Past ExamsRwanda ICT preparation

Deputy Headteacher (DOS) practice questions with answers

Updated 17 September 2026 · 2 min read

The questions below come from the areas a deputy headteacher in charge of studies is tested on, including items from the real past paper for this post. Read each scenario as if it happened in your school this week. Decide what you would do, and why, before opening the explanation, because the reasoning matters more than the letter.

How this guide was made

Written for this site with AI assistance, then checked automatically before publishing. The topic table, sample questions, worked examples and study plan are generated from this site’s question bank: each worked example is recalculated by separate code, and each sample answer says where it came from.

The guide deliberately states no salaries, grades, pass marks or exam dates. Those change, and they could not be checked here, so take them from the advert itself.

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Practice questions

  1. The following are kinds of support that a school leader can give to teachers to improve learning. Indicate which of them is the odd one out.

    1. Induction for new teachers
    2. Professional Learning communities
    3. Peer-observation and reflection
    4. Model lesson and reflection
    Show the answer

    A. Induction for new teachers

    Induction is a one-off event aimed only at new staff. Peer observation, model lessons and professional learning communities are continuing, collaborative supports available to every teacher.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  2. Which of the following methods would you use in leading teaching through continuous professional development?

    1. Professional learning communities
    2. Classroom observations
    3. Team teaching
    4. All answers in A, B & C are correct
    Show the answer

    D. All answers in A, B & C are correct

    Team teaching, classroom observation and professional learning communities are all school-based CPD methods, and a school leader would normally combine them.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  3. A school leader should be familiar with the different policies and documents that call for the teacher continuous professional development. Assuming that you have become a deputy head teacher who is now attending a district pedagogical meeting, that you are asked to recommend such policies. Indicate which ones you cannot recommend from the following.

    1. ICT in Education Policy
    2. Rwanda Vision 2050
    3. Sustainable Development Goals.
    4. Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) II (2013-2018)
    Show the answer

    D. Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) II (2013-2018)

    EDPRS II ran to 2018 and has been superseded by the National Strategy for Transformation. Recommending an expired strategy as current policy is the error; the other three remain in force.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  4. Which of the following would you perform as a leadership task?

    1. Lesson observations
    2. All answers in A, B & C are correct
    3. Follow up the students' learning and assessment practices
    4. School improvement planning
    Show the answer

    B. All answers in A, B & C are correct

    Following up learning, observing lessons and leading school improvement planning are all school-leadership tasks; none excludes the others.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  5. Think about the Leadership attributes and complete the best option to complete this statement: "Leadership is to ... and achieve the vision through ..."

    1. Influencing and motivating individuals
    2. Controlling and governing individuals
    3. Influencing and control individuals
    4. Inspiring and motivating individuals.
    Show the answer

    A. Influencing and motivating individuals

    Leadership is standardly defined as influencing and motivating people toward a shared vision. Control and governance describe management or authority rather than leadership.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  6. In a school improvement planning meeting, one team member asks you to remind them some of the key elements to include in the SIP, which of the following would you choose as elements of your answer?

    1. Mission, aim, goals, objectives, outcomes, priorities, monitoring and evaluation strategies, logframe, SWOT analysis.
    2. SIP team members, School executive committee, students' performance data, school performance data, School profile
    3. Vision, goals, objectives, outputs, timeframe, indicator, implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation strategies
    4. SIP team members Vision, goals, objectives, outputs, timeframe, indicator, implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation strategies
    Show the answer

    C. Vision, goals, objectives, outputs, timeframe, indicator, implementation strategies, monitoring and evaluation strategies

    B lists the elements of the plan itself. C is the same list with people wrongly added to it, and D lists inputs and contributors rather than components of the document.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  7. If a teacher asks you in a meeting an example of what a professional teacher should do in terms of curriculum implementation, which answer would you give him/her from the suggested ones?

    1. A teacher should participate in professional and community networks and forums to broaden knowledge and improve practice.
    2. A teacher should plan what to teach annually, termly, monthly, weekly and daily
    3. All examples in A, B & C are correct
    4. A teacher should link teaching content knowledge and skills to everyday life experiences
    Show the answer

    C. All examples in A, B & C are correct

    Linking content to lived experience, planning across every cycle, and participating in professional networks are all part of competence-based curriculum implementation. None of the three excludes the others.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

  8. Which of the following assertion is not correct?

    1. Distributed leadership concentrates on engaging expertise wherever it exists within the organization
    2. Transactional school leadership states that the relationships between headteachers, deputy headteachers and teachers are based on exchange of resources (more focus on external motivation than intrinsic motivation).
    3. Situational school leadership, is an ideal school leadership model that is best under all circumstances
    4. Participative school leadership assumes that school stakeholders take part in decision-making and that people are more likely to accept and implement decisions in which they have been involved.
    Show the answer

    C. Situational school leadership, is an ideal school leadership model that is best under all circumstances

    Situational leadership is defined by adapting to the readiness of the people and the demands of the moment. Claiming it is best under all circumstances contradicts the model itself.

    Real past-paper question; the source had no key, so the answer was reasoned from the question. Open this question

Judge each option against learning

Several options in a scenario question are usually reasonable actions. The one that earns the mark normally protects or improves learning: the learners keep their lessons, the teacher gets support, the record is corrected. Rank the options by their effect on teaching and learning and the best answer often becomes obvious.

Watch for questions about process

Some items test whether you follow the school's structures: consulting the headteacher, working through heads of department, documenting decisions and involving parents at the right point. Acting alone, even with good intentions, is often the wrong answer in a school system built on shared responsibility.

After this set

More questions from the full bank follow this page. Work through them in short sittings, and note any area where your judgement differs from the explanation, because those are the areas to study before the test.

Common questions

Why do some questions show no answer?

A few questions in the real paper depend on policy figures that the source did not key. Rather than guess, this site shows the reasoning and leaves the answer open, so you can discuss them with colleagues.

Are these questions only for secondary schools?

Most apply to any school where someone leads teaching and learning. Primary and TVET contexts differ in detail, but supervision, assessment and curriculum coverage work the same way.

More Deputy Headteacher (DOS) guides

The same guide for related positions