Mapping the Test Objectives to the Curriculum

Mapping the test objectives to the curriculum is an activity designed to assist faculty in determining how well their course curriculum covers the knowledge and skills tested by the MTTC tests.

The Test Objective and Subarea Matching Worksheet opens in a new window is a useful tool for matching course content to the objectives of a specific MTTC test.

Because the test objectives articulate the specific knowledge and skills assessed on each MTTC test, familiarity with the test objectives is central to identifying the content knowledge and skills on which certification candidates are assessed. The objectives can be very helpful to faculty, both in advising candidates who are preparing to test and for academic purposes such as planning programs. A careful reading of the test objectives—noting subarea structures and depth and breadth of coverage of content, as detailed by the objectives—will provide a good understanding of the content covered on a particular test.

Using the Test Objective and Subarea Matching Worksheet and your knowledge of the test objectives, you can compare your institution's course offerings with the content assessed on the test, as described by the test objectives. The completed worksheet will specifically match the content assessed by an MTTC test and the particular course or courses at your institution in which that content is addressed. This information can then be used to take the following steps:

  • advise candidates who are preparing to take the test for the first time, noting specific coursework they may wish to take before testing
  • direct candidates who are retaking a test, noting instructional materials and texts they may wish to review
  • assess for academic program planning purposes the extent to which institutional and departmental courses correspond with the certification standards as defined by the test objectives

Directions for Completing the Worksheet

Step 1: Determine the number of test objectives. MTTC test fields have different numbers of test objectives. Use the test objectives provided for the specific test field to determine the number of objectives covered by the test.

Step 2: Indicate the subarea for each objective. Using the test objectives, enter the appropriate subarea number above each objective.

Step 3: List the course names. List the courses in the institution's curriculum that candidates are typically advised or required to include in their programs of study leading to certification. List courses within and beyond the department as appropriate. To make completion of the worksheet easier, list the courses in an order corresponding to the organizational pattern of the test objectives (i.e., first identifying and listing the courses that cover the content described by the objectives in the first subarea, then listing the courses that cover the content of the second subarea, and so on).

Step 4: Match the test objectives to the courses. Read each test objective and its associated descriptive statements carefully and review the descriptions of the course offerings:

  • If a listed course adequately covers the content of the objective, place an X in the column corresponding to that objective number in the row of the worksheet on which the course name is listed.
  • If no specific course adequately covers the content of the objective, leave the column corresponding to the objective number blank and make a separate note.

Step 5 (optional): Identify additional resources for selected test objectives. You may want to expand the worksheet to include Internet or other instructional resources beyond required coursework that link to particular objectives.

Sample from a Completed Test Objective and Subarea Matching Worksheet

An example of a portion of a Test Objective and Subarea Matching Worksheet as it might be completed by a faculty member is shown below. It illustrates the use of the worksheet with objectives 1–15 of the English test (field 002), which has 4 subareas and 30 objectives.

Sample of the beginning of a completed worksheet.

TEST OBJECTIVE AND SUBAREA MATCHING WORKSHEET FOR MTTC TESTS

This worksheet may be used to review courses in relation to test objectives.

Directions: Use a separate copy of this worksheet for each test. Access the objectives for the test you are analyzing. Indicate which subareas contain which objectives by entering the appropriate subarea number above each objective number (for example, if Subarea I contains objectives 1 to 6, type "I" in the text box above objectives 1 to 6). In the left-hand column, type the names of the courses that may cover content related to the test. In the row for each course, mark the appropriate box for each objective that is covered by the course.

A series of filled in fields:

Candidate name: A. Lastname

Date: 7/24/19

Test Name and Code: English 002

Advisor Name: N. Advisor

Use this worksheet to evaluate your level of preparation for objectives 1 through 15 of an MTTC test.

The following table represents the filled in worksheet:

Test Objectives and Subareas
Subareas IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Subareas 123456789101112131415
Course Name:
ENGLISH 110: Literary Forms and Theory XXXblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblank
ENGLISH 120: Intro to English Lang blankblankblankXXXblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblank
ENGLISH 246: Amer Literature blankblankblankblankblankblankXXblankXblankblankblankblankblank
ENGLISH 220: Major British Writers blankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankXblankblankblankblank
ENGLISH 360: World Literature blankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankXXblankblank
ENGLISH 380: College Writing blankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankblankX

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