A tenth-grade physics teacher asks students to predict what would happen to a pendulum's period if gravity were cut in half, then design a test that changes only one variable at a time. According to Piaget, this task depends most directly on which capacity of the formal operational stage?

Hypothetico-deductive reasoning and systematic isolation of variables

Conservation of quantity when the physical appearance of materials is transformed

Reversibility of mental operations applied to objects that are physically present

Classification of concrete objects into nested categories using observable features

A teacher sees a group of ninth graders repeatedly mocking a classmate's accent in the hallway between classes. The classmate looks visibly upset. What should the teacher do FIRST?

Stop the behavior immediately, name it as unacceptable, and check on the targeted student

Bring the students together right away to work out their disagreement face to face

Wait to see whether the behavior continues before deciding whether it is truly bullying

Report the incident to the counselor later and let the counselor decide how to respond

A first-year teacher at a Michigan high school asks a mentor what the Michigan Code of Educational Ethics is and how it applies to her daily work. Which description is MOST accurate?

It is the state's code of ethical conduct for educators, covering fair, caring, and honest professional conduct.

It is a collective bargaining provision that governs how teachers are evaluated, disciplined, and dismissed.

It is a federal statute that defines the penalties educators face for disclosing student education records without parental consent.

It is a handbook each local school board writes to list the specific job duties of its classroom teachers.

After a tenth grader's initial special education evaluation, a teacher asks about the role of the multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) in Michigan. Which statement BEST describes it?

The MET evaluates the student and recommends eligibility, and the IEP team then determines eligibility and services

The MET is a team of general education teachers who decide whether a student must first try a Section 504 plan

The MET is appointed by the parent to provide an independent evaluation when the family disagrees with the school

The MET makes the final eligibility decision and writes the IEP goals before the full IEP team convenes to review them

During a driver's education unit, a 10th grader dismisses statistics on texting-related crashes, saying, "Those people weren't paying attention. Nothing like that would happen to me because I know what I'm doing." Which concept BEST explains the student's reasoning?

Elkind's personal fable, a belief that one is unique and that ordinary risks do not apply

Elkind's imaginary audience, a belief that one's behavior is constantly watched and judged by peers

Marcia's identity foreclosure, a commitment to beliefs adopted from others without personal exploration

Piaget's concrete operational reasoning, an inability to think about events that have not yet happened

A 9th grade biology class includes several English learners at intermediate proficiency. Which approach is MOST consistent with sheltered content instruction?

Teach grade-level biology with visuals, explicit key vocabulary, and structured partner talk in each lesson

Teach a simplified biology curriculum below grade level until the students' English proficiency improves

Remove the students from biology for English instruction until they can understand the regular textbook

Provide all biology materials and instruction in the students' home languages until they are fully proficient

A high school teacher plans to set up a calm-down corner where students can regulate their emotions. Which guideline is MOST important for its effective use?

Teach its use ahead of time, let students choose it, and set a short time limit and return routine

Reserve it for students whose IEPs or 504 plans specifically include a sensory or regulation break

Let students stay as long as they want so that they never feel rushed while they calm themselves

Send students there when they break class rules so that they can reflect on the choices they made

A high school journalism class produces the school newspaper as part of its graded curriculum, with the teacher approving each issue. The principal removes a student article that names classmates and describes their family conflicts without their parents' input. Which legal standard MOST directly governs whether the removal is permissible?

The school may edit school-sponsored publications for reasons tied to legitimate teaching concerns.

The school may limit student speech only when it would cause a substantial disruption of school activities.

The school may remove only speech that is lewd, vulgar, or plainly offensive in a school setting.

The school may not review student journalism before it is published unless a district policy requires it.

A tenth grader with an emotional impairment has required emergency physical restraint three times this month, each during transitions between classes. According to Michigan policy, what is the MOST appropriate next step?

Conduct a functional behavioral assessment and develop or revise a positive behavior support plan.

Train additional staff in restraint techniques so that each transition has a trained adult nearby.

Hold an IEP meeting to consider a more restrictive placement where restraint can be used safely.

Arrange for the student to change classes during a separate passing time while staff observe him.

