Unofficial practice for MTEL Adult Basic Education (55): language arts, ESOL, mathematics, history and science, each answer sourced.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson. Bank checked October 15, 2026.
A clinic rewrites its intake form in short sentences and everyday words so that every reader understands it quickly, easily and completely. What is this kind of writing called?Wikipedia, "Plain language", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0001
An adult education teacher wants to match texts to learners at a range of reading levels. What does the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level formula report for a passage?Wikipedia, "Flesch–Kincaid readability tests", Flesch–Kincaid grade level (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0004
An adult learner reads a passage aloud while the teacher marks each point where what is said differs from the print, to see which reading strategies the learner is using. What is this diagnostic procedure called?Wikipedia, "Miscue analysis", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0004
An adult learner wants to join two ideas of equal weight in one sentence. Which sentence is compound, made of two independent clauses?Wikipedia, "Sentence clause structure", Typology of sentences (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0002
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Subarea I: English language arts, continued
Frederick Douglass wrote his 1845 Narrative during his time in Lynn, Massachusetts. Which kind of book is it?Wikipedia, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0003
Readers of a novel know from the first chapter that the kindly lodger is the thief the family is hunting, while the family goes on trusting him. Which literary device is at work?Wikipedia, "Irony", Typology (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0003
Which revision best improves the economy of expression of the sentence "In my personal opinion, I think that the bus is late due to the fact that it snowed"?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea I English Language Arts; the sentences are our own and the answer follows from them. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0001
Which spelling reformer chose "color", "defense" and "traveler" for his speller and changed "re" to "er" in words such as "center"?Wikipedia, "Noah Webster", lead and Blue-backed speller (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0002
Subarea II: English for speakers of other languages 14
A community college gives each entering adult a test to decide which classes the student should take first. What is this practice called?Wikipedia, "Placement testing", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
A learner holds the phone number 6175550142 in mind by grouping its digits as 617, 555 and 0142. What is this binding of small pieces of information into a meaningful whole called?Wikipedia, "Chunking (psychology)", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
A vocabulary lesson groups "pigeon", "crow" and "hen" under "bird". In semantics, what is each of the three words in relation to "bird"?Wikipedia, "Hypernymy and hyponymy", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
After a program adopts a grammar-heavy exit test, its teachers begin to spend most class time on grammar drills. What is this impact of testing on teaching and learning called?Wikipedia, "Washback effect", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
Among linguists, which term takes in a variety's grammar and vocabulary as well as its pronunciation?Wikipedia, "Dialect", Dialect and accent (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
An adult learner knows the words she needs but freezes with worry whenever she must speak English at the bank. Which term names this unease and apprehension in using a second language?Wikipedia, "Foreign language anxiety", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
An adult learner writes "she go" in every composition, week after week. In the study of learner language, what does a systematic deviation of this kind signal?Wikipedia, "Error analysis (linguistics)", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
An adult who studied English years ago and has hardly used it since finds that much of what she could do is gone. What is this loss of proficiency in a previously acquired language called?Wikipedia, "Second-language acquisition", Attrition (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
An ESOL teacher sets the structures of Spanish and English side by side to predict which features of English her adult learners will find hard. Which approach is she using?Wikipedia, "Contrastive analysis", lead and Second language acquisition (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0005
In the sentence "The new students have finished their essays", which words make up the verb phrase: the verb with its arguments, apart from the subject?Wikipedia, "Verb phrase", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
"Maria bought a used car. It needed new tires." The pronoun "It" points back to "a used car" and ties the two sentences together. Which cohesive device is this?Wikipedia, "Cohesion (linguistics)", lead and Referencing (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
The past tense ending -ed is said as [t] in "fished", as [d] in "buzzed" and as [ɪd] in "hunted". What are these variant forms of one morpheme called?Wikipedia, "Allomorph", lead and Past tense allomorphs (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
What "I will meet you here tomorrow" means depends on who says it, where and when. Which term names the use of words such as "you", "here" and "then" to refer relative to the context of the utterance?Wikipedia, "Deixis", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
Which English consonant is a fricative, a sound produced by forcing air through a narrow channel between two articulators?Wikipedia, "Fricative", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0006
Subarea III: Mathematics 13
A baker rolls dough into a rectangle 60 cm by 45 cm and cuts all of it into squares 15 cm on a side. How many squares does she get?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0009
A bar chart compares pass rates of 82% and 85%, but its vertical axis starts at 80, so one bar stands more than twice as tall as the other. Which kind of distortion is this?Wikipedia, "Misleading graph", Truncated graph (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0010
A circular rug has a radius of 5 feet. Which length of binding is closest to what is needed to go once around its edge?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0009
A home health aide works 26.5 hours at $21.75 an hour. Which estimate is closest to her gross pay?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0007
A lab sheet lists a thickness of 0.00007 meter. How is the number written in scientific notation?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0007
A laundry card costs $5 to buy, and each wash then costs $2.75. Ana has spent $32.50 in all. How many washes has she paid for?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0008
