Test Information Guide
Overview and Test Objectives
Field 46: Dance
Test Overview
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) and online proctored test; 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 open-response items |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions |
|
| Time | 4 hours (does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial) |
| Passing Score | 240 |
The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) are designed to measure a candidate's knowledge of the subject matter contained in the test objectives for each field. The MTEL are aligned with the Massachusetts educator licensure regulations and, as applicable, with the standards in the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.
The test objectives specify the content to be covered on the test and are organized by major content subareas. The chart below shows the approximate percentage of the total test score derived from each of the subareas.
The test assesses a candidate's proficiency and depth of understanding of the subject at the level required for a baccalaureate major according to Massachusetts standards. Candidates are typically nearing completion of or have completed their undergraduate work when they take the test.
Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.
Test Objectives
| Subareas | Range of Objectives | Approximate Test Weighting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple-Choice | |||
| I | Dance Movement: Elements, Skills, and Concepts | 01–03 | 27% |
| II | Dance as Expression: Creation, Production, and Analysis | 04–06 | 27% |
| III | Dance and Society: History, Purposes, and Practice | 07–09 | 26% |
| 80% | |||
| Open-Response* | |||
| IV | Integration of Knowledge and Understanding | 10 | 20% |
*The open-response items may relate to topics covered in any of the subareas.
Subarea I–Dance Movement: Elements, Skills, and Concepts
Objective 0001: Understand movement skills, elements, and concepts and their relationship to dance learning and performing.
For example:- Demonstrate knowledge of basic vocabulary and terminology related to dance movement and various dance styles.
- Recognize the characteristics and analyze the uses of locomotor and nonlocomotor movements in dance.
- Understand and analyze the use of the elements of body, space, time, energy, and relationship in performing dance.
Objective 0002: Understand fundamental skills and concepts of diverse styles and genres of dance.
For example:- Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental techniques and movement patterns characteristic of Western theatrical and concert dances (e.g., ballet, modern, jazz, tap, hip-hop).
- Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental techniques and movement patterns characteristic of other world dance forms (e.g., Kabuki, classical Indian dance, capoeira, African dance).
- Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental techniques and movement patterns characteristic of social and folk dances (e.g., ballroom, salsa, contra and square, hora, hula, tinikling, Irish step dance).
Objective 0003: Understand the developmental progression of physical skills and movement technique and the importance of personal practices in learning and performing dance.
For example:- Understand and apply knowledge of human anatomy and physiology to dance movement and activities, including the role of optimal nutritional and psychological health practices for a strong body and positive self-image.
- Analyze basic processes of kinesthetic-motor development in relationship to dance (e.g., patterns of physical growth; acquisition of motor skills; the relationships among cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development; age-appropriate activities).
- Understand and apply principles and practices of dance conditioning, including strength training; muscle, ligament, and tendon care; and injury prevention and treatment.
Subarea II–Dance as Expression: Creation, Production, and Analysis
Objective 0004: Understand and apply principles and processes of choreography.
For example:- Understand and apply compositional structures and devices used in choreography.
- Analyze how principles of design are used in the choreography of dance.
- Recognize the characteristics of choreographic processes (e.g., improvisation, exploration, chance, reordering, abstraction), and analyze their purposes, including intention, conceptualization, and documentation.
- Recognize sources for generating choreographic ideas and the uses of technology in the creation of dance.
Objective 0005: Understand and apply principles of interpretation, analysis, and criticism of dance.
For example:- Analyze ways in which dance and elements of dance performance can create and communicate meaning.
- Understand the development of artistic awareness and demonstrate the ability to see dance from a variety of personal and cultural perspectives (e.g., stages of cognitive development, literal vs. abstract thinking, use of critical and creative thinking, context).
- Describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate dance performance and choreography using aesthetic and technical criteria and concepts.
- Evaluate and discuss dance from the varying perspectives of choreographer, dancer, and observer.
Objective 0006: Understand the requirements of performance and fundamentals of production and staging of dance.
For example:- Identify and analyze the processes and purposes of staging a dance performance (e.g., warming up, performance projection, practice, rehearsal etiquette, spacing, self-evaluation).
- Understand and apply knowledge of costume, makeup, props, sets, lighting design, and musical accompaniment and evaluate how they contribute to the creation of meaning in dance.
- Demonstrate knowledge of facilities and technologies appropriate to dance learning, performance, and production (e.g., sprung floor, mirrors and barres, video and music equipment, computer technology, lighting).
- Identify and analyze the role of personnel involved in the performance and production of dance (e.g., stage manager; artistic director; publicist; costume, set, and lighting designer).
Subarea III–Dance and Society: History, Purposes, and Practice
Objective 0007: Analyze the relationship between dance and society.
For example:- Identify and analyze the aesthetic, social, and cultural functions of dance within various cultures and throughout history, up to and including the present day.
- Evaluate the ways that specific dance forms reflect the social, cultural, economic, and historical contexts from which they emerge.
- Recognize the contributions of artists and dance-related organizations in the community, in U.S. society, and globally in the past and present.
- Identify dance-related resources at local, national, and global levels for lifelong involvement in dance through vocational, voluntary, and recreational activities.
Objective 0008: Analyze the history and role of dance in the United States and the world.
For example:- Demonstrate knowledge of the history of dance in North American and European traditions, including identification and analysis of historical periods, major stylistic traditions, and contributions of other world dance traditions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the history of dance in other major world regions, including identification and analysis of historical periods and major stylistic traditions.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the contributions of significant dance artists, including their theories, processes, and major works.
- Identify and analyze how cultural, social, economic, and technological changes have influenced the development of dance in various cultures.
Objective 0009: Analyze the connections between dance and other disciplines.
For example:- Identify concepts, processes, and vocabulary common to dance and other art forms and to dance and other academic disciplines.
- Evaluate similarities and differences among the processes of skill development, creating, performing, and responding in dance and the processes and content of other arts disciplines.
- Evaluate the relationships among the processes of creating, performing, and responding in dance and processes of learning and understanding in other academic disciplines.
Subarea IV–Integration of Knowledge and Understanding
Objective 0010: Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to one or more of the following: dance movement: elements, skills, and concepts; dance as expression: creation, production, and analysis; and dance in society: history, purposes, and practice.
(Refer to objectives 0001 through 0009 and associated descriptive statements.)