Test Information Guide

Overview and Test Objectives:
Field 62: Reading Specialist

Test Overview

Table outlining the test format, number of questions, time, and passing score.

Format	Computer-based test (CBT) and online proctored test; 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 open-response items
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.

Sub area 1 20%, Sub area 2 20%, Sub area 3 20%, Sub area 4 20%, and Sub area 5 20%.

Test Objectives

Table outlining test content and subject weighting by sub area and objective.

Subareas		Range of Objectives	Approximate Test Weighting
Multiple-Choice
I1	Foundational Literacy Development	01–04	20%
II2	Literacy Components and Instructional Resources	05–08	20%
III3	Literacy Assessment and Evaluation	09–12	20%
IV4	Theoretical, Professional, and Language Foundations	13–16	20%
			80%
Open-Response
V5	Integration of Knowledge and Understanding
	Foundational Reading Skills	17	10%
	Reading Comprehension	18	10%
			20%

 

Subarea I1–Foundational Literacy Development

Objective 0001: Demonstrate knowledge of concepts of print and evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-specific standards in this area.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of basic concepts of print (e.g., letters and words carry meaning, print is what one reads, illustrations correspond to print, English text is read from left to right and from top to bottom, letters are different from words, spacing occurs between words, letter-sound correspondence, print matches spoken words).
• Promote knowledge of the alphabetic system and the difference between letters and words (e.g., label objects in the classroom, provide direct instruction on uppercase and lowercase letters).
• Apply knowledge of ways to read aloud and discuss authentic, complex text (e.g., book parts, illustrations) to promote knowledge of book orientation; directionality of print; distinction between sentences, words, and letters; and sentence features.
• Promote knowledge that print conveys a message by providing opportunities for students to play with print (e.g., construct signs, create shopping lists, write notes, make cards).
• Promote recognition that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters (e.g., reading a wide variety of text and environmental print).

Objective 0002: Demonstrate knowledge of phonological awareness and evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-specific standards in this area.

For example:

• Understand the role of phonological and phonemic awareness in the reading development of all students.
• Explain the distinction between phonological awareness, which is the awareness that language is composed of smaller units such as spoken words and syllables, and phonemic awareness, which is a specific type of phonological awareness involving the ability to distinguish separate phonemes in spoken words.
• Demonstrate knowledge of instructional routines that address the progression of phonological awareness skills: rhymes (i.e., recognizing and producing rhyming words), syllables (e.g., count, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words), onsets/rimes (e.g., blending and segmenting onsets and rimes of single-syllable spoken words), and phonemes (e.g., isolating and pronouncing the initial, medial vowel, and final sounds in single-syllable words; segmenting spoken single-syllable words into their complete sequence of individual phonemes; manipulating phonemes within words).

Objective 0003: Demonstrate knowledge of the role of phonics in word recognition and spelling and evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-specific standards in these areas.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the stages of word recognition (e.g., pre-alphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic, consolidated), instructional practices, and the role of the stages in learning to recognize words.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the systematic, cumulative progression of phonics concepts (e.g., the alphabet, short vowels and consonants, blends, digraphs, vowel-consonant-final e [VCe], long vowels, r-controlled vowels, variant vowels, diphthongs, multisyllabic words, multisyllabic words with prefixes and suffixes).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to implement high-quality multisensory (i.e., auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic) phonics instruction (e.g., having students move their bodies to simulate letter shapes, manipulating magnetic letters, air writing, using whiteboards).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the relationship between phonics and phonemic awareness and ways to assist students in making connections between sounds they hear and the way the sound is represented.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the role of decodable text to provide students with opportunities to apply and transfer phonics knowledge to connected text.
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to integrate phonics into literacy instruction in other content areas (e.g., practicing affixes while reading a science text).
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to explicitly teach grade-level phonics and word analysis skills using a variety of evidence-based practices (e.g., arm tapping to blend and segment; air writing; table writing; repeated instruction and practice of phonics and word analysis skills; pictures, such as letter-sound cards and keyword cards; trace-build-print words; word sorts to practice the syllable types).
• Demonstrate knowledge of orthographic mapping (i.e., the process of forming letter-sound connections to combine and recall the spelling, pronunciation, and meaning of words); orthographic stages (i.e., visual, nonalphabetic, partial alphabetic, full graphophonemic, consolidated graphosyllabic, and graphomorphemic); instructional practices to support orthographic mapping skills, automatic letter-sound awareness, phonemic awareness, and word study; and the role of orthographic mapping in learning to read words by sight, spell words from memory, and acquire vocabulary word knowledge from print.

