Sample questions for Teaching
Professionals’ Olympiad (TPO)
with detailed analysis
Secondary School English
Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA) aims to empower teachers and catalyze teacher professional
development through its Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad (TPO) and CENTA Certification and Micro-
Credentials.
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
Section A. Subject Expertise ...................................................................................................... 4
Section B. Content Development & Planning ............................................................................. 5
Section C. Student Assessment & Remediation ......................................................................... 7
Section D. Classroom Communication & Professional Competencies .......................................10
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Introduction
Overview of this document
The document provides sample questions for Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad (TPO) with detailed
analysis, for Secondary School English.
In line with the four sections of TPO 2018, this document also consists of the following four sections:
A. Subject Expertise
B. Content Development & Planning
C. Student Assessment & Remediation
D. Classroom Communication & Professional Competencies
Subject Expertise section: It will have questions related to the subject test track chosen by you. For
example, Sample questions in this document are related to Secondary School English Test Track.
Content Development & Planning section: It will have few questions which are independent of the test
track chosen and assess general planning skills and few questions which are related to subject-specific
content development.
Student Assessment & Remediation: Similar to Section B, this section will have few questions which
are independent of the test track chosen and which test general assessment skills and few questions
which are related to subject-specific assessment and remediation.
Classroom Communication & Professional Competencies: This section has questions which are
independent of the test track chosen by you. It has questions from different topics, for example Logical
Ability, Communication, Classroom Management, Involvement of Parents, Teamwork and Leadership.
Purpose of the document
The document is intended to serve as a guide for participants and prospective candidates to familiarize
themselves with the type of questions asked in TPO. Please note that this is only a sample and NOT
an exhaustive compilation of ALL types of questions which will be included in TPO.
Through this document CENTA intends to provide candidates an exposure to different types of questions,
in terms of:
• Broad themes
• Cognitive Level (Knowledge, Understanding and Application)
• Difficulty Level
For each question, the correct answer has been shared, along with the explanation highlighting why the
correct answer is the most appropriate choice and why other options are not correct.
We hope these sample questions and their analysis add value to your TPO experience!
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Section A. Subject Expertise
Question 1
Which of the following aspects would you LEAST focus on, if you are trying to mirror an author's 'style'
in your writing piece?
A. The sentence structure of the writing
B. The extent and kind of literary devices used
C. The words chosen to reflect meaning, emotions and ideas
D. The viewpoint of the character and his description of the events
Marks: 1
Correct Response: Option D
This question tests teachers’ ability to emulate a particular writing style. Style in literature is the
literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words — the author's word choice,
sentence structure, figurative language, and sentence arrangement all work together to establish
mood, images, and meaning in the text. Style describes how the author describes events, objects, and
ideas. Therefore, the right answer is Option D.
▪ Choosing Options A, B and C may indicate that the teacher misunderstood the components to
recognise and mirror an author’s writing style.
Question 2
Sudhakar sat close to his wife and said “I know that you’ve been going through hard times. I
appreciate the way you have been able to look at the silver lining. You can just leave everything up to
me now and I will make sure the project takes off."
You want to edit this passage to reflect the tone of ‘irritation’ instead of 'sympathy'. Which of the
following changes would be LEAST relevant?
A. Replace the second sentence by "I would appreciate it if you looked at the silver lining."
B. Replace 'Sudhakar sat close to his wife' by 'Sudhakar stood right opposite to his wife with arms
folded'.
C. Replace the metaphor 'look at the silver lining' by 'withstand the thorns in the rose', to express the
correct tone.
D. Before the last sentence in Sudhakar's speech, add, 'He let out a tired sigh'.
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Marks: 2
Correct Response: Option C
This question tests teachers’ ability to understand the tone of a sentence and modify it to a different
one. ‘Appreciate the way you have been able to look at the silver lining’ conveys that Sudhakar
sympathises with his wife, since she’s found a way to focus on the positive (“silver lining”) amidst all the
problems. Replacing the sentence with ‘I appreciate the way you have been able to withstand the
thorns in the rose’ does not change the tone of the passage since Sudhakar still sympathises with his
wife and appreciates that she has been able to withstand the difficulties(“thorns”). Hence, Option C is
the least relevant in changing the tone of the passage and is the correct option.
• Replacing the sentence with “I would appreciate it if you looked at the silver lining” makes a shift
from Sudhakar appreciating his wife’s positive outlook to him advising his wife to have a positive
outlook. This changes the tone of the passage from sympathising to irritation where Sudhakar is
asking his wife to look at positive aspects. This makes Option A the most relevant to changing the
tone of the sentence.
