Test Information Guide
Overview and Test Objectives
Field 55: Adult Basic Education
Test Overview
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) and online proctored test; 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 open-response items |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions |
|
| Time | 4 hours (does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial) |
| Passing Score | 240 |
The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) are designed to measure a candidate's knowledge of the subject matter contained in the test objectives for each field. The MTEL are aligned with the Massachusetts educator licensure regulations and, as applicable, with the standards in the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.
The test objectives specify the content to be covered on the test and are organized by major content subareas. The chart below shows the approximate percentage of the total test score derived from each of the subareas.
The test assesses a candidate's proficiency and depth of understanding of the subject at the level required for a baccalaureate major according to Massachusetts standards. Candidates are typically nearing completion of or have completed their undergraduate work when they take the test.
Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.
Test Objectives
| Subareas | Range of Objectives | Approximate Test Weighting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple-Choice | |||
| I | English Language Arts | 01–04 | 15% |
| II | English for Speakers of Other Languages | 05–06 | 25% |
| III | Mathematics | 07–10 | 25% |
| IV | History and Social Science | 11–13 | 10% |
| V | Science | 14–15 | 10% |
| 85% | |||
| Open-Response* | |||
| VI | Application of Knowledge and Understanding | 16 | 15% |
*The open-response items may relate to topics covered in any of the subareas.
Subarea I–English Language Arts
Objective 0001: Understand the process of written composition.
- For example: factors to consider when writing for various audiences and purposes; processes for generating and developing written texts (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, rewriting); effective sentence, paragraph, and essay development (e.g., development of thesis statement, organizational strategies, transitional devices); techniques for improving text organization; selection of appropriate details to support an argument or opinion; developing style and voice in writing; evaluating written work with respect to use of rhetoric, logic, voice, style, and content; and revising text to improve unity, focus, clarity, and economy of expression.
Objective 0002: Understand grammar, usage, conventions, structure, and history of edited American English.
- For example: knowledge of grammatical expression and formal usage; parts of speech; sentence types (e.g., compound, declarative, exclamatory); use of verbs (e.g., subject-verb agreement, consistency of tense and person), pronouns (e.g., pronoun-antecedent agreement, use of possessive pronouns), and modifiers (e.g., adverbs, adjectives, prepositional phrases); applying knowledge of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization in edited American English; and the structure and history of the English language (e.g., etymology and orthography).
Objective 0003: Understand literature written in or translated into English.
- For example: characteristics of major literary genres (e.g., fiction, nonfiction, personal essay, poetry, drama); elements of fiction (e.g., plot, character, setting, theme, point of view); literary devices (e.g., figurative language, imagery, irony, symbolism) and ways in which they contribute to meaning and style; important authors and works of literature; and characteristics and uses of writing assessments.
Objective 0004: Understand theories and practices relating to the development of reading skills and strategies for adult learners.
- For example: the reading process including the role of phonemic awareness, word analysis, phonics, structural analysis, vocabulary skills and strategies, literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension of literary and expository texts, and reading comprehension strategies including metacognitive techniques (e.g., self-questioning, paraphrasing) to develop and monitor reading comprehension and meaning-making (e.g., relationship between the reader and text); appropriate reading materials at a range of reading levels; the relationship between reading and writing; the range of literacy skills found among adult learners; reading assessment procedures and instruments; and instructional strategies to promote reading skills among adult learners.
Subarea II–English for Speakers of Other Languages
Objective 0005: Understand theories of language acquisition and factors that affect second-language development.
- For example: major theories of first- and second-language acquisition; stages and sequences in second-language acquisition; differences between basic interpersonal communication skills and cognitive-academic language proficiency; cognitive processes (e.g., memorization, categorization, meta-cognition) involved in internalizing language rules in a second language; the role of the first language in second-language acquisition and learning (e.g., language transfer, interlanguage development, literacy development); how social, affective, and personal factors (e.g., age, motivation, inhibition, individual learning style, culture) affect second-language development; and language assessment procedures and instruments, including selection, administration, and interpretation.
Objective 0006: Understand basic linguistic and sociolinguistic concepts and their application to English language learners.
- For example: apply knowledge of phonology (e.g., distinguishing among types of speech sounds); use of morphology (word structure) to analyze meaning; recognize syntactic features (e.g., a verb phrase) and discourse features (e.g., coherence); the roles of semantics and pragmatics in determining meaning in connected discourse; and knowledge of sociolinguistic concepts related to second-language acquisition (e.g., dialect diversity in English, variations in language register and style, intercultural differences in communication styles).
Subarea III–Mathematics
Objective 0007: Understand number sense and operations.
- For example: place value; number bases (e.g., base 2, base 10); order relations; prime and composite numbers; equivalent forms of numbers (e.g., integers, fractions, decimals, percents); ratios, proportion, radicals, exponents, and scientific notation; absolute value; meanings of operations and how they relate to one another (e.g., multiplication as repeated additions); fluency with computational algorithms; estimation; word problems and real-world applications involving number operations; understand use of appropriate technologies (e.g., calculators); and assessment of number sense and operations.