Objective 0004: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote reading fluency at the word, sentence, and passage levels; and evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-specific standards in this area.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices that promote automatic word recognition and rate (e.g., reading decodable text with guidance and feedback, multisensory activities).
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices that promote oral reading with expression (e.g., echo reading, reader's theatre, repeated reading).
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices to support and develop fluency (e.g., teacher-modeled fluent reading; repeated oral reading of songs, poems, or decodable text with guidance and feedback; echo reading; multisensory activities, such as tracing words, syllable-type word sorts, and air writing).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to select appropriate text (i.e., prose and poetry) for students' oral reading that promotes accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, including rereading as necessary.

 

Subarea II2–Literacy Components and Instructional Resources

Objective 0005: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to evaluate and select appropriate curriculum and print/digital texts.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the philosophical statements of the Guiding Principles for English Language Arts and Literacy Programs that underlie the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy (e.g., to guide the design and evaluation of English language arts and literacy programs in schools, to prepare students for college, careers, and their lives as productive citizens).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of quality text and media (e.g., dimensions of text complexity, alignment with grade-level content topics, diversity in literary genres and forms, cultural relevance, representation of diverse cultures and perspectives) and ways to evaluate and select a wide variety of print and digital texts to support literacy development.
• Demonstrate knowledge of students' current literacy strengths and challenges (e.g., decoding, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, background knowledge, stamina, motivation, interest) when selecting print and digital texts that support literacy development.

Objective 0006: Demonstrate knowledge of ways to promote writing skills and evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-specific standards in this area.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of composition, including craft and structure of various genres and forms.
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for supporting effective idea development and writing structure (e.g., sentence structure, paragraph formation) in various genres.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of opinion/argumentative writing (e.g., introduction of a topic or text, stated opinion or claim, acknowledgment of alternate or opposing claims, logical organization of reasons and evidence, conclusion) to write opinion/argument texts that support claims by using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of expository writing (e.g., introduce a topic clearly; develop the topic with facts, definitions, quotations, and concrete details; use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary; maintain a style appropriate to audience and purpose; provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented) to write informative/explanatory texts that examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the elements of narrative writing (e.g., introduction, conflict/problem, resolution, conclusion) to develop experiences, events, and characters using effective literary techniques (e.g., dialogue, figurative language, irony), descriptive details, and well-structured sequences.
• Demonstrate knowledge of explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction to develop and strengthen writing by planning, revising, editing, or if necessary, trying a new approach.
• Demonstrate knowledge of explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction on developmentally appropriate handwriting, including letter formation, and keyboarding in the context of authentic writing tasks.
• Demonstrate knowledge of explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-level standards that addresses the command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage in writing.
• Demonstrate knowledge of explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-level standards that addresses conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling in writing.

Objective 0007: Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for providing explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction in comprehension, vocabulary, speaking and listening, and research skills aligned to grade-specific standards in the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Massachusetts Digital Literacy and Computer Science Standards.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction (e.g., direct instruction, modeling, guided practice, application, close reading) aligned to grade-level standards for comprehension.
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-level standards for vocabulary, including the three tiers of vocabulary, ways to select words to teach in-depth (e.g., words that have importance, utility, instructional potential, and conceptual understanding), and word-learning strategies (e.g., context, word parts [i.e., morphology], word banks, sentence frames, seven-step vocabulary learning process).
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for explicit and systematic instruction aligned to grade-level standards for speaking and listening (e.g., reciprocal teaching, reader's theatre, debate, oral reports, presentations, Socratic Seminar).
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for digital and media literacies, with emphasis on online research; gathering of relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; evaluation of each source for accuracy and bias; and integration of information without plagiarism.

