MTTC exam prep
MTTC Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education Online Center
This MTTC Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education Online Center brings together practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Choose the resource that matches the skill you want to work on next.
2 free pop-up tests · 120 flashcards · 122 connected lessons
2 pop-up practice tests122 connected lessons1 complete flashcard deck
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MTTC Upper Elementary Practice Center
Each practice form samples all four subtests in proportion, so you can see at a glance which one to book first and which one needs the work. Score the four blocks separately. Because the real subtests are registered and passed independently, knowing your weakest one is worth more here than knowing your total.
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MTTC Upper Elementary at a glance
Michigan replaced its single Elementary Education test with two level-based programs, and this is the upper one, for teaching grades three through six. Instead of one long test covering every subject, you take four short subtests, each registered separately and each about an hour and a half. The whole program is built around teaching practice rather than subject recall, so most questions put you in a classroom and ask what you would do.
| Program | Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education, endorsement code ZP |
|---|---|
| Subtests | Four: 121 Professional Knowledge and Skills (50 questions, 1 hour 15 minutes), 122 Literacy (50 questions, 1 hour 15 minutes), 123 Mathematics (50 questions, 1 hour 30 minutes), and 124 Science and Social Studies (60 questions, 1 hour 30 minutes). |
| Which are required | Michigan states that you must pass 122, 123, 124, and either 121 or 117. Subtest 117 is the Lower Elementary program’s professional knowledge subtest, so the professional-knowledge requirement is interchangeable between the two programs. |
| Replaces | Elementary Education (103), whose last administration date is December 20, 2026. Michigan has not published a sentence naming 121 to 124 as its formal replacement, so if you are mid-programme, confirm which tests your preparation programme requires. |
| Question type | Selected-response only. There is no constructed response anywhere in the program. |
| Answer options | Four per question |
| Calculator | Not allowed on the Mathematics subtest (123). Michigan publishes no calculator statement for the other three. |
| Format | Computer-based, by appointment |
| Passing score | 220 on a scale of 100 to 300, for each subtest. |
Michigan publishes subarea percentages for every subtest. Literacy (122) is 30 percent literacy in context, 30 percent word-level skills, and 40 percent literacy processes. Mathematics (123) is 20 percent mathematics-specific teaching practices, 40 percent whole numbers and operations, and 40 percent fractions and decimals. Science and Social Studies (124) is 25 percent three-dimensional science learning, 25 percent science sense-making and pedagogy, and 50 percent social studies. Note that half of subtest 124 is social studies, which candidates preparing for a science-sounding subtest routinely miss.
The four subtests, in plain language
Each subtest is registered, taken, and passed on its own. Here is what each one asks of you.
121: Professional knowledge and skills (50 questions)
The teaching itself, independent of subject.
- The whole child and what a learner brings
- Building a learning environment that prevents most problems
- Instructional practice, assessment, and feedback
- Professional ethics and professional growth
- Partnerships with families, colleagues, and specialists
122: Literacy (50 questions)
Reading and writing at grades three to six, where the work shifts from learning to read to reading to learn.
- Literacy in context (30 percent)
- Word-level skills: print concepts, phonics, spelling, syntax, and vocabulary (30 percent)
- Literacy processes: fluency, comprehension, composition, speaking and listening (40 percent)
- Morphology and multisyllabic decoding, which carry most of the word-level work at this level
- Assessing reading and acting on what the assessment shows
123: Mathematics (50 questions)
The mathematics of grades three to six and the knowledge needed to teach it. No calculator.
- Mathematics-specific teaching practices (20 percent)
- Whole numbers and operations (40 percent)
- Fractions, decimals, and operations with them (40 percent)
- Why the standard algorithms work
- Reading a child’s strategy and naming the error
124: Science and social studies (60 questions)
Two subjects in one subtest, and half of it is social studies.
- Three-dimensional science learning: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas (25 percent)
- Science sense-making and pedagogy (25 percent)
- Social studies instruction (50 percent): civic engagement, history, geography, civics and government, and economics
A study routine built around four separate subtests
The four-subtest structure is the most useful thing about this program. You are not cramming five subjects into one four-hour day; you are taking four short tests, in whatever order suits you, and retaking only what you need.
DiagnoseTake Practice Test 1 in one sitting, then score the four blocks separately and rank them.
Book your strongest subtest firstPassing one early narrows the problem and teaches you the format on a test you were going to pass anyway.
Give 124 the respect it needsHalf of it is social studies, and that half is the one candidates under-prepare because the subtest is called Science and Social Studies and they read only the first word.
Drill the mathematics without a calculatorNo calculator is allowed on 123. Practice the arithmetic on paper now rather than discovering the rule on test day.
Prove itTake Practice Test 2 and check that nothing slipped while you were working elsewhere.
Complete lesson map
One hundred twenty-two lessons on the literacy and mathematics behind subtests 122 and 123, each opening in a new tab, followed by every objective Michigan publishes for the four subtests.
