Every education major in the state of Massachusetts has to
face the dreaded MTELs or Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure. If you
haven’t heard of them, it is quite likely that you will hear someone
complaining about them sometime, and somewhere. These tests are designed to
ensure competent teachers in Massachusetts. They are very difficult, and many
aspiring teachers struggle to pass them, and attempt them numerous times. They
end up spending large amounts of money each time, usually around $100 per test.
The difficulties of these tests are specific to each person. Scheduling the
tests to not interfere with classes or work, paying for the tests, and of
course passing them, are common problems that occur.
I was lucky enough to
be able to pass my three required tests, two of which each had to sub tests
over a year before I needed to have them done. I studied and put in a lot of
effort, but I am by no means a mathematician and somehow passed the math
sub test of the General Curriculum test on the first try, which is the reason
why I consider some of it to be luck. Many others are not in the same boat, and
are anxiously awaiting test results, or still have tests looming ahead of them.
Sandy did not help with this, as many students had tests scheduled this past Monday
and Tuesday, that were cancelled.The main worry of seniors trying to get these tests done is
a tight deadline. They must be finished by early December due to the fact that
placements are being made already for spring semester student teaching. This
causes major anxiety and worry for education majors, here at Framingham State.
At this university, it is required that students pass all required MTELs before
student teaching. Many other schools just require that they be passed before
graduation. I think this is a much more reasonable deal.
I do understand why this is in place though, as one of my
education professors recently explained to a room full of tense students, that
FSU does not want to be responsible for the licensure, if the student does
their student teaching and graduates with a teaching degree, but is still not
licensed due to not passing the MTELs. Another reason is that Framingham State
is sending out student teachers, who represent the education program, and the
school itself. They want to be well represented, and having student teachers
who are ready for licensure, by passing these tests, only helps.
There are many opinions about the MTELs, but I believe that
the education department at Framingham State University needs to think about requiring
the MTELs to be passed before graduation, giving students more time to take the
test. I do not see the problem of having student teachers who have not passed
these tests, because they have still gone through all the education classes,
and have experience from their other field study placements. FSU could also
just not sign the licensure, and the student would get that signed after they
finish the tests, if it was not before graduation. I completely understand the
other side of this, but there really would be no repercussions from pushing
this deadline back about five months.
I am an education major as well and dreading taking the MTELs. However, I have to say I do agree with the school. No matter when we take it, we're going to have the same amount of stress and anxiety hanging over us. If we wait until the last minute to take them instead of getting them out of the way, that could slow down the process of student teaching even more. Schools are going to look for students that have the knowledge to teach a classroom and that is shown sepecifically in MTELs.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. I think that student teachers need to pass the required MTELs in order to perform their student teaching practicum. I am not sure if you have done student teaching yet, but I finished my practicum last semester and it is very nerve wracking and a lot of work. The test prepares students teachers for the student teaching experience- I learned a lot just from studying for the test.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that the completion of the tests are a state requirement and not a FSU requirement. I think that one of the reasons for this is because the student teaching practicum is so much work, and adding the stress of knowing you have more MTELs to take would just add more anxiety.
I found that it is in fact a state requirement while further researching this, and ending up on the Merrimack College website. I was misinformed, and should not have believed people in my education class discussion,that backed their opinion by saying that not all schools in Massachusetts require the MTELs to be passed prior to student teaching. I still believe that this should not be a requirement prior to student teaching, and should instead be a requirement for graduation. I do see how this could cause more anxiety at the time, but I have never met a more anxious group of people under such a tight time crunch. I think it would be better for this to be spread out over a longer period of time. Many people I know started taking these tests well over a year ago, so it is not a problem with starting too late. They did all they could, and just need more time to have the opportunity to pass the tests.
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