• Replacing the sentence with ‘Sudhakar stood right opposite to his wife with arms folded’ changes
the tone as ‘arms folded’ indicates a less sympathetic attitude towards a person. Choosing Option B
may indicate the misconception that position and gesture of the speaker does not affect the
context and tonality of the conversation.
• Adding ‘He let out a tired sigh’ shows that Sudhakar might be irritated because he has to assume all
the responsibilities now. His action seems to betray his words of appreciation. Choosing Option D
indicates that the teacher hasn't made this inference.
Section B. Content Development & Planning
Question 3
Secondary school teacher Ms. Kaur is planning for an introductory class on ‘cohesive devices’. She
includes the following four aspects in her lesson plan, not necessarily in the same order:
I. Define and explain different types of cohesive devices with examples.
II. Explain the use of commas for non-restrictive clauses with examples.
III. Provide pairs of sentences and ask students to join each pair using any words of their choice.
IV. Provide a paragraph and ask students to identify the coordinating vs. subordinating conjunctions.
What would be the most appropriate order in which she should plan these activities to ensure the
greatest impact on students’ understanding?
A. III, I, IV, II
B. I, II, IV, III
C. III, IV, I, II
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D. I, II, III, IV
Marks: 1
Correct Response: Option A
This question tests teachers’ understanding of linkages across sub-topics and their ability to differentiate a
basic concept from a more advanced or detailed concept that would ensure the most effective order of
teaching and/or of activities in a lesson plan.
Secondary school students are most likely already using various ‘cohesive devices’ even if they don’t know
the term, and the different types of cohesive devices. ‘III’ is a good start because it links to what the
students already do, and also gives the teacher a view of how proficient the students are currently, in
linking sentences (which is the fundamental purpose of cohesive devices). Once the students have
themselves provided a few examples, the term ‘cohesive device’ can be introduced to them easily using
those or other examples (I). Once ‘cohesive devices’ are introduced, the students can learn about the
different types of cohesive devices (IV). Use of commas for non-restrictive clauses (II) is a very specific/
detailed point that is best learnt after students are already familiar with different types of clauses and
conjunctions. Therefore Option A (III, I, IV, II) is the best order of activities for the lesson plan.
▪ Choosing Option B may indicate the misconception that any practice or exercise should always come
at the end of a lesson plan while any definition should always come in the beginning. In this case, the
‘practice’ or ‘exercise’ is not of the topic being taught but of prior knowledge and therefore best done
at the beginning of the lesson plan. Option B has the additional issue of covering a more detailed sub-
topic (II) before a broader sub-topic (IV).
▪ Option C could be a close second choice. However, students are being asked to identify different types
of cohesive devices (IV) without being taught what those types are (I). Unlike the prior knowledge
covered in aspect III, this exercise is a practice of the concept being taught and is, therefore, best done
after introducing the concept.
▪ Option D is probably the ‘most wrong’ answer. It goes back and forth between different sub-topics.
Choosing Option D may indicate both the misconception that any definition should always come in the
beginning and an overall gap in understanding of ‘sequence’ in building a concept.
Question 4
If you are helping a student build METACOGNITIVE SKILLS, which of the following questions would be
the most appropriate one to ask BEFORE a learning task?
A. How much time will you need to complete this task?
B. What are the resources you need to complete this task?
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C. How will you decide your first step to approach this task?
D. What are the activities involved in this task and in what sequence
will you plan them?
Marks: 2
Correct Response: Option C
This question tests teachers’ understanding of metacognitive skills (an important topic in child learning
and development) and what kinds of activities and questions can promote these skills in the classroom.
Since metacognition refers to awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes, questions
that promote metacognitive skills will typically make the student think about his or her own thought
process.
▪ Option C does this by asking the student to think about “how” he or she will decide the first step (to
reiterate, not to decide the first step, but to reflect on how the decision will be taken).
▪ All the other options (A, B, D) refer to various aspects of thinking about the task itself, rather than
thinking about the thought process behind the task; therefore choosing any of these options
indicates an insufficient understanding of the concept of metacognition.