Key ideas, details, and textual evidence
Inference, conclusions, and how ideas develop
Word meaning, word choice, and tone
Text structure, features, and organization
Purpose, perspective, and point of view
Evaluating claims, evidence, and reasoning
Integrating information across texts and formats
Sentence Foundations
Sentence Boundaries
Agreement, Verbs, and Pronouns
Punctuation and Capitalization
Spelling and Confused Words
Knowledge of Language
Vocabulary and Word Parts
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
Subtest 121: Professional Knowledge and Skills
- 123Demonstrate knowledge of children’s characteristics and needs across multiple developmental domains
- 124Demonstrate knowledge of how cultural background, family circumstances, exposure to trauma, health conditions, and disabilities influence learning
- 125Identify signs of distress, abuse, or neglect and apply mandated reporting procedures
- 126Apply strategies that promote children’s physical and psychological safety
- 127Construct meaningful learning spaces that reflect children’s interests and connect home cultures to classroom instruction
- 128Implement classroom routines, behavior supports, and flexible indoor and outdoor learning environments
- 129Facilitate problem solving, positive relationships, and conflict resolution
- 130Provide accommodations for learners with diverse abilities, home languages, and cultural backgrounds, including support for English learners
- 131Demonstrate knowledge of participation in IEP development
- 132Apply systematic observation, documentation, and formative and summative assessment approaches integrated into daily routines
- 133Manage standards-based instruction that gives English learners access to the core curriculum
- 134Apply research-based strategies that support whole-child development, including through the arts and movement
- 135Implement instruction that promotes lifelong health knowledge and behaviors
- 136Demonstrate knowledge of professional codes of conduct, including the Michigan Code of Educational Ethics, and apply legal and ethical guidelines
- 137Recognize how professional decisions affect learners, families, and colleagues
- 138Engage in ongoing professional learning and reflective practice to strengthen instruction and monitor personal growth
- 139Engage families, caregivers, and communities and identify community resources that support learner well-being
- 140Use respectful communication strategies with families and caregivers
Subtest 122: Literacy
- 141Facilitate learners’ access to diverse, age-appropriate digital and print materials across genres and media
- 142Create organized, safe, respectful learning spaces that build collaborative literacy experiences
- 143Make accessible and actively use word-learning artifacts such as interactive word walls
- 144Use materials and space to encourage literacy and disciplinary inquiry
- 145Support integration of digital technologies to aid literacy and learning across disciplines
- 146Identify and use flexible grouping strategies based on the literacy task and learner needs
- 147Teach, model, and facilitate literacy for positive social interactions
- 148Identify and use digital and non-digital tools that support multiple dimensions of literacy
- 149Demonstrate the importance of learners’ first and home languages and design instruction that builds on them
- 150Select instructional materials that reflect the diversity represented in society and among learners
- 151Support learners’ interactions with high-interest, self-selected materials of varied text complexity
- 152Employ culturally responsive methods for creating visual representations of thinking and learning
- 153Understand the interconnections of reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing
- 154Assess literacy components using multiple formative and summative assessments
- 155Understand factors affecting assessed literacy proficiency that inform instructional decisions
- 156Design or adapt literacy curricula supporting the whole class, small groups, and individuals
- 157Demonstrate knowledge of the impact of language on learners’ social and academic development and developing identities
- 158Identify and value learners’ multiple ways of communicating and use them for instruction
Subtest 123: Mathematics
- 159Demonstrate knowledge of strategies and activities that develop children’s mathematical thinking by using children’s strengths and needs to promote engagement, curiosity, interest, and understanding and to inform instruction
- 160Demonstrate knowledge of ways to communicate with caregivers about mathematics and their child in relation to state standards and the school’s or district’s curriculum, supporting caregivers in supporting success with mathematics in and out of school
- 161Apply knowledge of children, caregivers, and communities to identify mathematical learning environments that give all children, in particular children historically marginalized in mathematics classrooms, access to significant mathematics and to culturally and instructionally appropriate mathematical activity
- 162Demonstrate knowledge of strategies to build all children’s positive mathematical identities, disrupting patterns of marginalization that reinforce inequities and exclusion
- 163Demonstrate knowledge of how to design ways to interest children and use their resources and affinities to build access and participation, including taking stock of the mathematical capacities children bring, anticipating common patterns of mathematical thinking, including play in mathematics in play, and planning for the participation of particular children
- 164Analyze the mathematics content in instructional resources, referencing standards and progression documents to clarify learning goals and identify connections among concepts and across grade levels
- 165Use methods that promote broad participation in mathematical work, including activities with multiple entry points and ways of being successful, that make children’s thinking central, provide opportunities for play, and let children show their thinking and see value in their contributions
- 166Demonstrate knowledge of methods to elicit children’s thinking and solution strategies in multiple representations (writing, speaking, drawing) and use that evidence to make in-the-moment instructional decisions
- 167Understand the meanings and purposes of summative assessment and the process of formative assessment in mathematics
- 168Interpret assessment data and use it to select instructional activities that target children’s needs, promote learning, and improve instruction