MTTC 136 Professional Knowledge and Skills (Grades 7–⁠12)

Free MTTC 136 Professional Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the MTTC 136 Professional Knowledge and Skills (Grades 7–⁠12), with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Learner-Centered Supports, Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships.

Question 1 · Learner-Centered Supports
A tenth-grade physics teacher asks students to predict what would happen to a pendulum's period if gravity were cut in half, then design a test that changes only one variable at a time. According to Piaget, this task depends most directly on which capacity of the formal operational stage?
- A.Conservation of quantity when the physical appearance of materials is transformed
- B.Hypothetico-deductive reasoning and systematic isolation of variables
- C.Reversibility of mental operations applied to objects that are physically present
- D.Classification of concrete objects into nested categories using observable features
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Hypothetico-deductive reasoning and systematic isolation of variables
Formal operational thinkers can reason about hypothetical situations and test them by isolating one variable at a time, which is exactly what the task requires. Reversibility, conservation, and classification are achievements of the concrete operational stage; they are necessary foundations but do not account for systematic reasoning about abstract possibilities.
Question 2 · Learner-Centered Supports
An earth science teacher designs three versions of a task on plate boundaries. All versions target the same standard, but they differ in complexity, abstraction, and amount of structure. Which strategy is the teacher using?
- A.Learning contracts
- B.Curriculum compacting
- C.Interest centers
- D.Tiered assignments
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Tiered assignments
Tiered assignments address the same essential understanding at different levels of complexity and support, matching tasks to readiness. Learning contracts also allow differentiation, but they are individualized agreements about tasks and timelines rather than leveled versions of a single task.
Question 3 · Learner-Centered Supports
A teacher sees a group of ninth graders repeatedly mocking a classmate's accent in the hallway between classes. The classmate looks visibly upset. What should the teacher do FIRST?
- A.Stop the behavior immediately, name it as unacceptable, and check on the targeted student
- B.Bring the students together right away to work out their disagreement face to face
- C.Wait to see whether the behavior continues before deciding whether it is truly bullying
- D.Report the incident to the counselor later and let the counselor decide how to respond
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Stop the behavior immediately, name it as unacceptable, and check on the targeted student
Staff should intervene immediately to stop bullying, clearly identify the behavior as unacceptable, and ensure the targeted student is safe and supported, then follow school reporting procedures. Bringing both sides together immediately treats bullying as a mutual conflict and can further harm the targeted student, given the power imbalance.
Question 4 · Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships
A first-year teacher at a Michigan high school asks a mentor what the Michigan Code of Educational Ethics is and how it applies to her daily work. Which description is MOST accurate?
- A.It is a collective bargaining provision that governs how teachers are evaluated, disciplined, and dismissed.
- B.It is a federal statute that defines the penalties educators face for disclosing student education records without parental consent.
- C.It is a handbook each local school board writes to list the specific job duties of its classroom teachers.
- D.It is the state's code of ethical conduct for educators, covering fair, caring, and honest professional conduct.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. It is the state's code of ethical conduct for educators, covering fair, caring, and honest professional conduct.
The Michigan Code of Educational Ethics is the state's statement of ethical conduct for educators, framing professional behavior as fair, caring, and honest. The federal-statute description confuses it with FERPA, and the local-handbook and bargaining descriptions describe district or union documents rather than a statewide ethical code.
Question 5 · Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships
After a tenth grader's initial special education evaluation, a teacher asks about the role of the multidisciplinary evaluation team (MET) in Michigan. Which statement BEST describes it?
- A.The MET is a team of general education teachers who decide whether a student must first try a Section 504 plan
- B.The MET is appointed by the parent to provide an independent evaluation when the family disagrees with the school
- C.The MET evaluates the student and recommends eligibility, and the IEP team then determines eligibility and services
- D.The MET makes the final eligibility decision and writes the IEP goals before the full IEP team convenes to review them
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The MET evaluates the student and recommends eligibility, and the IEP team then determines eligibility and services
Under MARSE, the MET conducts the evaluation and makes a recommendation about eligibility, and the IEP team, which includes the parent, determines eligibility and services. The MET does not make the final decision or write goals, and an independent educational evaluation is a separate procedural safeguard.
Question 6 · Learner-Centered Supports