Section C. Student Assessment & Remediation
Question 5
Source: From the poem Fog by Helen Cadbury
Earth-sweat, sea-breath,
hangs about, cold-shouldering street corners,
disconsolate, untouchable,
smothers horizons, pockets whole villages,
sprays dirty thumb-smudge graffiti
on city walls, in ditches,
spits chill onto the woollen scarves of citizens,
who shrink into their coats, avert their gaze
until the cloud-fall sighs and heaves itself away
- a slow unfathomable fade -
to hide in low valleys and the shadows of churches,
waiting to muster when the day's back is turned.
English teacher Ms. Sherine asked her students: "What is the poet trying to convey through this
poem? Answer in one sentence”.
Following are the responses from four students:
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I. The poet is trying to show how natural phenomena can have effects that human beings do not
enjoy.
II. The poet is trying to describe the fog and its effects on all parts of a village as well on the
citizens living in that village.
III. The poet is trying to say that the nature of a phenomenon doesn't change, maybe even when
it itself wants to.
IV. The poet is trying to say that natural phenomena continue day after day even if humans try to
avoid them.
Arrange the students in decreasing order of depth of their comprehension (irrespective of whether
you agree with the answers).
A. I, II, III, IV
B. II, I, IV, III
C. II, III, I, IV
D. II, IV, I, III
Marks: 1
Correct Response: Option B
This question tests teachers’ ability to derive insights from student responses.
In the poem, the poet describes the fog, its movement, and effect on the village and citizens. It also
indicates the unpleasantness of the effect on the village on the whole and also on the villagers and
how they just wait for it to pass away. The focus is on the village as well as its residents. However, the
poem does not speak about any change which the natural phenomenon tries to implement but is not
able to. Student II shows the greatest depth in comprehension followed by students I, IV and III
respectively. Therefore, the correct answer is Option B.
▪ Choosing Option A may indicate that the teacher has misinterpreted the depth in comprehension
between students I and II and between students III and IV. While Student I has gleaned that
humans might not enjoy the effect of a fog. the student has missed the effect the fog has on the
village which student II has captured. Similarly, student IV has inferred from the poem that
humans have adjusted themselves to the natural phenomena which is better than student III’s
interpretation that the nature of a phenomena does not change even when it wants to.
▪ Choosing Option C may indicate that the teacher has interpreted student III to have better
comprehension than student I and IV which is not true as explained above.
▪ Choosing Option D may indicate that the teacher has interpreted student IV to have understood
better than student I which is not true. Student I has just missed the effect on the village and has
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rightly focused on the effect on humans. However, student IV has not mentioned the effect of fog
but only that humans try to avoid it. Thus, effect on them as well as on the village is completely
missing.
Question 6
If you take a multiple-choice test on a short topic, tabulate scores and write each student’s score in
his/her notebook, would it serve the purpose of formative assessment, or not?
A. Yes: formative assessments are taken to evaluate student performance on short topics.
B. No: formative assessments are taken to give students explicit feedback which is not given here.
C. Yes: formative assessments are taken to provide the teacher with a view of comparative student
performance.
D. No: formative assessments are taken in the form of activities and not written tests.
Marks: 1
Correct Response: Option B
This question tests teachers’ understanding of the purpose of formative assessments and what kinds of
actions are aligned with the purpose. The goal of formative assessment is to derive and provide
feedback on student learning, which can be used by teachers to improve their teaching and by
students to improve their learning. Here the purpose of formative assessments is not being served
since the teacher is only providing the tabulated score to the student and not explicit feedback on
his/her strength and misconceptions. Therefore, Option B is correct.
▪ Choosing Option A indicates a reasonable though not accurate understanding of formative
assessments. Although it is true that formative assessments are often used with short topics, it is
not necessary. Further, Option A does not address the issue that the teacher is not providing
feedback.
▪ Option C could be considered the ‘most incorrect’ answer and choosing it indicates a fundamental
misunderstanding that formative assessments are used for comparison.
▪ Option D represents a common misconception that formative assessments need to be activity-
based. ‘Formative’ is a definition of the purpose of the assessment and not the method.
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Section D. Classroom Communication & Professional
Competencies
Question 7
You have started collaborative learning in your classroom. Every student is paired with another and
given the following tasks:
1. Read and understand the meaning of the paragraph, along with your partner.
2. In your own notebooks, write the answers to questions given on the board.
3. Pass your notebooks to the front of the class for correction.
Which one of the following would be the best change to make in order to increase collaborative
learning?
A. Change Step 3 with students correcting each other’s work.
B. Change Step 2 with each of the two students working on different questions which would then be
submitted together.
