Subtest 121 · Professional Knowledge and Skills (Questions 1–24) A grade 4 teacher observes that Marcus cannot solve two-step word problems on his own, but he solves them correctly when the teacher asks guiding questions such as "What do you need to find first?" According to Vygotsky's theory, how should the teacher plan Marcus's next lessons?

Keep using guided prompts like these and fade them as he starts applying the steps alone

Give Marcus a set of harder three-step problems so that he is challenged beyond his current level

Have Marcus practice the two-step problems alone so he can discover the solution steps without prompts

Move Marcus back to one-step problems until he can complete two-step problems with no help at all

A grade 3 teacher notices that a usually engaged student has been falling asleep in class, asking classmates for food and wearing the same clothes for several days. What is the MOST appropriate first step?

Involve the school counselor or social worker to connect the family with needed resources

Move the student's seat closer to the teacher's desk so he will be more alert during instruction

Send a note home telling the family that the student needs more sleep and a healthier breakfast

Give the student extra homework so that he can make up the learning he is missing in class

Running words Errors Self-corrections 160 8 4 A grade 3 teacher takes a running record on a 160-word passage. The results are shown above. What are the student's accuracy rate and self-correction ratio?

95% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:3

97.5% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:2

95% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:2

92.5% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:3

Measurement Start After 5 years Mass of tree 2.3 kg 76.7 kg Mass of dry soil 90.70 kg 90.64 kg A grade 5 teacher shares the data above from an experiment in which a willow seedling was grown in a pot for five years and given only water. Where did most of the tree's added mass come from?

Mostly from carbon dioxide taken in from the air, combined with water during photosynthesis

Mostly from sunlight, because the light energy is turned into the solid material that makes up the wood

Mostly from the soil, because the soil supplied the nutrients the tree used for growth

Mostly from minerals dissolved in the water, which built up in the tree over the five years

Subtest 121 · Professional Knowledge and Skills (Questions 101–124) A grade 6 teacher is designing tasks for a unit on Michigan's economy. Which task requires the HIGHEST level of cognitive demand?

Evaluating whether Michigan should invest more in tourism or manufacturing, with evidence

Listing the major industries in Michigan and identifying one product that each industry makes

Locating Michigan's largest cities on a map and recording the population of each one

Defining the terms import, export and natural resource using the textbook glossary

A grade 6 teacher notices that several students have become very self-conscious, worry about what peers think of them and are upset when corrected in front of the class. Based on typical early adolescent development, which teacher practice is MOST appropriate?

Give corrective feedback privately and plan positive peer interactions

Treat the concerns as immaturity and remind students that peer opinions should not matter

Correct students publicly so that the whole class can learn from each student's mistakes

Avoid group work so that students do not have to interact with peers they are worried about

A grade 3 teacher wants students to distinguish between the two meanings of division. Which problem represents measurement (quotitive) division for 24 ÷ 4?

There are 24 cookies, and 4 cookies go in each bag. How many bags can be filled?

There are 24 cookies shared equally among 4 bags. How many cookies go in each bag?

There are 24 cookies, and 4 friends each eat some. How many cookies did each friend eat?

There are 4 bags with 24 cookies in each bag. How many cookies are there in all of them?

Grade 4 students roll a ball down a ramp into a paper cup. When the ball starts higher on the ramp, the cup slides farther. Which explanation BEST describes what is happening?

Starting higher makes the ball move faster, so it has more energy to transfer to the cup in the collision

Starting higher makes the ball heavier, so it pushes the cup farther with more weight when it hits

The ramp gives the ball energy only at the bottom, and the cup takes all of that energy every time

The cup moves farther because higher balls lose less energy to sound, so speed does not matter

MTTC Upper Elementary (3-6)

Free MTTC Upper Elementary (3-6) Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the MTTC Upper Elementary (3-6), 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: Professional Knowledge and Skills, Literacy, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies.

