Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Special Education Practice Exam

Short-term memory deficits most commonly affect which of the following tasks?

1. Writing essays

2. Following multistep oral directions

3. Participating in physical education

4. Completing math computations

The correct answer is: Following multistep oral directions

Short-term memory deficits significantly impact the ability to follow multistep oral directions because these tasks require holding and manipulating several pieces of information in memory at once. When a person struggles with short-term memory, they may have difficulty remembering each step of the directions as they are given, leading to incomplete or incorrect execution of the tasks. Tasks like writing essays or completing math computations, while they can be cognitively demanding, are generally structured in a way that allows for review and revision, which can help circumvent some memory challenges. In physical education, while tasks may involve coordination and following instructions, the physical nature of the activities often allows for more immediate feedback and actions that don't rely solely on memory. This makes the multistep oral direction task the most affected by short-term memory limitations.