MTTC - Basic Skills & Elementary Education Tests (MTTC Teacher Certification Test Prep) [Paperback]

The Editors of REA (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

ARE YOU READY TO TEACH IN MICHIGAN? 
THEN USE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE ON THE MARKET TODAY.

MTTC (Michigan Test for Teacher Certification) Basic Skills Test & Elementary Education Test

The Most Complete Subject Reviews
Everything you need to know for the MTTC (Michigan Test for Teacher Certification) Basic Skills Test and the Elementary Education Test, prepared by leading specialists in teacher education. Comprehensive review chapters cover all the subjects and skills tested on the MTTC Basic Skills Test and the Elementary Education Test.

The Best Practice Exams Available
2 full-length practice exams based on the official MTTC Basic Skills Test and the Elementary Education Test – balanced to include every topic and type of question you can expect on the actual MTTC.

Total Explanations of Questions & Answers
Our MTTC Basic Skills and Elementary Education practice exams come with detailed feedback on every question. We don’t just say which answers are right – but explain why the others are wrong, so you’ll be prepared on test day!

Proven Test-Prep Methods
REA’s focused MTTC content and practical advice have helped millions succeed on their exams. With our step-by-step plan, you can score high on the MTTC and get certified to teach in Michigan!

Federal Guidelines for NCLB Compliance
You can expect that candidates with NCLB-compliant credentials will enjoy preferential status in hiring. In Michigan, this means you need to pass the MTTC. Maximize your exam performance and master the MTTC with the unrivaled certification expertise that only REA can offer.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

If you want to become a teacher in the state of Michigan, this book will help you get into the classroom. Inside you'll find complete coverage of the Michigan MTTC Basic Skills and Elementary Education tests. With both targeted subject reviews and practice tests based on the official exams, this book will equip you with the information, strategies, and relevant practice you'll need to pass the exam. Following each practice test, you will find an answer key with the kind of detail that will help you better grasp the test material and put you in the driver's seat on test day.

THE MTTC TESTS AND YOU

Who takes the Basic Skills and Elementary Education tests and what are they used for?
While passing the MTTC alone is not sufficient to earn certification to teach in the Great Lake State, it is also true that, except for qualified out-of-state candidates, successful completion of courses of study must include your passing the Basic Skills test and one or more subject-area tests related to the specific content for which you wish to receive endorsement to teach.

Some colleges and universities require a passing score on the Basic Skills test for admission into a teacher preparation program. Check with the specific institution for details.

Before being recommended to the state for credentialing, all elementary teacher certification candidates must take and pass the MTTC test in Elementary Education. Additionally, elementary candidates seeking to be able to teach in subject-specific classrooms in grades 6-8 must take and pass the MTTC tests in their academic major and academic minor.

How do I achieve "highly qualified" status in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act?
By itself, the MTTC battery does not confer "highly qualified" status. However, passing the MTTC does allow certified teachers to achieve that status. For details, visit http://www.michigan.gov/mde.

Am I required to take these tests if I hold a teaching certificate from another state?
No, not if you meet these criteria:

1) You have taught for at least three years in a position for which your out-of-state teaching certificate was deemed valid.

2) You have earned, after initial certification in another state, at least 18 semester credit hours in a planned course of study at a state board-approved institution of higher education, or have earned, at any time, a state board-approved master's or doctoral degree.

3) You have met, as applicable, the elementary or secondary reading-credit requirement established by the state board.

If you hold a teaching certificate from another state and meet all of the requirements for a Michigan teaching certificate, but do not meet all three of the requirements listed above and have not passed the required Basic Skills and subject-area tests, you are eligible to receive a one-year nonrenewable temporary teaching certificate.

The Michigan Board of Education will not issue a teaching certificate after the expiration of the temporary teaching certificate unless you pass the appropriate MTTC tests.

How is the test content determined?
The content of all MTTC tests is based on curricula used in Michigan schools, following state Board of Education Core Curriculum and curriculum guidelines, and reflects the input of more than 12,000 Michigan schoolteachers and college faculty members. These individuals participated in the review and validation of test objectives and test questions, and made recommendations upon which the passing scores for the tests were established.

Who administers the MTTC tests?
The MTTC is developed by the Michigan Department of Education and administered by a private testing agency, National Evaluation Systems, Inc. (NES).

When are the MTTC tests offered?
The MTTC tests are offered four times a year. The usual testing day is Saturday, but an alternate day will be offered if a conflict, such as a religious obligation, exists. Special accommodations can also be made for applicants who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, physically disabled, or learning disabled.

To receive information on upcoming administrations of the MTTC battery, consult the MTTC Registration Bulletin, which can be obtained by visiting the National Evaluation Systems website at http://www.mttc.nesinc.com.

Additional information is available from the Michigan Department of Education, to which NES is under contract. The department can be contacted as follows:

Michigan Department of Education
608 W. Allegan Street
P.O. Box 30008
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: [phone]
Website: http://www.michigan.gov/mde

Is there a registration fee?
Yes. Check with NES for payment options.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

What do I study first?
Read over the reviews and the suggestions for test-taking. Studying the reviews thoroughly will reinforce the basic skills you will need to do well on the exam. Make sure to take the practice tests to become familiar with the format and procedures involved with taking the actual MTTC.
To best utilize your study time, follow our MTTC Study Schedule located at the end of this chapter. The schedule is based on a seven-week program, but can be condensed to four weeks if necessary.

