The Board of Higher Education recommends that the Literacy and Communication Skills section of the Massachusetts Educator Certification Test be taken at the end of a student's sophomore year. Bridgewater State College anticipates that students seeking admission to Professional Education after September 1, 1999 must have a passing score on that section of the test.

To prepare BSC students for this intensive literacy test, the Teacher Test Task Force appointed Lori Ostergaard and Linda Blocker as Test Counselors in the spring of 1999. The Test Counselors first task was to generate study aids. In surveying existing information, the Teacher Test Task Force and the Test Counselors noticed three deficiencies in the test materials provided by the Massachusetts Department of Education. First, the DOE's materials offer clearly defined objectives for the test, but they do not provide a strategy for achieving those objectives. Next, the DOE materials provide sample answers, but they do not define the criteria used to assess each answer. Finally, while the sample questions and answers are helpful, the DOE has not provided test takers with a full-length practice test.

The study aids created by the BSC Test Counselors are now available on line and include strategies, sample answers with explanations, and a timed practice test.

Test Counselors also provide Test Strategy Seminars. These two 1 1/2 hour seminars offer test preparation and test taking approaches. In addition, the seminars present strategies for completing the individual subsections of the Literacy and Communication Skills Test. Test takers are encouraged to attend both seminars.

The Test Counselors are also available for individual tutoring sessions. In one-on-one conferences, test takers receive advice, tips, and guidance designed to help them navigate the most troublesome parts of the Literacy Test. BSC students may bring their Practice Tests including summaries, dictations, essays, and multiple choice items to the Test Counselors for assessment.

Test Counselors are available by appointment (Ext. 1726)

ALL OF THESE SERVICES ARE FREE TO BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Table of Contents | Advice from Test Counselors

This page is maintained by the Teacher Test Task Force
Send comments and suggestions to:
lostergaard@bridgew.edu