Question 1 · Professional Knowledge and Skills
Subtest 121 · Professional Knowledge and Skills (Questions 1–24)
A grade 4 teacher observes that Marcus cannot solve two-step word problems on his own, but he solves them correctly when the teacher asks guiding questions such as "What do you need to find first?" According to Vygotsky's theory, how should the teacher plan Marcus's next lessons?
- A.Give Marcus a set of harder three-step problems so that he is challenged beyond his current level
- B.Have Marcus practice the two-step problems alone so he can discover the solution steps without prompts
- C.Keep using guided prompts like these and fade them as he starts applying the steps alone
- D.Move Marcus back to one-step problems until he can complete two-step problems with no help at all
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Keep using guided prompts like these and fade them as he starts applying the steps alone
Two-step problems fall within Marcus's zone of proximal development: he succeeds with support but not alone, so instruction should continue guided prompts and fade them gradually (scaffolding). Moving him back to one-step problems is tempting but targets work he can already do independently, which wastes the zone where learning is most productive.
Question 2 · Professional Knowledge and Skills
A grade 3 teacher notices that a usually engaged student has been falling asleep in class, asking classmates for food and wearing the same clothes for several days. What is the MOST appropriate first step?
- A.Move the student's seat closer to the teacher's desk so he will be more alert during instruction
- B.Send a note home telling the family that the student needs more sleep and a healthier breakfast
- C.Involve the school counselor or social worker to connect the family with needed resources
- D.Give the student extra homework so that he can make up the learning he is missing in class
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Involve the school counselor or social worker to connect the family with needed resources
From a whole-child perspective, unmet basic needs such as food and rest must be addressed before a student can focus on learning, and school counselors or social workers can connect families with meal programs and community resources. A note home about sleep and breakfast is tempting, but it may embarrass the family and assumes they can solve the problem without support.
Question 3 · Literacy
Running words Errors Self-corrections
160 8 4
A grade 3 teacher takes a running record on a 160-word passage. The results are shown above. What are the student's accuracy rate and self-correction ratio?
- A.97.5% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:2
- B.95% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:3
- C.95% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:2
- D.92.5% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:3
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 95% accuracy; self-correction ratio of 1:3
Accuracy is (running words − errors) ÷ running words: (160 − 8) ÷ 160 = 152 ÷ 160 = 95%. Self-corrections are not counted as errors. The self-correction ratio is (errors + self-corrections) ÷ self-corrections = (8 + 4) ÷ 4 = 3, or 1:3. Computing 8 ÷ 4 gives the incorrect ratio of 1:2, and counting self-corrections as errors gives the incorrect 92.5%.
Question 4 · Mathematics
A grade 5 student claims, "If a number is divisible by both 4 and 6, it must be divisible by 24, because 4 × 6 = 24." Which number is a counterexample to the student's claim?
- A.48
- B.24
- C.72
- D.12
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. 12
Twelve is divisible by 4 and by 6 but not by 24, so it disproves the claim. The flaw is that 4 and 6 share a factor of 2, so the least common multiple is 12, not 24; numbers such as 48 and 72 are divisible by 24 and therefore support rather than refute the student's statement.
Question 5 · Science
Measurement Start After 5 years
Mass of tree 2.3 kg 76.7 kg
Mass of dry soil 90.70 kg 90.64 kg
A grade 5 teacher shares the data above from an experiment in which a willow seedling was grown in a pot for five years and given only water. Where did most of the tree's added mass come from?
- A.Mostly from sunlight, because the light energy is turned into the solid material that makes up the wood
- B.Mostly from the soil, because the soil supplied the nutrients the tree used for growth
- C.Mostly from carbon dioxide taken in from the air, combined with water during photosynthesis
- D.Mostly from minerals dissolved in the water, which built up in the tree over the five years
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Mostly from carbon dioxide taken in from the air, combined with water during photosynthesis
The soil lost only about 0.06 kg while the tree gained about 74 kg, so the soil cannot be the main source; plants build most of their mass from "carbon dioxide taken in from the air, combined with water during photosynthesis." Soil nutrients are the most tempting answer, but the data rule them out, and dissolved minerals make up only a tiny fraction of a plant's mass. Sunlight provides energy, not matter.
Question 6 · Professional Knowledge and Skills
Subtest 121 · Professional Knowledge and Skills (Questions 101–124)
A grade 6 teacher is designing tasks for a unit on Michigan's economy. Which task requires the HIGHEST level of cognitive demand?
- A.Evaluating whether Michigan should invest more in tourism or manufacturing, with evidence
- B.Listing the major industries in Michigan and identifying one product that each industry makes
- C.Locating Michigan's largest cities on a map and recording the population of each one
- D.Defining the terms import, export and natural resource using the textbook glossary
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Evaluating whether Michigan should invest more in tourism or manufacturing, with evidence
Evaluating options and defending a position with evidence requires strategic and extended thinking, the top levels of Bloom's taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge. Listing industries and products is tempting because it covers more content, but it only requires recall of facts.
Question 7 · Professional Knowledge and Skills
A grade 6 teacher notices that several students have become very self-conscious, worry about what peers think of them and are upset when corrected in front of the class. Based on typical early adolescent development, which teacher practice is MOST appropriate?
- A.Treat the concerns as immaturity and remind students that peer opinions should not matter
- B.Give corrective feedback privately and plan positive peer interactions
- C.Correct students publicly so that the whole class can learn from each student's mistakes
- D.Avoid group work so that students do not have to interact with peers they are worried about
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Give corrective feedback privately and plan positive peer interactions
Early adolescents are highly sensitive to peer acceptance and to public embarrassment, so private feedback and planned positive peer interaction support both social-emotional needs and learning. Avoiding group work is tempting because it removes stress, but it removes the peer interaction adolescents need to develop social skills.

