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DSST Foundations of Education Practice Test

Unofficial practice on the three areas of the DSST Foundations of Education outline, with a source under every answer.

Tenure is described as a means of defending which principle?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 50 questions, 60 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with Prometric. Bank checked October 8, 2026.

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All 50 questions

Contemporary issues in education 25

  • According to the National Center for Education Statistics, what is a public charter school? National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Facts, "Charter schools". DSST outline area I (50%), b. Governance
  • For which two subjects were the Common Core State Standards released in June 2010? Wikipedia, "Common Core". DSST outline area I (50%), c. Curriculum
  • In Lau v. Nichols (1974), what did the Supreme Court find about a school system that gave no English language instruction to students who did not speak English? Wikipedia, "Lau v. Nichols". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • In Pickering v. Board of Education (1968), a public school teacher was dismissed over public statements on an issue of public importance. What did the Supreme Court hold? Wikipedia, "Pickering v. Board of Education". DSST outline area I (50%), d. Professional Issues
  • In San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973), what did the Supreme Court decide about funding public schools from local property taxes? Wikipedia, "San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
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Contemporary issues in education, continued

  • The No Child Left Behind Act required annual testing. Who set the achievement standards that students were tested against? Wikipedia, "No Child Left Behind Act". DSST outline area I (50%), b. Governance
  • Tenure is described as a means of defending which principle? Wikipedia, "Tenure". DSST outline area I (50%), d. Professional Issues
  • Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act sends funding to which schools? Wikipedia, "Elementary and Secondary Education Act". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • Title IX was enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. What does it prohibit? Wikipedia, "Title IX". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • Under the Children's Internet Protection Act, what must a school certify to receive E-Rate support? Federal Communications Commission, "Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)". DSST outline area I (50%), e. Technology Issues
  • Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), what changes when a student turns 18? Wikipedia, "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act". DSST outline area I (50%), d. Professional Issues
  • Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, what are students with a disability to be provided with? Wikipedia, "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • Under the No Child Left Behind Act, what did schools that received Title I funding have to make each year? Wikipedia, "No Child Left Behind Act". DSST outline area I (50%), b. Governance
  • What did the Supreme Court conclude about separate educational facilities in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Brown v. Board of Education (1954)". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • What did the Supreme Court hold in Plyler v. Doe (1982)? Wikipedia, "Plyler v. Doe". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • What does the E-Rate program of the Federal Communications Commission provide to eligible schools and libraries? Federal Communications Commission, "E-Rate: Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries". DSST outline area I (50%), e. Technology Issues
  • What does the least restrictive environment rule of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act require? Wikipedia, "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act". DSST outline area I (50%), a. Equity
  • What does the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offer teachers? Wikipedia, "National Board for Professional Teaching Standards". DSST outline area I (50%), d. Professional Issues
  • What is a hidden curriculum? Wikipedia, "Hidden curriculum". DSST outline area I (50%), c. Curriculum
  • What is a school voucher? Wikipedia, "School voucher". DSST outline area I (50%), b. Governance
  • What is the digital divide? Wikipedia, "Digital divide". DSST outline area I (50%), e. Technology Issues
  • Which 1983 report said the educational foundations of American society were being eroded by "a rising tide of mediocrity"? Wikipedia, "A Nation at Risk". DSST outline area I (50%), c. Curriculum
  • Which assessment, required by Congress and carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics, is also known as The Nation's Report Card? National Center for Education Statistics, "About NAEP". DSST outline area I (50%), c. Curriculum
  • Which federal agency adopted the rules that put the Children's Internet Protection Act into effect? Federal Communications Commission, "Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)". DSST outline area I (50%), e. Technology Issues
  • Which law, passed in December 2015, replaced the No Child Left Behind Act? Wikipedia, "Every Student Succeeds Act". DSST outline area I (50%), b. Governance

