MTEL Study Tips and Resources

General Suggestions

Preparing for MTELs takes time and planning. The following are some suggestions for helping you develop your own study plan. Talk to colleagues and instructors for other ideas. Studying with peers can be very effective and supportive.

• MTEL Practice Tests - Take the practice tests on the MTEL program website under test conditions to get an idea of what to expect and how you might perform.
• MTEL Test Objectives - These will indicate what the test is going to cover. Download and use as a study guide while linking test objectives to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks for the subject tests, and your courses at Lesley.
• Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks - The frameworks describe in detail the content that must be covered in the classroom. As a teacher, you will be expected to thoroughly know, understand, and teach this content, and you will be tested on your content knowledge through the subject MTELs. The frameworks, together with the test objectives and Lesley coursework, are a good study guide for MTEL subject tests.
• MTEL Faculty Guide - Despite its title, the faculty guide is very valuable for candidates, particularly for understanding the open-response scoring rubrics. It also contains an overview of the tests, preparation advice, information on developing a study plan, and sample open-responses.
• Lesley MTEL Preparation Workshops - The workshops are great for study tips, test-taking strategies, some content, and practice questions.
• Lesley's MTEL Student Guide 2011-2012 [pdf] - A 10 page booklet with helpful tips, specific suggestions, links to useful resources and positive ways to approach the tests
• MTEL Resources at the Lesley Library - The Lesley-Sherrill Library offers a wide range of reference materials, including several MTEL resources on reserve at the Circulation Desk. Check out the FLO Online Catalog and search under "MTEL" or the specific area that you want to study, eg. Elementary Science, Art History, Middle School Science, etc.
• Center for Academic Achievement - Lesley students and alum can get free MTEL Tutoring for Communication and Literacy Skills test, help with writing and reading, and other resources for academic support.
• Disability Services Office at Lesley
• Reduce Test Anxiety [pdf]

Test-Specific Suggestions

• Communication and Literacy Skills
• Early Childhood Education
• Foundations of Reading
• General Curriculum
• Middle and High School Subjects (including ELL)