Objective 0008: Understand basic concepts of algebra.
- For example: use of patterns in mathematical and contextual situations; use of algebraic symbols and expressions to model mathematical and real-world situations and solve word problems; properties of functions and relations (e.g., using words, tables, graphs, rules, and equations); solving equations and systems of equations; graphs, properties (e.g., the concept of change), applications of linear, quadratic, and exponential functions; and assessment of algebraic concepts.
Objective 0009: Understand geometry and measurement.
- For example: measurable attributes of objects (e.g., shapes, angles, lines) and the units, systems, and processes of measurement; application of appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements; area, surface area, and volume; perpendicularity, parallelism, congruence, and similarity; proving theorems (e.g., Pythagorean theorem) within the axiomatic structure of Euclidean geometry; analysis of the characteristics of geometric figures; application of geometric properties and relationships to solve real-world problems and describe the physical world; use of transformations and symmetry to analyze mathematical situations; specification of locations and descriptions of spatial relationships using coordinate geometry and other representational systems; and assessment of geometry and measurement concepts.
Objective 0010: Understand data analysis, statistics, and probability.
- For example: methods used in collecting, organizing, representing, and analyzing data (e.g., charts, graphs, tables); descriptions of data using numbers, statistics, and trend terminology (e.g., measures of central tendency); reading and interpreting data representations (e.g., frequency distributions, percentiles); evaluation of arguments or statements by applying knowledge of data analysis, and recognition of bias factors and graph distortions; basic probability concepts; using probability models to understand real-world phenomena; applying data analysis, statistics, and probability to real-world situations; and assessment of concepts related to data analysis, statistics, and probability.
Subarea IV–History and Social Science
Objective 0011: Understand chronology, major developments, and individuals in Massachusetts, United States, and world history.
- For example: characteristics and contributions of ancient civilizations; major transformations in human history (e.g., the Agricultural Revolution, the Scientific Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Information Revolution); major political, social, and economic developments and conflicts in U.S. and world history since 1500 (e.g., the Renaissance, the Reformation, European exploration and settlement of the western hemisphere; the Age of Enlightenment, colonization, the Great Depression, the civil rights movement, the emergence of the United States as a world power, the breakup of the Soviet Union); and individuals who shaped the history of Massachusetts (e.g., John Adams, Abby Kelley Foster), the United States (e.g., Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rosa Parks), and the world (e.g., Pericles, Galileo, Sim�n Bolivar, Mohandas Gandhi, Mao Zedong, Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela).
Objective 0012: Understand basic principles and institutions of American government and their relation to the founding documents of the United States.
- For example: central concepts and purposes of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution; structure and functions of government at the local, state, and national levels; elements and operation of the U.S. electoral system; role of political parties and interest groups; ways citizens participate in and influence the political process; the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship; and contemporary issues in American democracy.
Objective 0013: Understand basic geographic principles and concepts, and major physical features of the world.
- For example: shape, location, and relationships among major land masses and bodies of water; major political units and divisions; basic geographic terms and concepts (e.g., region, location, plateau); characteristics and uses of basic geographic resources (e.g., almanacs, atlases); the use and interpretation of maps and globes; and the influence of geography and its effect on various peoples.
Subarea V–Science
Objective 0014: Understand basic principles and concepts of the physical and life sciences.
- For example: fundamental principles of the physical and life sciences (e.g., conservation of energy, adaptation); properties of matter; forms of energy (e.g., mechanical, chemical, sound, heat); motion of objects; characteristics of and processes related to the earth, the atmosphere, and space; the organization of living things, heredity, evolution, and ecology; the human body and its systems; and interrelationships between the life and physical sciences (e.g., the effects of changes in environmental conditions on plant and animal health, growth, and development).
Objective 0015: Understand principles and procedures of scientific inquiry.
- For example: applying basic procedures for generating questions and forming hypotheses about the natural world; using methods of observing phenomena and collecting and organizing data; understanding measurement instruments and procedures; drawing conclusions and making generalizations based on the examination of experimental results; interpreting experimental data presented in graphs, charts, or tables; and evaluating scientific claims and arguments.
Subarea VI–Application of Knowledge and Understanding
Objective 0016: Analyze and evaluate the organization, focus, unity, and/or expression of ideas in a written text AND apply critical thinking skills (e.g., analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation) to a written passage that presents an argument related to an ABE content area.
- For example: the analysis of flaws related to the organization, focus, unity, or expression of ideas in a written work; the identification and correction of errors of usage or mechanics in written texts; and the application of critical thinking skills (e.g., analysis, interpretation, synthesis, evaluation) to narrative, descriptive, and persuasive texts on a variety of topics.