Objective 0008: Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for literacy across content areas (reading and writing processes that are common across disciplines), including disciplinary literacy (literacy to engage in reading and writing processes unique to each academic discipline).

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for interpreting texts across content areas (e.g., asking clarifying questions to deepen understanding, using text features, summarizing, engaging in comprehension or word analysis strategies).
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices for composing and revising text across content areas (e.g., organizing ideas in visual, graphic, or written formats; reading work aloud; using specific feedback from peers and teachers to improve writing), and understand genre differences and the unique demands of writing in each discipline.
• Demonstrate knowledge of practices for evaluating and critiquing texts in a specific discipline (e.g., students corroborate evidence from multiple sources, students use their disciplinary knowledge to critique an online text).
• Demonstrate knowledge of evidence-based practices to effectively connect literacy strategies to discipline-specific frameworks and practices, including academic and domain-specific vocabulary.
• Demonstrate knowledge of practices to connect the student standards to students' interests, backgrounds, home languages, and families.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways disciplinary literacy instruction deliberately engages students in authentic inquiries, tasks, and texts (e.g., authentic connections to local phenomena).

 

Subarea III3–Literacy Assessment and Evaluation

Objective 0009: Demonstrate the ability to identify strengths, challenges, and concurrent factors in literacy among culturally and linguistically diverse student populations.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the strengths (e.g., bilingualism, Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills [BICS], transference of phonological awareness in the home language to another language) and challenges (e.g., academic vocabulary, syntax) common to multilingual students.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics of first- and second-language acquisition (e.g., BICS versus Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency [CALP]; features of language at the word, phrase, sentence, and discourse levels).
• Demonstrate awareness of both the overrepresentation and underrepresentation of bilingual learners in special education, due to a lack of understanding of the complexities of bilingual language and literacy development, and understanding that in and of itself using more than one language (orally or in written form) does not cause reading difficulty.
• Demonstrate ability to distinguish between a language acquisition issue or a special education issue when working with bilingual/multilingual students who experience reading difficulties.

Objective 0010: Demonstrate the ability to identify strengths, challenges, and concurrent factors in literacy among students with reading difficulties or disabilities.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of reading difficulties and disabilities that impact literacy development (e.g., phonological deficit indicating a core problem in the phonological processing system; dyslexia; processing speed deficit [fluency] affecting speed and accuracy of printed word recognition; poor comprehension resulting from limited language comprehension, generalized language learning disorders, and/or speech and language disorders).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the definition of dyslexia as defined by the International Dyslexia Association and of distinguishing presentations and diverse degrees of challenges associated with dyslexia (e.g., delayed speech, word pronunciation, phonological processing, naming speed) and strengths associated with dyslexia (e.g., oral comprehension, reasoning, imagination, verbal expression, resilience, spatial skills, creativity, problem solving).

Objective 0011: Demonstrate knowledge of the purposes, attributes, strengths, limitations, and administration of various types of assessment.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the purposes and attributes of screening and diagnostic assessments (e.g., measuring students' performance against a set of established norms or benchmarks from a wide population), including validity, reliability, scientific basis, and bias (e.g., gender, age, language, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic); and considerations of informed consent and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the purposes and attributes of curriculum-based measurements and assessments used for formative purposes (i.e., gauging short-term student growth and informing instruction).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the purposes and attributes of progress-monitoring tools (i.e., assessing progress toward an end-of-year goal and mastery toward short-term goals).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the purposes and attributes of summative assessments (i.e., evaluating student learning and academic achievement compared to a universal standard or school benchmark).
• Demonstrate knowledge of assessment tools that assess specific components of reading.
• Demonstrate knowledge of statistical terminology related to testing (e.g., population, sample size, mean, median, mode, standard deviation, outlier).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the purposes and attributes of criterion-referenced assessments (i.e., measure student performance against a fixed set of predetermined criteria) contrasted with norm-referenced assessments (i.e., measure student performance against a population).

