I'm roughly 15 minutes away from being bummed out. Around 8:50pm is when I expect an email with my score on the Massachusetts Test for Educator License (MTEL) in High School Math (my subject matter credential). I took the test a month ago and couldn't finish it. It's 85 multiple choices questions worth 80% of your grade and two open response questions worth 20% of the grade. I didn't have enough time to answer either of the open response questions so the highest grade I can get is an 80 and you need a 70 or better to pass.
It's a difficult test to pass because it covers Algebra, Geometry, Trig, Statistics, Calculus, Matrixes, and Number Theory. I taught Algebra 1 and 2 during the 2022/23 school year, but this past year I was teaching Marketing, Multimedia, and Film Appreciation, so it required a lot of review in preparation and at the age of 64 (and having not taken a math class since 1978) it was hard to keep a lot of the formulas in my head.
And for some reason (maybe because it covers several disciplines), it's far harder to pass than the other MTEL exams. Three out of the four other teachers I know that have taken it in the last year failed it and one of them was a 24-year old college math major. The only one to pass it was the one who was currently teaching AP Calculus.
And to give you an idea of what I mean by harder than the others. I took the Visual Art MTEL and passed it without ever taking an art class in my life. I also passed the High School English MTEL. I took those exams because I'd much rather teach in those subject areas than math, but math is where the job openings are. Partly, I guess, because it's so hard to find math teachers with the proper credential.
In any case, this thread starter has succeeded at least in helping me pass the time (if not the exam). I'll let you know in a few minutes how I did. The smart money says I wasn't smart enough on that particular day.