Past and current influences on education 15

  • The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 was part of which program of President Lyndon B. Johnson? Wikipedia, "Elementary and Secondary Education Act". DSST outline area II (30%), c. Social/Economic Influences
  • The National Defense Education Act of 1958 followed a sense of unease after which event? Wikipedia, "National Defense Education Act". DSST outline area II (30%), c. Social/Economic Influences
  • What did the Massachusetts law of 1647, known as the Old Deluder Satan Law, require of every town with more than 50 families? Wikipedia, "Massachusetts School Laws". DSST outline area II (30%), b. Democratic Ideals
  • What did the Morrill Act of 1862 establish? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Morrill Act (1862)". DSST outline area II (30%), c. Social/Economic Influences
  • What did the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, the G.I. Bill, give World War II veterans? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Servicemen's Readjustment Act (1944)". DSST outline area II (30%), c. Social/Economic Influences
  • What do perennialists believe should be the priority of education? Wikipedia, "Educational perennialism". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies
  • What is the zone of proximal development, a concept introduced by Lev Vygotsky? Wikipedia, "Zone of proximal development". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies
  • What were the normal schools that Horace Mann promoted in Massachusetts? Wikipedia, "Horace Mann". DSST outline area II (30%), b. Democratic Ideals
  • Which 1787 document declared that "schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged"? National Archives, Milestone Documents, "Northwest Ordinance (1787)". DSST outline area II (30%), b. Democratic Ideals
  • Which 1916 book is John Dewey's celebrated work on progressive education? Wikipedia, "John Dewey". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies
  • Which advocate of the common school was, from 1837, the first secretary of Massachusetts's State Board of Education? Wikipedia, "Common school". DSST outline area II (30%), b. Democratic Ideals
  • Which educational philosophy holds that children should thoroughly learn the traditional basic subjects, in a back-to-basics approach? Wikipedia, "Educational essentialism". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies
  • Which quality do most progressive education programs have in common? Wikipedia, "Progressive education". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies
  • Which two educators promoted one curriculum for everyone, grounded in the shared nature of all human beings, in the perennialist tradition? Wikipedia, "Educational perennialism". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies
  • Who gave the 1932 speeches published as Dare the School Build a New Social Order? Wikipedia, "Dare the School Build a New Social Order?". DSST outline area II (30%), a. Philosophies, theories, ideologies

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the content outline of the DSST Foundations of Education fact sheet (Prometric, Rev 06/2018, https://getcollegecredit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FoundationsOfEducation.pdf, read 2026-10-08): contemporary issues in education 50%, past and current influences on education 30%, interrelationships between contemporary issues and influences 20%. The bank holds 25, 15 and 10 questions. Each fact was read on 2026-10-08 on the public page named under its question: the National Archives (Milestone Documents), the United States Courts, the National Center for Education Statistics, the Federal Communications Commission and Wikipedia (court holdings, statutes and the schools of educational thought). Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

This free DSST Foundations of Education practice test has 50 questions of our own on school law, policy and the history of American schooling. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Prometric, which owns the DSST exams.

Read the full guide

What the exam covers

Prometric's fact sheet (Rev 06/2018) weights three areas: contemporary issues in education 50%, past and current influences 30%, and how the two interrelate 20%. The first runs from equity and governance to curriculum, professional issues and technology. The bank holds 25, 15 and 10 questions.

Questions and time

The exam has 100 questions to answer in 2 hours, and some are pretest questions that are not scored. Exam mode gives 60 minutes for 50.

Where the answers come from

Each answer links the page it was read on: the National Archives, the United States Courts, the National Center for Education Statistics, the FCC and, for most court holdings and laws, Wikipedia.

  • Half the exam is contemporary issues, so begin with the equity cases: Brown, Lau, Plyler and Rodriguez.
  • Pair each court case with the clause it turned on: Equal Protection for Plyler, Establishment for Engel and Zelman.

Questions and answers

Is there a DSST Foundations of Education study guide?

Prometric's fact sheet is the free one. It prints the content outline and six reference books, among them Ornstein and Levine's Foundations of Education.

What score do you need on the DSST Foundations of Education exam?

The American Council on Education recommends 3 semester hours of lower-level baccalaureate credit at a minimum score of 400. That figure is not a percent. The school that receives your score awards the credit, so ask what it accepts.

Are these real DSST Foundations of Education questions?

No. Each was written for this site from a line of the published outline and a public source. None is copied or reworded from the exam or the fact sheet's samples, and a score here predicts nothing about a score there.

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