MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 Online Center
This MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 Online Center brings together practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Choose the resource that matches the skill you want to work on next.
MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 Practice Center
Each form runs 60 multiple-choice questions: 33 on mathematics and 27 on science and technology and engineering, matching the way Massachusetts weights the two subareas. Take a full form, then read the explanation under every question you missed and sort the misses by subarea before you plan the next week.
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MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 at a glance
Massachusetts redeveloped this test in August 2023. The old General Curriculum had a Multi-Subject subtest and a separate Mathematics subtest, 203, which allowed no calculator at all. That test is gone. Subtest 2 is now 278, it folds science and technology and engineering in alongside the mathematics, and it gives you a four-function calculator on screen. If your study guide says 203, it is preparing you for the wrong test.
| Subtest code | 278 (General Curriculum, Subtest 2: Mathematics, Science, and Technology/Engineering) |
|---|---|
| Replaces | The retired General Curriculum test 103/203, last administered August 20, 2023. Subtest 203 was mathematics only and permitted no calculator. |
| The other subtest | Subtest 1 is code 178, covering Language Arts and History/Social Science. Both subtests are required, and each is passed on its own. |
| Number of questions | 60 multiple-choice questions and 1 open-response assignment |
| Time limit | 4 hours 15 minutes total appointment, covering one or both subtests: 15 minutes of tutorial and agreement, then 4 hours of testing. |
| Calculator | A standard four-function calculator is provided on screen for this subtest. You do not bring your own, and an on-screen calculator tutorial is available. |
| Format | Computer-based, by appointment at a test center. Subtest 2 assignments may be handwritten and scanned. |
| Passing score | 240 on a scale of 100 to 300, for this subtest on its own. |
| Fee | $69.50 for this subtest alone, or $139 for both subtests taken together. |
Massachusetts publishes three subareas with these weights: Mathematics, objectives 0011 to 0015, is 48 percent. Science and Technology/Engineering, objectives 0016 to 0019, is 42 percent. Integration of Knowledge and Understanding, objective 0020, is 10 percent and is the single open-response assignment. Those are score weights, not question counts. The vendor does not publish how many of the 60 multiple-choice questions fall in each subarea, so treat the 48 and 42 as a guide to how you split your hours rather than as a count of items.
The three subareas, in plain language
Massachusetts states each objective and lists what it expects under it. Here is what each subarea asks of you, with its published weight.
Mathematics (48 percent, objectives 0011 to 0015)
Elementary number, fractions and proportion, algebra, geometry, and data.
- Place value, factors and multiples, rounding, and the properties of operations
- Fractions as numbers, and why each fraction procedure works
- Ratios, rates, proportions, and percent problems
- Patterns, expressions, equations, inequalities, and linear relationships
- Two- and three-dimensional figures, area, volume, and the coordinate plane
- Unit conversion, graphs and tables, center and spread, and basic probability
Science and technology/engineering (42 percent, objectives 0016 to 0019)
Earth and space, life, and physical science, plus the engineering design process.
- The solar system, Earth’s surface processes, the water cycle, weather and climate, and human impact
- Characteristics of life, structure and function, heredity, adaptation, and ecosystems
- Properties of matter, forms of energy, forces and motion, conservation, and waves
- Defining a design problem, criteria and constraints, materials, tools, and iteration
- The science and engineering practices applied across all three science domains
Integration of knowledge and understanding (10 percent, objective 0020)
One open-response assignment that joins the two content subareas.
- Analyze a described phenomenon, investigation, or design problem
- Bring the right mathematics to it: units, geometry, data, or a modeled relationship
- Answer the question that was actually asked
- Organize the response and support it with specific, accurate content
A study routine for two subjects and one assignment
Mathematics and science are close in weight, 48 against 42, so neither one can be the subject you skip. Most candidates arrive strong in one and thin in the other. Find out which you are in the first week.
Complete topic map
Forty-seven mathematics lessons, each opening in a new tab, followed by the science and engineering topics this subtest covers as a plain checklist.
Counting, place value, and operations
Fractions and decimals
Ratios, proportion, and percent
Algebraic thinking and patterns
The coordinate plane
Measurement and geometry
Data, statistics, and probability
Earth and space science (checklist, no lessons on site yet)
- 48The solar system and the relationships among its objects
- 49Lunar phases, eclipses, and the reason for seasons
- 50Weathering, erosion, deposition, and volcanism
- 51Plate boundaries, earthquakes, trenches, and mountain ranges
- 52The water cycle, watersheds, and where Earth’s water is
- 53Weather against climate, and the factors that shape each
- 54Natural hazards and how their effects are predicted and reduced
- 55Renewable and nonrenewable resources and human impact
Life science (checklist, no lessons on site yet)
- 56What distinguishes living things from nonliving things
- 57Plant and animal structures and the functions they serve
- 58Body systems working together to keep an organism alive
- 59Heredity, inherited traits, and traits shaped by environment
- 60Adaptation, natural selection, and evidence from fossils and anatomy
- 61Food webs, the cycling of matter, and the flow of energy
- 62Interactions among organisms and with their environment
Physical science (checklist, no lessons on site yet)
- 63Properties of materials and the particle model of matter
- 64States of matter and changes of phase
- 65Pure substances, compounds, mixtures, and solubility
- 66Physical changes against chemical reactions
- 67Forms of energy and energy transfer between them
- 68Forces, motion, friction, and gravitational attraction
- 69Collisions, speed, and kinetic and potential energy
- 70Conservation of matter and conservation of energy
- 71Waves, sound, light, reflection, absorption, and transmission
Technology and engineering (checklist, no lessons on site yet)
- 72The engineering design process from problem to prototype
- 73Criteria and constraints: materials, time, and cost
- 74Matching a material’s properties to its use
- 75Safe selection and use of measuring tools, hand tools, and fasteners
- 76Testing, comparing solutions, and revising a design
- 77Trade-offs and the effects of a design on society
Bringing it together for the open response
- 78Applying mathematics to a science or engineering scenario
- 79Reading a scenario for the task it actually sets
Before test day
Check the test number on whatever you are studying from. A guide labeled 203 was written for a mathematics-only subtest that Massachusetts retired in August 2023, and it will leave you with no science preparation at all. Once you are on 278, two habits pay off more than any others. Write the units on every quantity you handle, because unit conversion is where careful arithmetic still turns into a wrong answer. And on the open response, answer the exact question in the first sentence, then support it. The scorers are reading for whether you did the task, not for how much you wrote.
A USEFUL NEXT STEP
MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2: study questions
What can I study in this MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 Online Center?
This MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 Online Center includes practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Topics on the page include Mathematics (48 percent, objectives 0011 to 0015), Science and technology/engineering (42 percent, objectives 0016 to 0019), Integration of knowledge and understanding (10 percent, objective 0020).
How should I use the MTEL General Curriculum Subtest 2 resources?
Choose a topic or practice activity from this Online Center. Review the linked explanation, try the practice, and use the result to decide what to study next. Check each resource’s directions for its format and access requirements.
Resources from Effortless Math · Editorial standards