Running words	Errors	Self-corrections
160	8	4

Measurement	Start	After 5 years
Mass of tree	2.3 kg	76.7 kg
Mass of dry soil	90.70 kg	90.64 kg

Question 8 · Literacy

Text	Student reading	Notation
home	house	substitution
the	(skipped)	omission
jumped	jump... jumped	self-correction
quickly	quietly	substitution
barn	(teacher told)	told
	very (added)	insertion
reached	ran... reached	self-correction

A grade 3 teacher takes a running record on a 120-word passage and records the miscues shown above. What is the student's accuracy rate?

A.About 94%
B.About 96%
C.About 98%
D.About 91%

Show answer and explanation

Answer: B. About 96%

Substitutions, omissions, insertions, and words told by the teacher each count as one error; self-corrected words do not. That gives 5 errors (house, the omitted, quietly, barn told, very inserted), so accuracy is (120 − 5) ÷ 120 = 115 ÷ 120 ≈ 95.8%, or about 96%. Counting the two self-corrections as errors gives 113 ÷ 120 ≈ 94%, the most common mistake.

Question 9 · Mathematics
A grade 3 teacher wants students to distinguish between the two meanings of division. Which problem represents measurement (quotitive) division for 24 ÷ 4?
- A.There are 24 cookies shared equally among 4 bags. How many cookies go in each bag?
- B.There are 24 cookies, and 4 cookies go in each bag. How many bags can be filled?
- C.There are 24 cookies, and 4 friends each eat some. How many cookies did each friend eat?
- D.There are 4 bags with 24 cookies in each bag. How many cookies are there in all of them?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. There are 24 cookies, and 4 cookies go in each bag. How many bags can be filled?
In measurement division the size of each group is known (4 cookies per bag) and the number of groups is found. Sharing 24 cookies among 4 bags is partitive division, because the number of groups is known and the size of each group is found; the last problem represents multiplication.
Question 10 · Science
Grade 4 students roll a ball down a ramp into a paper cup. When the ball starts higher on the ramp, the cup slides farther. Which explanation BEST describes what is happening?
- A.Starting higher makes the ball heavier, so it pushes the cup farther with more weight when it hits
- B.The ramp gives the ball energy only at the bottom, and the cup takes all of that energy every time
- C.Starting higher makes the ball move faster, so it has more energy to transfer to the cup in the collision
- D.The cup moves farther because higher balls lose less energy to sound, so speed does not matter
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Starting higher makes the ball move faster, so it has more energy to transfer to the cup in the collision
A ball released from higher moves faster at the bottom, and "it has more energy to transfer to the cup" because faster objects have more energy of motion. Saying the ball becomes heavier is the most tempting misconception, but mass does not change with height; and some energy always goes to sound and heat, so not all energy reaches the cup.

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