Free MJE Practice Questions

Question 1

"It is school-funded and produced for a grade, so Hazelwood lets me remove it," a U.S. public high-school principal says about a well-supported editorial criticizing district spending. Which additional fact would most strongly challenge that choice of First Amendment standard?

Accepted Answer

Board policy and settled practice establish a forum for student expression with final content decisions made by student editors.

Answer

The editorial appears on a labeled opinion page and criticizes the official conduct of elected school-board members.

Answer

The editor is 18, has completed the required journalism courses, and also writes for a privately owned community newspaper.

Answer

Paid subscriptions and advertisements cover most printing costs, although the school provides the classroom and equipment.

Question 2

Asked detailed questions about course cancellations, a district spokesperson declines an interview but emails an on-the-record explanation and identifies a genuine error in the newspaper's data table. The spokesperson also demands approval of the entire article before publication. Student editors verify and fix the error and complete the remaining fact-checking. No agreement or publication policy requires source approval. How should the editor proceed?

Accepted Answer

Publish the checked article with the written response, without granting the spokesperson approval authority.

Answer

Hold the article until the spokesperson accepts an interview, so the district has an equal opportunity to participate.

Answer

Send the complete draft for approval, limiting the spokesperson's requested changes to factual matters.

Answer

Omit the emailed explanation and report that the district declined to comment because it declined the interview.

Question 3

A yearbook photograph is 3,000 pixels wide by 2,400 pixels high. The designer removes 600 pixels from each side, leaving the height unchanged, and places the resulting crop 8 inches wide. The crop preserves the event's context, and the layout can accommodate a smaller placement. The printer requires at least 300 pixels per inch at the final printed size. What should the production editor report?

Accepted Answer

225 ppi; reduce the placed width to 5.5 inches without resampling.

Answer

375 ppi; the proposed 8-inch placement meets the printing requirement.

Answer

300 ppi; retain the crop at its proposed 8-inch placement width.

Answer

225 ppi; change the resolution setting to 300 ppi while keeping the pixel count and placed width unchanged.

Question 4

Minutes before dismissal, a student reporter shows an adviser a message threatening an attack on the reporter at dismissal. It includes a current photograph of the classroom door and the reporter's home address. School procedures direct credible, imminent threats to the on-duty safety officer through an emergency channel. The reporter wants to contact the sender first. What takes priority?

Accepted Answer

Contact the on-duty safety officer immediately and follow the school's protective procedures.

Answer

Ask the reporter to establish the sender's identity before using the emergency reporting channel.

Answer

Arrange a family pickup, then report the message after confirming that the student is off campus.

Answer

Preserve the message and assemble the editors to decide whether publicizing it would deter the sender.

Question 5

The yearbook staff has committed to a 500-copy print run costing $18,900, including delivery; the entire bill is owed regardless of sales. Collected, unrestricted advertising revenue is $3,000. A separate $1,200 grant may be spent only on cameras. Books sell for $60, with a $2 processing fee on each paid sale. Twenty copies will be given away. There are no other costs or revenues. What minimum number of paid book sales will cover the print commitment and processing fees without using restricted funds?

Accepted Answer

275 paid copies

Answer

254 paid copies

Answer

265 paid copies

Answer

295 paid copies

Question 6

A school-news website and its social-media graphic incorrectly announce that the winter musical has been canceled. The editor confirms that it has only been rescheduled and fixes the article's body. The original headline and graphic remain online. What would make the correction complete?

Accepted Answer

Correct the headline and graphic, and add a clear correction identifying the original error.

Answer

Update the headline and graphic, marking the story only as "Updated" because the schedule is now accurate.

Answer

Withdraw the article and graphic until the school's communications office approves a replacement account.

Answer

Keep the original headline and graphic, but link both to the article containing the revised schedule.

Question 7

A district superintendent sues a student newspaper over a false report that district money paid for the superintendent's personal vacation. The court treats the superintendent as a public official. Which fact would provide the strongest evidence of actual malice as that term is used in U.S. defamation law?

Accepted Answer

Before publication, the editor acknowledged that authenticated records disproved the allegation.

Answer

The editor had repeatedly criticized the superintendent and privately hoped the reporting would force a resignation.

Answer

The reporter missed an opportunity to interview a district accountant while trying to meet the publication deadline.

Answer

After publication, parents relied on the article when calling for the superintendent's removal.

Question 8

At a FERPA-covered public high school, a student gives an on-the-record account of being suspended. Neither the reporter nor the adviser obtained school disciplinary records. The principal objects: "FERPA prohibits publishing anything about student discipline." Setting aside other legal and ethical considerations, which response accurately addresses FERPA?

Accepted Answer

FERPA restricts school disclosures from education records, not this independently obtained account.

Answer

Enrollment makes the interview an education record that requires school approval before publication.

Answer

School sponsorship permits the adviser to obtain the disciplinary file under the school-official exception.

Answer

The principal may confirm the suspension orally because FERPA restricts documents rather than spoken disclosures.

Question 9

During a WCAG 2.2 Level AA review of a student-news website, the designer checks text against its background. Font sizes are specified in CSS points, not pixels, and the measured contrast ratios are reliable. Keeping the stated size and weight unchanged, which text needs greater contrast to satisfy Success Criterion 1.4.3?

Accepted Answer

A 13-point regular-weight body paragraph with a contrast ratio of 4.1:1.

Answer

A 22-point regular-weight feature headline with a contrast ratio of 3.6:1.

Answer

A 16-point bold sidebar heading with a contrast ratio of 3.8:1.

Answer

An 11-point regular-weight photograph caption with a contrast ratio of 5.2:1.

Question 10

Every student at a 1,200-student school receives a link to a voluntary poll about starting the school day later. Of 360 students who respond once each, about 68% select "later." No weighting or statistical model has been used to estimate schoolwide opinion. The poll editor needs one sentence for a news story. Which sentence is justified?

Accepted Answer

Among the 360 voluntary respondents, about 68% favored starting the school day later.

Answer

Roughly two-thirds of all students favor a later start to the school day.

Answer

Schoolwide support for a later start is 68%, with a five-percentage-point margin of error.

Answer

The poll establishes a schoolwide majority for a later start because every student could participate.

Free MJE Practice Questions

Domain 1: Content, writing and editing

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Domain 2: Graphics, design and production

Question 4

Question 5

Domain 3: Staff and administration relationships

Question 6

Domain 4: Business and advertising

Question 7

Domain 5: Legal and ethical issues

Question 8

Question 9

Question 10

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