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The MTEL-SEI exam has 61 questions and runs 4 hours.
These 10 free MTEL-SEI questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the MTEL Sheltered English Immersion (56) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A Massachusetts district enrolls 60 English learners and provides them the same teachers, textbooks, curriculum, and facilities as all other students, with no language support services. Which court decision established that this practice does NOT satisfy federal requirements?
Correct answer: C - Lau v. Nichols (1974)
A district adopts a dual language program that is well supported by research, but assigns it teachers who have received no training in bilingual instruction and provides no program materials. Under the three-prong Castaneda test, which prong is the district MOST clearly failing?
Correct answer: A - Prong two, because implementation lacks trained staff and resources
A grade 9 student was born in the United States and has attended U.S. schools since kindergarten. She speaks English fluently with peers but writes in short, simple sentences and struggles with textbook readings across all subjects. Which instructional response is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: D - Explicitly teach academic language and discourse structures
A teacher needs to hold a conference with the parents of an English learner who speak limited English. Which practice is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: B - Speak directly to the parents in short segments via an interpreter
A grade 4 student who arrived from Brazil 10 months ago converses easily with classmates at recess but cannot complete written science explanations. Her teacher wonders whether she has a learning disability. Which explanation is MOST likely?
Correct answer: C - She has conversational language but not yet academic language
A Spanish-speaking student writes: 'My sister have a car red and she drive to the school every day.' Which analysis of these errors is MOST accurate?
Correct answer: D - They show first-language influence on syntax and morphology
A teacher has time to explicitly teach only a few words before a content-area reading. Which category of vocabulary generally offers the GREATEST instructional return for English learners?
Correct answer: B - Tier 2 words, since they recur across subjects and are rarely taught
A grade 8 history teacher replaces the assigned textbook chapter with a summary written at a third-grade reading level for her English learners. What is the PRIMARY problem with this approach?
Correct answer: A - It lowers the content expectation rather than scaffolding the language
A grade 5 English learner has received appropriate instruction for three years and continues to struggle with reading. Her family reports that she also struggled with reading in her first language before coming to the United States. What does this information MOST strongly suggest?
Correct answer: D - The difficulty may reflect a disability rather than only language
All of the following are appropriate accommodations for an English learner on a grade 7 science assessment EXCEPT:
Correct answer: C - assessing her on fewer science standards than her classmates
The MTEL-SEI exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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