Objective 0012: Demonstrate the ability to use assessment data to identify students at risk for reading difficulties and to inform appropriate instruction, and apply knowledge of the structure and purposes of flexible multi-tiered systems to support the needs of all students.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to analyze assessment data to identify students at risk for reading difficulties and to identify components of reading that require additional instruction or intervention to meet students' needs.
• Demonstrate knowledge of ways to group students for targeted instruction based on assessment data.
• Demonstrate knowledge of appropriate scaffolds for core instruction (e.g., teacher modeling; vocabulary instruction before reading; use of pictures, graphs, charts, and audio) and accommodations (e.g., additional time, smaller group size, chunked text, frequent teacher support) for students at risk for reading difficulties as determined by norm-referenced reading assessments.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the current Massachusetts Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) blueprint model, philosophy, and components.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the MTSS System Drivers (i.e., Leadership Drivers [e.g., resource allocations, shared responsibility, collaboration], Competency Drivers [e.g., professional development], and Implementation Drivers [e.g., tiered continuum of evidence-based practices, implementation fidelity, data-based decision making, high-quality curriculum, instruction]).

 

Subarea IV4–Theoretical, Professional, and Language Foundations

Objective 0013: Demonstrate and apply knowledge of evidence-based concepts of language and literacy development, including how the brain learns to read and neurobiological and/or cognitive impacts on reading development.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of literacy research (e.g., evidence based versus research based, peer reviewed, evidence-based practices selected by using data).
• Demonstrate knowledge of criteria to apply to research reports that indicate high standards of trustworthiness (e.g., peer review, purpose and sponsorship of the research, appropriateness of methodology, valid conclusions that can be drawn based on data, limitations of the data, the extent to which the findings can or have been replicated or corroborated).
• Demonstrate knowledge of high-quality, peer-reviewed meta-analyses and research reviews that utilize convergent evidence to identify best practices in literacy.
• Demonstrate knowledge of basic information about scientific knowledge; how it is developed; and how it should guide the selection and implementation of instructional programs, strategies, and approaches (e.g., Does the program, strategy, or approach comprehensively cover each evidence-based skill students need to read proficiently? Has the program, strategy, or approach been scientifically proven to work with all students?).
• Demonstrate and apply knowledge of seminal evidence-based concepts presented in peer-reviewed literature that have informed language and literacy concepts (e.g., Five Components of Reading [National Reading Panel, 2001], Simple View of Reading [Gough and Tunmer, 1986], The Reading Rope [Scarborough, 2001], The Four-Part Processing Model of Word Recognition [Seidenberg and McClelland, 1989]).

Objective 0014: Demonstrate knowledge of the components of language and evidence-based practices for explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction aligned to grade-specific standards that develop students' language acquisition.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of oral language as a complex neurocognitive and sociocultural system for communication that is foundational in the development of academic language (e.g., literal, inferential, narrative) and is shaped by culture, dialect, background knowledge, vocabulary knowledge, listening skills, and verbal reasoning.
• Demonstrate knowledge of phonology (i.e., the systematic study of the sounds used in language, the internal structure of the sounds, and the composition of the sounds in units of spoken language).
• Demonstrate knowledge of syntax (i.e., the rule-based system governing sentence formation and structures) and its role in the development of listening, speaking, reading (e.g., syntactic neural networks), and writing (e.g., syntactical awareness and conventions of grammar).
• Demonstrate knowledge of semantics (i.e., extracting the meanings of words and phrases) and its role in the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing (e.g., semantic neural networks).
• Demonstrate knowledge of morphology (i.e., the study of word meaning, formation patterns, and the internal structure of meaningful units comprising words) and its role in the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Demonstrate knowledge of discourse (e.g., spoken and written communication including narration, description, exposition, argument, cultural narratives, forms, functions, ritualization, implicit assumptions, adjacent pairs, cooperation principles, quality, quantity, manner, codes, registers, jargon) and its role in the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Demonstrate knowledge of pragmatics (i.e., the study of meaning in the interactional context, such as the negotiation of meaning between speaker and listener, the context of an utterance, and the potential meaning of an utterance), and its role in the development of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Objective 0015: Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships of language and literacy components that contribute to skilled reading.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships between phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming speed, decoding, word recognition, and spelling (i.e., the ability to recognize the sounds in spoken language is a key skill underlying the ability to connect phonemes [sounds] to graphemes [letters] for the purpose of word reading and spelling).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships between decoding, fluency, and reading comprehension (i.e., accurate and automatic word reading enables fluent reading of connected text, which frees up cognitive resources to devote to comprehension).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships between background knowledge, vocabulary, decoding, and reading comprehension (e.g., vocabulary knowledge contributes uniquely to both decoding ability and comprehension; vocabulary is a component of conceptual knowledge, which is strongly related to text comprehension).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships between reading comprehension and writing.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships between listening comprehension and reading comprehension (i.e., comprehension of language and word recognition are the two major constructs that contribute to reading comprehension).
• Demonstrate knowledge of the reciprocal relationships between reading, writing, language, viewing, speaking, and listening (i.e., building knowledge through reading, viewing, and listening to high-quality literature, and speaking and writing about text using rich language and content is essential to reading comprehension).

