MTEL TEST

MTEL Test

MTEL Test

A teaching license or credential is conferred by a state agency to adults who are keen on becoming educators or teachers in that state. The educators will have to meet certain specific requirements like education courses and teaching experience along with the mandatory requirements of having passed an examination for grant of the licence. The teaching licensure and certification process is different for each state. Most states have their own state-mandated teaching certification examinations. MTEL (Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure) has been implemented as a part of the statewide education reform initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Xamonline 2008).

There are three types of educator licenses that are issued by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of Massachusetts.

Academic (PreK-12): These licenses are required for being employed as teachers, administrators, specialist teachers, and professional support personnel

Vocational Technical Education: These licenses are required for employment in vocational technical education programs that are approved by the state

Adult Basic Education: Certain employers may ask you to produce this license for employment.

The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure or MTEL has two parts. Part one is a Communication and Literacy Skills Test taken by all applicants for Initial Licensure. There are two components for Part I: a reading test and a writing test, which can be taken separately - on separate days. Part two is a test of the subject knowledge for the license area(s) chosen by the applicant. A third exam, the Foundations of Reading Test, is required of early childhood, elementary, and moderate special needs licensure candidates.

Flaws

The flaws of this are that the MTEL is typically given five times a year. Test dates are provided on the DOE web site at www.doe.mass.edu/educators. Undergraduate students should attend support sessions early and often. They often begin taking the MTEL in their first year of college. Graduate students are often required to pass all subtests prior to practicum or a specific point in a preparation program (Langer Bartolomé Vásquez & Lucas 2000). Colleges of the Fenway recommend different schedules of test taking for their students. Candidates should check with their own institution for guidelines and test-taking policies.

Description of the General Curriculum Test

The new General Curriculum test will include two subtests. The subtests together will comprise 100 multiple-choice test items (questions) and two open-response items. Subtest I, which addresses the content areas of Language Arts, History & Social Science, and Science & Technology/Engineering, will include 55 multiple-choice items and one open-response item in the content area of either History & Social Science or Science & Technology/Engineering. Subtest II will include 45 multiple-choice items and one open-response item in the content area of Mathematics. The two subtests may be taken and passed together at one test administration or at two separate test administrations.

Test Development Activities

Test development activities associated with the MTEL tests are accomplished with the participation of Massachusetts public school teachers, teacher preparation faculty, college faculty involved in other academic departments, and teacher licensure candidates. Educators have opportunities to serve on review committees, ...