A monthly bus pass that cost $70 last year costs $77.70 now. By what percent did the price rise?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0007
A raffle sells 250 tickets, and one learner holds 8 of them. One ticket is drawn. What is the probability, as a percent, that this learner wins?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0010
A shop has 12 cycles in stock, some bicycles and some tricycles, with 29 wheels in all. How many are tricycles?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0008
A stack with one chair in it is 82 cm tall, and each chair added raises the stack by 7 cm. How tall is a stack of 12 chairs?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0008
For a lesson on place value a learner writes the number thirteen in base 2. What does she write?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0007
Six adult learners report weekly study times of 2, 3, 3, 5, 7 and 16 hours. What are the mean and the median?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0010
Trim for the foot of the walls of a bedroom 11 feet by 14 feet is sold by the foot, and the 3-foot doorway needs none. How much trim does the room need?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea III Mathematics; the answer is worked from the numbers in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0009
Subarea IV: History and social science 5
Abby Kelley Foster, born in Pelham, Massachusetts, in 1811, became a lecturer, fundraiser and committee organizer. For which cause is she chiefly known?Wikipedia, "Abby Kelley", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0011
In many New England towns, eligible residents gather in an assembly and decide directly how the town is governed. What is this form of local government called?Wikipedia, "Town meeting", lead and History (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0012
On a physical map a learner finds a wide area of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the land around it on at least one side. Which landform is it?Wikipedia, "Plateau", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0013
What is the formal name of the Massachusetts state legislature, a holdover from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?Wikipedia, "Massachusetts General Court", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0012
Which major transformation in human history was the wide-scale change from a life of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement?Wikipedia, "Neolithic Revolution", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0011
Subarea V: Science 5
A table lists bean heights after two weeks: 10 cm with no fertilizer, 14 cm with 5 grams, 18 cm with 10 grams and 22 cm with 15 grams. If the pattern holds, what height does 20 grams predict?MTEL Adult Basic Education (55) test objectives, subarea V Science; the answer is read from the data in the question. Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0015
The coiled element of an electric toaster glows red when current passes through it. Which process turns the electric current into heat?Wikipedia, "Joule heating", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0014
In a trial of a new study method, neither the learners nor the scorers are told who used the method until the results are in. What is this withholding of information called?Wikipedia, "Blinded experiment", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0015
On newly exposed rock, lichens and mosses come first, and grasses, small shrubs and trees follow over many years. What is this change in an ecological community over time called?Wikipedia, "Ecological succession", lead and Primary succession (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0014
Which layer of the atmosphere holds 80% of its total mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur?Wikipedia, "Troposphere", lead (read 2026-10-15). Written to MTEL Adult Basic Education (55), objective 0014
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test objectives of MTEL Adult Basic Education, field 55, as the test information guide prints them on the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure website (https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/MA_SG_OBJ_55.htm and https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MA055_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-15): 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response items in 4 hours; multiple-choice subareas I English Language Arts (14 to 16 questions, 15% of the score, objectives 0001 to 0004), II English for Speakers of Other Languages (24 to 26, 25%, objectives 0005 and 0006), III Mathematics (24 to 26, 25%, objectives 0007 to 0010), IV History and Social Science (9 to 11, 10%, objectives 0011 to 0013) and V Science (9 to 11, 10%, objectives 0014 and 0015), and the open-response subarea, 15%. Each fact was read on 2026-10-15 in the Wikipedia article named under its question; the answers in mathematics, the revision of a wordy sentence and the reading of a data table are worked from the question itself. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
Forty-five questions of our own make up this unofficial MTEL Adult Basic Education practice test on field 55. Nothing here is affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson.
Read the full guide
Five subareas and their weights
By the test objectives: English language arts is 15% of the score, English for speakers of other languages 25%, mathematics 25%, history and social science 10% and science 10%. This bank holds 8, 14, 13, 5 and 5.
The clock
Online-proctored candidates get 2 hours 30 minutes for the multiple-choice section, the test page says: 90 seconds a question. A timed run of the 45 questions here lasts 68 minutes.
What the real test adds
Two open-response items carry the last 15%. Objective 0016 has candidates evaluate the organization and expression of ideas in a written text and reason about a written argument from an adult basic education content area.
Linguistics and second-language acquisition weigh as much as all of mathematics, and more than history and science together.
Questions and answers
Is there an official MTEL Adult Basic Education practice test?
Not a full one. For field 55 the test information guide on the MTEL site has sample multiple-choice questions and a sample open-response assignment. The questions on this page are our own and name the objective and the source each was written from.
How many questions are on the MTEL Adult Basic Education test?
The test page lists 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response assignments, in 4 hours of testing time. It notes that a test may include questions that are being tried out and do not count toward the score.
What is the passing score for the MTEL Adult Basic Education test?
The test page gives a qualifying score of 240. It takes in the two open-response items as well, so no percent on this page stands for it.
Which MTEL tests does the Massachusetts adult basic education license require?
Two kinds. The licensure regulations, 603 CMR 47.00, define the MTEL for the Adult Basic Education Teacher's License as covering communication and literacy skills and subject matter knowledge: the Communication and Literacy Skills test and the Adult Basic Education subject matter test.