C. Change Step 1 with suitable thinking questions on the board as that would help in building reading
skills.
D. Change Step 2 with students working on the same worksheet of questions together required for
submission.
Marks: 1
Correct Response: Option D
Collaborative learning is a pedagogical method in which students are grouped together to explore a
significant question or complete a particular task that can lead to a learning outcome. This question
tests teachers’ ability to design classroom activities to implement collaborative learning.
▪ Choosing Option A indicates that the teacher might be seeing ‘correcting each other’s work’ as a
way to increase collaboration and learning. While this could be a close choice, it does not allow
students to be ‘working together’; e.g. they could have gotten corrected answers from other
sources.
▪ Choosing Option B indicates that the teacher is using the term ‘collaboration’ in a more general
sense of the word (e.g. ‘submitting together’) rather than the technical or pedagogical meaning as
a learning method.
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▪ Option C is clearly the ‘most wrong choice’ since it talks about the content rather than the
method of collaborative learning.
▪ Option D makes students discuss the same questions together and arrive at common answers
that they submit, and therefore increases collaborative learning.
Question 8
You have given three different tasks to three groups in your classroom.
Group 1: Compare the given figures and find out which one occupies more area.
Group 2: Calculate the perimeter of the given shapes using a ruler.
Group 3: Find out how many steps you can take along the sides of the classroom walls by walking heel
to toe.
On what basis have these groups most likely been created?
A. Based on student learning styles.
B. Based on student learning levels.
C. Based on student interest in Maths.
D. Based on students’ cognitive ability.
Marks: 2
Correct Response: Option B
This question tests teachers’ ability to group students based on different criteria, and how they are
likely to look in a classroom (grouping being a commonly used classroom management technique). In
the question, the three groups are working on different concepts or learning goals in geometry. The
topics are in increasing order of difficulty and typically covered in sequence, i.e. understanding
perimeter, measuring perimeter in standard units and calculating the area. This points to the grouping
being based on ‘learning levels’ that refers to which concepts have been mastered by a student so far.
Irrespective of what a student’s learning style or interest is, all three concepts need to be eventually
learnt.
▪ Choosing Option A indicates that this difference of lesson goals has not been noticed and instead
the more superficial difference in the type of activity is driving the answer. Ideally, while grouping
based on learning styles, a teacher should have similar lesson goals for all the groups.
▪ Choosing Option C indicates a misunderstanding of the idea of catering to various interests in a
classroom and potentially a ‘layman’ level usage of the word ‘interest’. Students, when grouped
based on interest, are involved in different aspects of the same theme like research, model
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creation etc.
▪ Option D could have been chosen assuming that the activities are at different levels of cognitive
ability (i.e. knowledge, understanding, application), which is not exactly true for the activities
themselves. Option D could have also been chosen assuming that the students are at different
levels of cognitive ability, which would make it an ‘absolutely wrong’ answer since there is no data
on cognitive ability available here.
Question 9
Ms. Divya has been a teacher in a high-end school for 10 years and has always tried to involve parents
of her students in school activities. She has recently relocated to a small town and is now teaching in a
low-cost private school serving mostly children from under-privileged families. Should she continue to
try and involve parents in school activities, which is currently not being done in this school?
A. Yes. The school has limited resources and she should continue to get parents involved and
contribute.
B. Yes. Parents are an integral part of a child’s education and should be involved in school activities.
C. Yes. She would be able to establish herself as a pioneer in her new school with this initiative.
D. Yes. The parents here are likely illiterate and poor, and this is a good opportunity for them also to
learn.
Marks: 1
Correct Response: Option B
This question checks teachers’ reasoning for parental engagement. Engaging parents in their children’s
school life is important for their holistic development. Parent engagement in schools is closely linked to
better student behaviour, higher academic achievement and enhanced social skills irrespective of
parents’ socio-economic backgrounds. Therefore, the right option is B.
▪ Choosing Option A indicates that the teacher has misunderstood the reasoning behind parental
engagement. Parents should be involved in their child’s education whether the school has limited
resources or not. Limited resources in school should not be the driving factor for involving parents in
their child’s education. However, parent involvement may help address some of these issues.
▪ Choosing Option C indicates that the teacher is considering establishing herself as a pioneer in the
school by involving parents in the student education, which should not be driving her actions.