- 169Understand the language, format, and context of mathematics assessments and assessment questions for demonstrating children’s thinking
- 170Distinguish between superficial and deeper evidence about children, attending to key aspects of understanding, skill, and engagement and ignoring irrelevant aspects
- 171Analyze assessment data to plan next steps, understanding that evidence of children’s learning rather than topic coverage is necessary for moving on from a topic
- 172Demonstrate knowledge of ways to support all children, including children historically marginalized in mathematics classrooms, in identifying themselves as mathematical thinkers, and design instruction that helps children recognize their own and others’ mathematical strengths
- 173Demonstrate knowledge of a variety of participation structures and instructional routines (whole-class, small-group, independent work) and of varied materials to create talk about mathematics, with attention to disrupting patterns of over- and under-participation
- 174Identify classroom organizational routines and strategies that give children access to mathematical tools and ensure effective use of manipulatives and resources
- 175Identify strategies for creating a classroom culture that values productive struggle, challenging mathematical ideas, constructing mathematical meanings together, and enjoyment of mathematics
- 176Identify mathematical affordances in problems and sequences of problems solvable by counting, by addition and subtraction, or by approaches integrating these
Subtest 124: Science and Social Studies
- 177Understand the role of scientific phenomena in 3-dimensional science teaching and learning
- 178Demonstrate knowledge of strategies, methods, and activities to identify, evaluate, and use productive scientific phenomena for learners’ scientific learning, including everyday observations of the world such as a puddle disappearing over time
- 179Understand the nature and importance of science and engineering practices, giving priority at the grades 3-6 band to asking questions, developing models, planning investigations, analyzing data, constructing explanations, and engaging in argument from evidence
- 180Identify grade-appropriate elements of science and engineering practices, including developing models and engaging in argument from evidence
- 181Demonstrate knowledge of key aspects of the engineering design process and how it differs from science, such as engaging in a problem and revising in iterations
- 182Demonstrate understanding of the importance of life, earth, and physical science disciplinary core ideas consistent with grades 3-6 in the Michigan K-12 Standards for Science
- 183Identify grade-appropriate elements of the disciplinary core ideas within instructional materials
- 184Understand the nature of the crosscutting concepts and relate them to 3-dimensional learning, giving priority to patterns, cause and effect, systems and system models, scale, proportion and quantity, and energy and matter, and identify them within instructional materials
- 185Integrate crosscutting concepts in lessons, curricula, and assessments
- 186Identify and modify instructional materials to create learning environments that engage learners in using disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts to explore, describe, and explain phenomena
- 187Demonstrate knowledge of connections between science and other discipline areas, such as measurement and analysis, the crosscutting concept of patterns, and writing to explain science understanding
- 188Understand how learners make sense of scientific phenomena, ideas, experiences, and data, and what sense-making looks like for individuals (speaking, writing, visually representing, enacting) and in whole-class interactions
- 189Identify instances of sense-making and elicit learners’ ideas in individual, small-group, and whole-class interactions in ways that embrace the complexity and iterative nature of sense-making and move beyond labeling ideas correct or incorrect
- 190Demonstrate knowledge of research-based pedagogical strategies that support sense-making in grade-level-appropriate and culturally appropriate ways, including leveraging prior experiences and knowledge, varying activity structures, and using talk and group work to elicit thinking, cultural and community connections, and curiosity
- 191Demonstrate understanding of how to identify, modify, and design lessons, lesson sequences, and assessments that provide opportunities for iterative sense-making and explanation building through classroom talk, written words, diagrams, and movement
- 192Demonstrate knowledge of ways to create an inclusive linguistic culture that uses individual interactions and small-group work and provides opportunities for conversation, such as partner talk, asking for clarification, asking for evidence and reasoning, agreeing and disagreeing, and building on one another’s contributions
- 193Identify, create, or modify formative and summative science assessments, diagrammatic and linguistic, that address 3-dimensional learning and reveal learners’ current sense-making
- 194Recognize and assess learners’ ideas, life experiences, and learning beyond technical scientific language by evaluating work samples and classroom interactions, and use ongoing changes in learning to adjust instruction
Before test day
Two things are worth carrying into the exam room. This program tests teaching decisions, so when two answers both look defensible, pick the one that gathers evidence about the student before acting on an assumption. And check with your preparation programme which tests you need, because Michigan is mid-transition: Elementary Education 103 stops being administered on December 20, 2026, and the professional-knowledge requirement can be met by either 121 or the Lower Elementary program’s 117.
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MTTC Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education: study questions
What can I study in this MTTC Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education Online Center?
This MTTC Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education Online Center includes practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Topics on the page include Key ideas, details, and textual evidence, Word meaning, word choice, and tone, Text structure, features, and organization.
How should I use the MTTC Upper Elementary (Grades 3-6) Education 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.
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