When should I start studying for the MTTC tests?
It is never too early to start studying for your MTTC test. The earlier you begin, the more time you will have to sharpen your skills. Do not procrastinate! Cramming is not an effective way to study, since it does not allow you the time needed to learn the test material.

FORMAT OF THE MTTC TESTS

How were the tests prepared and what are they like?
Under the MTTC umbrella, there are two types of tests: Basic Skills and subject-area. The Basic Skills test consists of three sections: reading, mathematics, and writing. The reading and mathematics portions each have approximately 43 multiple-choice questions. The writing portion of the Basic Skills test requires you to produce a writing sample in response to a given assignment. The subject-area tests consist of approximately 100 test questions in a multiple-choice format.

Our Basic Skills practice subtest modules are presented directly following each subject's review section. Each practice set is designed to reinforce your studies while exposing you to the full range of question types. The number of items in these sets is calibrated toward the recognition that math generally gives teacher candidates the most trouble. We therefore provide you with proportionately more math items, whereas the reading section is proportionately represented as a mini-test. Our Elementary Education test material is presented as a series of full-length subtests.

All the questions on the MTTC Basic Skills and Elementary Education tests are in multiple-choice format. Each question gives you four answers, lettered A through D, from which to choose.

How are the tests timed?
Basic Skills is a full-session test, meaning that you will be allotted four-and-a-half hours to complete all your subtests. How much you spend on each is up to you. Elementary Education is a partial-session test, meaning that you'll be granted two-and-a-half hours in all.

ABOUT THE SUBJECT REVIEWS
The reviews in this book are designed expressly to give you specific insight into the content and contour of the MTTC Basic Skills and Elementary Education tests.

We break it all down for you in bite-size chunks. We also want you to consider, however, that your schooling has taught you most of what you need to answer the questions on the test. Our review is designed to help you fit the information you have acquired into the context of the tests. Reviewing your class notes and textbooks together with our subject reviews will give you an excellent springboard for passing the MTTC.

SCORING THE MTTC

How do I score my practice tests?
In understanding the scoring process, it's important to view the test holistically. This is because while the test's overall difficulty holds steady from one administration to another, the subareas do vary to some degree. Therefore, it is not possible to achieve passing status by piecing together successful subarea performances on MTTC tests taken on different dates.

The qualifying scaled score for the Basic Skills Test, the Elementary Education Test, and the subject area test for each teaching major and/or minor is uniformly 220 on a scale of 100 to 300.

To pass any MTTC test, you need to get approximately 70% of the questions correct. No points are subtracted for questions answered incorrectly. Therefore, a guess is always better than skipping a question altogether.

Your writing sample will not be scored on the basis of the thoughts, sentiments, or opinions you express, or on handwriting, but rather on the essay's organization, clarity, syntax, and overall effectiveness in making your points.

Scored writing samples are rated on a scale from "1" to "4," with "1" representing an inadequate, undeveloped writing sample and "4" representing an adequate writing sample that is well developed. Each sample is read and scored by two readers; the two readers' scores are added together to produce your total score on the essay. Any pair of scores separated by more than one point causes a third reader to be brought in to resolve the discrepancy.

If you do not achieve a passing score, review the detailed explanations for the questions you answered incorrectly. Note which types of questions you answered wrong, and re-examine the corresponding review. After further review, you may want to retake the practice tests.

And, finally, if you do not do well on test day, don't panic! The test can be taken again, so you can work on improving your score in preparation for your next MTTC sitting. A score on the MTTC that d...

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Research & Education Association; First edition (August 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738600571
• ISBN-13: 978-0738600574
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book For Elementary Teachers, July 19, 2007

By 

Chante (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MTTC - Basic Skills & Elementary Education Tests (MTTC Teacher Certification Test Prep) (Paperback)

The MTTC (REA) book is an excellent resource for not only passing the MTTC (Michigan Test for Teacher Certification), but a good resource book to have as a teacher. The book gives good explanation of subjects and gives beginning teachers (or not yet teachers) a glance on the subject areas they should be knowledgeable of. I would recommend this book highly to beginning teachers, not-yet teachers, and seasoned teachers as well, we can never know too much as teachers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Help is Hard to Find, March 23, 2007

By 

M. Cameron (Lansing, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: MTTC - Basic Skills & Elementary Education Tests (MTTC Teacher Certification Test Prep) (Paperback)

I'm preparing for my MTTC Elementary Education Test. I took the Basic Skills test three years ago and passed it without studying, but I know the Elementary Education Test is going to be a hare harder so I got the book to review.
The book offers study-help hints, subject review and a practice test with a bubble-sheet, answer key, and my favorite--answer explanations for both the teacher certification test AND the basic skills test.
The answer explanations justify the practice test's correct answers and describes why the other choices for each questions are not. The MTTC review book also covers how the both real tests are scored.
In all, I'm recommending the book because it's helped me brush up a bit on all the basics of educational philosophy and the backbones of test subject matter such as language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, the arts, and health/phys ed.
I'll be testing for teacher certification April 14th. Wish me luck!

Melissa

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review the Review, January 7, 2008

By 

Allison (Battle Creek, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MTTC - Basic Skills & Elementary Education Tests (MTTC Teacher Certification Test Prep) (Paperback)

I bought this book so that I could brush up on my math skills before taking the basic skills test for the MTTC. However, while taking the practice test in the math section I found three mistakes, and there may be more. They either gave me the wrong answer, doubled an answer, or completely contradicted themselves in the explanation. Although the majority of the questions were helpful, it made me lose a little faith in the book.