Tips for Writing Your
ELPS Master’s
Comprehensive Exam
2016
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MA Comprehensive Exam: Developing an
entry plan for an open principal position

The purpose of the MA comprehensive exam is to demonstrate that you can
collect and analyze data regarding a school and community in order to apply
the knowledge you have gained in the ELPS program to develop an entry
plan to address the needs of the stakeholders.

The four areas that the MA comp is graded on are as follows:

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
Application of concepts from coursework and Colorado Principal Standards in entry
plan steps

Analysis and use of data to anchor each entry plan step

Development of relationships with each stakeholder group

Overall organization and written expression throughout the entry plan
You should clearly demonstrate the knowledge gained in the ELPS program in
your entry plan through references to course content or concepts that support
the actions you are proposing.
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Getting started…..

Download the directions for the MA comp from the ELPS Forms webpage
http://www.unco.edu/cebs/elps/forms.htm

Be sure you have submitted your request to take your comprehensive exam and
submitted it to the ELPS Administrative Assistant at least three weeks prior to the
due date of the exam.

You should also have submitted before your last semester in the program your
request to graduate to the ELPS Administrative Assistant to have your advisor sign
and fax to the Graduate School http://www.unco.edu/grad/forms/index.html

Due dates for comprehensive exams are as follows:
2016

Fall—By 5 pm the third Monday in October

Spring—By 5 pm the third Monday in March

Summer—by 5 pm the third Monday in June

You may submit your exam earlier in the semester that you have submitted your request
to complete your comps, but you MUST submit them by the above times and dates.
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MA Comprehensive Exam: Developing an
entry plan for an open principal position

2016
Identify an open principal position. This cannot be at your current school but
can be in your current district. Gather as much information about the
school/district/community as possible. Possible sources include the following:

School’s UIP/improvement plan (strongly encouraged)

District’s UIP/improvement plan

Demographic data on school and district (often found on the respective websites)

Census data on community demographics (Age, level of education, occupations,
etc.)

School’s student achievement data available on the CDE website (or the state
education department of the school you are focusing on)

Any information on parental involvement, extra-curriculars, curriculum, programs,
etc. from the school and district websites

Results of TELL Colorado survey (or other similar surveys administered by the
district/school and open to the public)

Local newspaper articles on the school and/or district.
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Other steps in preparation to writing…

Read and apply the Writing Tips also found on the ELPS Forms website (towards
the bottom of the list). Go back and reread these tips after you have written your
exam and proofread.


Part of your preparation to be a school leader is the ability to communicate well, both in
writing and orally. Grammar and punctuation errors detract from the message of any
communication; therefore, minimize such errors by knowing the rules, applying them,
and proofreading carefully.
Assemble all of the data you have collected (see prior slide for suggestions for
sources) and analyze the data. Your guiding question in this analysis should be the
following: What needs are revealed by the data for each stakeholder group?

As listed in the comp directions, the stakeholders and some of their interests include the
following:

Students (achievement and assessment, safety, equity/diversity, culture)

Teachers (supervision and evaluation, professional development resources and needs, culture)

Parents (perceptions, support, school interactions, communications)

Community (perceptions, resources, support, interactions, communications)

District Office (reporting requirements, resources, rules/regulations, finance, communication
lines, hiring/termination processes, evaluation process, negotiated agreements)

State (reporting requirements, rules/regulations)
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Other steps in preparation to writing…

Develop action plan items to address each of the needs that you have
identified in your analysis of the data.

Action items may address more than one stakeholder at a time

Order your action plan items in chronological order or by need. There must be
some guiding logical order to your entry plan.

Go through all of the syllabi, papers, materials, slides, texts, etc. from ALL of
your ELPS program classes and identify sources that relate to or help develop
what you will propose in each action in your entry plan.

Go through and label each entry plan item or parts of entry plan items that
relate to the Colorado Principal Standards. (There needs to be a clear/explicit
identification of how your entry plan steps address each of the CO Principal
Standards.) It is preferable to not only cite the standard, but also the
competency (e.g., Standard 2.2).

Reread the directions for the MA comp, particularly the rubric description for
a Level 4/High response (see next slide).
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MA Comp Level 4/High Rubric

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Written responses demonstrate

1) sophisticated understanding, synthesis, and application of concepts from a broad
range of coursework and in alignment with specific Colorado Principal Standards;

2) thorough analysis and use of a diverse array of data while acknowledging the
nuances of their implications;

3) specific and innovative strategies for building relationships/coalitions with
stakeholders; and

4) skills in organizing and expressing ideas in a holistic, logical, coherent, literate,
and convincing fashion.
Of the above items, please note that you should demonstrate an integrated
and in-depth knowledge of the content covered in classes in the ELPS
program. Also, you MUST show the relationship of your entry plan steps to the
CO Principal Standards.
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Writing your comprehensive exam….

As you write, be sure to review the Writing Tips on the ELPS Forms page
periodically.

Begin with an introduction.

Do NOT write as though you are addressing a particular group of stakeholders. You
are writing an exam and your audience are your ELPS professors.

Be sure you have an overall organization to your exam. (Clear headings are a
must.)

Be sure you explicitly include the data (as well as its source) related to each
entry plan step.

Explicitly discuss how you will develop relationships with each stakeholder
group.

Each step should be detailed. For example, it is not enough to say you will
develop relationships with teachers. Rather, explain that you will meet with
them individually before the school year begins and ask them specific
questions, then you will have an informal kick-off BBQ, etc. Be specific!
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Writing your comprehensive exam….


Your MA comp differs from the entry plan assignment you completed as part
of the ELPS 670 class in the following ways:

The comp must be for a position at a school where you do not currently work.

The comp can be supplemented with charts, but should be predominantly
narrative.

The comp entry plan steps MUST be firmly anchored in data.

The comp entry plan MUST be explicitly related to and address each CO Principal
Standard.
The directions for the MA comp state the following so be sure you do each of
these clearly:
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Clearly and logically articulate the following:

The needs of the school

The data you found that indicates that these needs should be a priority

What actions you will take to address these needs

How these actions you plan to take will positively impact the identified need(s)
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When you have completed your first
draft….

Be sure you have addressed each CO Principal Standard in an integrated but
explicit manner. Reference the principal standards/competencies within action
steps, not simply at the end of the section. In other words, what action goes with
what standard/competency?

Be sure you have a solid introduction and conclusion to your entry plan, as well as
transitions between each section.

Be sure you have a clear and logical organization of the exam marked by clear
headings.

Be sure you have cited materials from courses throughout your ELPS program to
support your entry plan action steps.

Be sure the data or reason for each entry plan action item is clearly and
persuasively presented.

Be sure you have included multiple means of building relationships with each
stakeholder group, referencing sources to demonstrate that you know what actions
build strong relationships.

Review the Writing Tips and proofread!
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When submitting your MA comprehensive
exam….

Email the file to the ELPS Administrative Assistant

Do not include your name on the exam itself as all exams are assigned a
number and sent out for blind review to the faculty. To ensure blind review,
run a search through your exam to ensure that you do not have any
inadvertent references to your identity. Do identify yourself in the email to
the ELPS Administrative Assistant, however.

It takes approximately two weeks to grade all of the comp exams submitted
each semester.

After the exams are graded, the results are sent to the Graduate School.

It may take up to four weeks after the comp exam is due before you will hear
the results. Please be patient.
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