About the Tests

Section 1531 of Public Act 451 (1976), as amended by Public Act 267 (1986), Public Act 282 (1992), and Public Act 289 (1995), mandates a testing program as part of Michigan's teacher certification requirements. The purpose of the tests is to ensure that each certified teacher has the necessary professional readiness and content knowledge to serve in Michigan schools. The examinations of the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) program are the only tests that satisfy the elementary-level and subject-area testing requirements for teacher certification in Michigan at this time. In accordance with Public Act 96 (1995), a person who uses or attempts to use a certificate or other credential that he or she knows is fraudulently obtained, altered, or forged for the purpose of obtaining a Michigan teaching certificate is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment or a fine.

The tests are criterion referenced and objective based. Criterion-referenced multiple-choice tests are designed to measure a candidate's knowledge and skills in relation to an established standard of performance (a criterion) rather than in relation to the performance of other candidates. The tests are designed to help identify those candidates who have the level of knowledge required to perform satisfactorily as entry-level teachers in their fields of specialization.

The test objectives were prepared jointly by the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson and Michigan educators based on Michigan curriculum guides, textbooks, and teacher preparation and certification standards. A content validation survey was conducted in each field of teaching, using a random sample of practicing Michigan educators and teacher educators. Each survey participant reviewed the objectives in their field to ensure that those selected for testing were important to the job and were used in Michigan classrooms. Test questions were matched to the objectives and verified as valid for testing by Michigan educators.

The MTTC program currently consists of pedagogical content knowledge and subject-area tests, including the world language tests. The tests other than the world language tests comprise multiple-choice questions. Most world language tests comprise both multiple-choice questions and two or more constructed-response assignments.

For all tests, the actual tests may include some questions that will not count toward your score. Those questions are included in the test to collect information about how they will perform under actual testing conditions.