Objective 0016: Demonstrate knowledge of culturally responsive collaborative leadership and adult learning theories and strategies.

For example:

• Demonstrate knowledge of effective mentorship and coaching (e.g., consulting and collaborating with classroom teachers; modeling instruction as an in-class support person; providing individualized, small-group, and whole-class instruction; coordinating the implementation of effective school-wide reading programs, evidence-based approaches to literacy instruction across all content areas, and instruction informed by local data).
• Demonstrate knowledge of planning and leading professional development (e.g., ways to communicate information related to literacy development and instruction to colleagues; methods to promote understanding of evidence-based reading practices and materials appropriate to all learners; skills to effect positive changes in classroom instruction; ways to provide teachers with effective professional learning in evidence-based literacy instruction).
• Demonstrate knowledge of how to develop a school-based plan for literacy instruction and assessment that integrates evidence-based strategies.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the evaluation and selection process of evidence-based core and intervention instructional materials for literacy.

 

Subarea V5–Integration of Knowledge and Understanding

Objective 0017: Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to the development of foundational reading skills.

For example:

• Analyze, interpret, and discuss accurately and appropriately the results of an assessment of foundational reading skills for an individual student.
• Demonstrate the ability to use evidence from an assessment to identify a student's strengths and needs related to foundational reading skills (e.g., phonemic awareness skills, phonics skills, recognition of high-frequency words, syllabication skills, morphemic analysis skills, automaticity, reading fluency).
• Demonstrate the ability to select and accurately describe appropriate, evidence-based instructional strategies, interventions, or extensions to build on a student's identified strength or address a student's identified needs in foundational reading skills.
• Demonstrate the ability to explain the effectiveness of the selected instructional strategies, interventions, or extensions in building on a student's identified strength and addressing two of a student's identified needs, using sound reasoning and knowledge of foundational reading skills.

Objective 0018: Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to the development of reading comprehension.

For example:

• Analyze, interpret, and discuss accurately and appropriately the results of an assessment of reading comprehension for an individual student.
• Demonstrate the ability to select appropriate examples from a student's reading or writing performance that identify the student's strengths and needs related to reading comprehension (e.g., foundational skills; vocabulary knowledge; knowledge of academic language structures, including conventions of standard English grammar and usage; application of literal, inferential, or evaluative comprehension skills; use of comprehension strategies; application of text analysis skills to a literary or informational text, including determining key ideas and details, analyzing craft and structure, or integrating knowledge and ideas within a text or across texts).
• Demonstrate the ability to select and accurately describe appropriate, instructional strategies, interventions, or extensions to build on a student's identified strength or address a student's identified needs in reading comprehension.
• Demonstrate the ability to explain the effectiveness of the selected instructional strategies, interventions, or extensions in building on a student's identified strength and addressing two of a student's identified needs, using sound reasoning and knowledge of reading comprehension.

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