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Exam Overview
The Communication and Literacy Skills Test is a Massachusetts educator licensure requirement that evaluates the foundational reading and writing skills educators need. Passing it shows that you can comprehend and analyze written texts, convey ideas accurately in writing, and communicate professionally in the classroom and beyond.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) Communication and Literacy Skills Test, Fields 101 and 201 |
| Overseen by | Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE); administered by the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson |
| Subtests | Reading (Field 101) and Writing (Field 201); taken together or separately, each scored and passed separately |
| Reading (101) | 42 multiple-choice questions, four answer choices each, based on reading passages and graphics |
| Writing (201) | 35 multiple-choice questions, 7 sentence-correction items, 1 summary exercise, and 1 composition exercise |
| Testing time | 4 hours in one session for both subtests |
| Delivery | Computer-based testing at Pearson VUE test centers, with online-proctored testing also available |
| Score scale | Scaled scores from 100 to 300 |
| Passing score | 240 on each subtest |
| Fees | Approximately $112 for both subtests together, $76 for Reading only, or $85 for Writing only; confirm current fees when you register |
Reading Subtest (101)
Every Reading question is multiple choice and tied to a passage. Passages range from short excerpts to multi-paragraph articles, essays, editorials, and literary selections, and some include a table or graph. The six objectives carry equal weight, so expect about seven questions on each.
| Objective | What It Tests | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 0001 Meaning of Words and Phrases | Word meaning from context and word parts; figurative, connotative, and content-specific language | 1/6 (about 7 Qs) |
| 0002 Main Idea and Supporting Details | Stated and implied main ideas; the role and relevance of details | 1/6 (about 7 Qs) |
| 0003 Writer's Purpose and Point of View | Purpose, audience, tone, attitude, and point of view | 1/6 (about 7 Qs) |
| 0004 Relationships Among Ideas | Organization, sequence, cause and effect, comparison, and conclusions | 1/6 (about 7 Qs) |
| 0005 Critical Reasoning | Fact versus opinion, assumptions, evidence, credibility, and fallacies | 1/6 (about 7 Qs) |
| 0006 Outlining, Summarizing, and Graphic Interpretation | Outlines, summaries, and information in tables and graphs | 1/6 (about 7 Qs) |
Writing Subtest (201)
The Writing subtest combines multiple-choice questions about draft passages whose sentences are numbered as "parts" with three kinds of constructed responses. The two open-response assignments together account for half of the Writing score, so practice writing them under time pressure.
| Objective | Item Type | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 0007 Establish and Maintain a Main Idea | Multiple choice | 15% |
| 0008 Sentence Construction, Grammar, and Usage | Multiple choice | 10% |
| 0009 Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation | Multiple choice | 10% |
| 0010 Revise Sentences Containing Errors | 7 sentence-correction items | 15% |
| 0011 Summary Exercise | Written summary of a passage (about 100–150 words) | 15% |
| 0012 Composition Exercise | Persuasive composition (about 300–600 words) | 35% |
Time Management
The four-hour session covers both subtests, and you decide how to divide the time. A workable plan for candidates taking both subtests in one sitting is shown below; adjust it after your first timed practice test.
| Task | Suggested Time |
|---|---|
| Reading: 42 multiple-choice questions | About 75 minutes |
| Writing: 35 multiple-choice questions | About 40 minutes |
| Writing: 7 sentence corrections | About 20 minutes |
| Writing: summary exercise | About 30 minutes |
| Writing: composition exercise | About 60 minutes |
| Review and buffer | About 15 minutes |
Scoring
- Each subtest is scored separately on a scale of 100 to 300, and you must reach 240 on each to pass the test.
- Multiple-choice questions are scored right or wrong, with no penalty for guessing, so answer every question.
- Sentence corrections are scored on whether both errors are corrected and the sentence remains complete, correct, and true to its original meaning.
- The summary and composition are scored holistically by trained Massachusetts educators against published performance characteristics (see Chapters 11 and 12).
- Scaled scores allow results from different test forms to be compared fairly. If you pass one subtest, you retake only the other.
Finished reading?
Next, start the first chapter.