible
• (B) Based only on the headteacher’s personal impressions
• (C) Focused on minor details rather than key targets
• (D) Applied only after a failure has become irreversible

Q58. A headteacher introduces a control system that requires teachers to file daily reports on every minor activity, and teachers soon focus on completing forms rather than improving lessons. This illustrates the risk of over-control, which is that it:

• (A) Always improves examination results
• (B) Reduces the headteacher’s workload to nothing
• (C) Shifts effort from real work to compliance, and demotivates staff whose professional judgement is displaced
• (D) Removes all need for monitoring

Q59. A termly progress report on a school plan is most useful when it includes:

• (A) Only a list of activities completed, with no mention of targets
• (B) Planned progress against actual progress, reasons for any variance, and agreed next steps
• (C) Only the headteacher’s general impressions of the term
• (D) A copy of last term’s report unchanged

Q60. At the end of the school year, the final review of the annual plan should be based primarily on:

• (A) The headteacher’s memory of the year
• (B) The number of meetings held during the year
• (C) How busy the staff appeared to be
• (D) Evidence collected through the year, including progress data, observations and stakeholder views, judged against the plan’s objectives