During a driver's education unit, a 10th grader dismisses statistics on texting-related crashes, saying, "Those people weren't paying attention. Nothing like that would happen to me because I know what I'm doing." Which concept BEST explains the student's reasoning?
- A.Elkind's imaginary audience, a belief that one's behavior is constantly watched and judged by peers
- B.Marcia's identity foreclosure, a commitment to beliefs adopted from others without personal exploration
- C.Elkind's personal fable, a belief that one is unique and that ordinary risks do not apply
- D.Piaget's concrete operational reasoning, an inability to think about events that have not yet happened
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Elkind's personal fable, a belief that one is unique and that ordinary risks do not apply
The student believes he is uniquely protected from a risk that applies to others, which is the hallmark of the personal fable in adolescent egocentrism. The imaginary audience is the other half of Elkind's model, but it concerns feeling observed and judged by others, not feeling invulnerable.
Question 7 · Learner-Centered Supports
A 9th grade biology class includes several English learners at intermediate proficiency. Which approach is MOST consistent with sheltered content instruction?
- A.Teach a simplified biology curriculum below grade level until the students' English proficiency improves
- B.Remove the students from biology for English instruction until they can understand the regular textbook
- C.Provide all biology materials and instruction in the students' home languages until they are fully proficient
- D.Teach grade-level biology with visuals, explicit key vocabulary, and structured partner talk in each lesson
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Teach grade-level biology with visuals, explicit key vocabulary, and structured partner talk in each lesson
Sheltered instruction keeps grade-level content while making it comprehensible through visuals, explicit vocabulary, and structured interaction that builds language. Lowering the curriculum below grade level denies English learners access to the same rigorous content as their peers.
Question 8 · Learner-Centered Supports
A high school teacher plans to set up a calm-down corner where students can regulate their emotions. Which guideline is MOST important for its effective use?
- A.Teach its use ahead of time, let students choose it, and set a short time limit and return routine
- B.Reserve it for students whose IEPs or 504 plans specifically include a sensory or regulation break
- C.Let students stay as long as they want so that they never feel rushed while they calm themselves
- D.Send students there when they break class rules so that they can reflect on the choices they made
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Teach its use ahead of time, let students choose it, and set a short time limit and return routine
A regulation space works when it is taught as a self-management tool, chosen by students, and paired with a short time frame and clear routine for rejoining learning. Using it as a consequence turns it into a punishment, which undermines its purpose as a support.
Question 9 · Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships
A high school journalism class produces the school newspaper as part of its graded curriculum, with the teacher approving each issue. The principal removes a student article that names classmates and describes their family conflicts without their parents' input. Which legal standard MOST directly governs whether the removal is permissible?
- A.The school may limit student speech only when it would cause a substantial disruption of school activities.
- B.The school may remove only speech that is lewd, vulgar, or plainly offensive in a school setting.
- C.The school may edit school-sponsored publications for reasons tied to legitimate teaching concerns.
- D.The school may not review student journalism before it is published unless a district policy requires it.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The school may edit school-sponsored publications for reasons tied to legitimate teaching concerns.
Because the newspaper is produced within the curriculum and supervised by the teacher, it is school-sponsored expression, and the Hazelwood standard lets schools exercise editorial control for legitimate pedagogical reasons such as protecting the privacy of named classmates. The substantial-disruption test comes from Tinker and applies to students' personal expression, not to school-sponsored publications.
Question 10 · Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships
A tenth grader with an emotional impairment has required emergency physical restraint three times this month, each during transitions between classes. According to Michigan policy, what is the MOST appropriate next step?
- A.Train additional staff in restraint techniques so that each transition has a trained adult nearby.
- B.Hold an IEP meeting to consider a more restrictive placement where restraint can be used safely.
- C.Arrange for the student to change classes during a separate passing time while staff observe him.
- D.Conduct a functional behavioral assessment and develop or revise a positive behavior support plan.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Conduct a functional behavioral assessment and develop or revise a positive behavior support plan.
Repeated use of emergency restraint signals that the student's needs are not being met, and Michigan policy calls for a functional behavioral assessment leading to a positive behavior support plan and an emergency intervention plan. A separate passing time might reduce triggers, but without an FBA it does not address the function of the behavior, and training more staff to restrain treats restraint as routine rather than a last resort.

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