▪ Choosing Option D indicates that the teacher has misunderstood the reasoning behind parental
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engagement. Involving parents who are uneducated is a good opportunity for the parents also but
despite what educational background that parents come from, all parents should be involved in
their child’s education as studies have shown that parental engagement improves student
performance.
Question 10
A student in your class has been sent to school in an untidy and shabby school uniform for many days
now. You as the class teacher have to write a note to his parents to ensure that they address this. The
note has to be clear and at the same time not offend or embarrass the parents. Which of the following
notes will you select from?
A. As per the school's guidelines on health and hygiene, your child may not be meeting the expected
standards. I request you to re-read the guidelines in detail.
B. Your child has been coming to school in an untidy uniform. I request you to look into the matter and
send him in a clean uniform, as per the school's guidelines on health and hygiene.
C. Health is wealth and cleanliness is Godliness! Please help your child experience wealth and
Godliness by sending him to school in a neat and tidy uniform.
D. Your child's unclean attire might lead other students to file a complaint with the hygiene
department of the school. Please avoid your child the embarrassment and address the issue quickly.
Marks: 2
Correct Response: Option B
This question tests teachers’ ability to incorporate sensitivity in their communication, using “notes to
parents” as the sample situation. In such situations, it becomes imperative for the teachers to uphold
the student's and parent’s dignity. Option B is the correct option as it lays out the issue clearly, is still
polite in the request to the parent and refers to an objective school guideline rather than an opinion.
▪ Choosing Option A indicates that the teacher is aware of the need to be sensitive in parent
communication because he/she refers entirely to the objective school guideline rather than to the
individual student. However, it is unclear in terms of both the issue and the next step and is
therefore sub-optimal (“sensitivity” being the ability to have a difficult conversation without hurting
the other person, rather than avoiding the difficult conversation altogether).
▪ Choosing Option C indicates a misconception that while addressing sensitive issues it is helpful to
cloud them with flowery language and beliefs. In this particular situation, the reference to a broader
belief makes the teacher’s note unclear and diverts from the issue at hand.
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▪ Choosing Option D indicates both misunderstanding of sensitivity and a tendency to shift the source
of a particular complaint from the “school” to “other children” which is not helpful in resolving the
issue.
Question 11
Five companies - Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma and Theta - transports cars, clothes, fish, paint and steel (not
necessarily in that order). There is only one truck available and each company transports its product on
different days of the week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (not necessarily in that
order). Below is some information we know:
1. Alpha does not transport on the first day and it transports edibles.
2. Beta transports on the last day.
3. The company that transports on the first day transports cars.
4. Delta transports clothes and it cannot be transported on adjacent days of transportation of fish.
5. Gamma transports after Theta.
What does Gamma transport and when?
I. Steel on Wednesday
II. Steel on Thursday
III. Paint on Wednesday
IV. Paint on Thursday
A. Only I
B. Only II
C. I or II
D. I or III
Marks: 3
Correct Response: Option: D
This question tests teachers’ logical reasoning skills - ability to connect the data and reach a conclusion.
Below each of the given statements is explained on step-by-step basis.
1. Alpha does not transport on the first day and it transports edibles.
a. Alpha transports fish on any day except Friday
Alpha Monday Fish
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Alpha Tuesday Fish
Alpha Wednesday Fish
Alpha Thursday Fish
Friday
2. Beta transports on the last day.
a. Beta transports on Friday
Alpha Monday Fish
Alpha Tuesday Fish
Alpha Wednesday Fish
Alpha Thursday Fish
Beta Friday
3. The company that transports on the first day transports cars.
a. Cars are transported on Monday
Monday Cars
Alpha Tuesday Fish
Alpha Wednesday Fish
Alpha Thursday Fish
Beta Friday
4. Delta transports clothes and it cannot be transported on adjacent days of transportation of fish.
a. Therefore, fish cannot be transported on Wednesday. One of Alpha or Delta transports on
Tuesday, and the other on Thursday.
Monday Cars
Alpha/Delta Tuesday Fish/Clothes
Wednesday
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Alpha/Delta Thursday Fish/Clothes
Beta Friday
5. Gamma transports after Theta.
a. Therefore, Theta transports on Monday and Gamma on Wednesday. It transports either
paint or steel.
Theta Monday Cars
Alpha/Delta Tuesday Fish/Clothes
Gamma Wednesday Paint/Steel
Alpha/Delta Thursday Fish/Clothes
Beta Friday Paint/Steel
Therefore, Gamma transports either paint or steel on Wednesday - which gives us the correct answer
Option D.
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