Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, the Communication and Literacy Skills (CLST) Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) has been required for educator licensure since 1998. In May of 2025, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education passed a new regulatory amendment to allow for the use of alternative assessments to the MTEL.

The regulation states:

• (f) Alternative Assessment Options
• Any candidate who passes an alternative assessment approved by the Commissioner as comparable to the MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills test or a subject matter knowledge test will be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of 603 CMR 7.04 (2) (a) (2), or (a) (3), or 603 CMR 7.04 (2) (b) (2) or (b) (3), or 603 CMR 1.06 (4) (a), as applicable. The Commissioner will publicly report annual data on all approved alternative assessments, including the number of candidates taking the alternative assessments and assessment pass rates. The Department will issue Guidelines for the approval and sustainability of all alternative assessment options.

The Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, on behalf of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, has approved the Reading and Writing sections of the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (Core), referred to as the Communication and Literacy test, as an alternative to the CLST MTEL. Teacher candidates, or those wishing to become certified, may take the Communication and Literacy test as an alternative to the CLST MTEL.

For information on licensure requirements, please visit Massachusetts' Office of Educator Licensure.

Academic PreK-12 Licenses

The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved alternative assessments to the MTEL to create increased flexibility in assessments for educator licensure.

This entails the approval of two alternative assessments from ETS with specific eligibility requirements. The assessments will be accepted for educators who meet specific eligibility requirements. The approved assessments include: 

• English to Speakers of Other Languages (5362)
• Physical Education: Content and Design (5095)

To register for the tests, log into your Praxis account.

Candidate Eligibility

To take the assessments, candidates must meet the following requirements: 

1. Educators must have a bachelor’s degree, and
2. Educators must meet one of the following three qualifications: 

• Taught for at least 1 school year in the field of the test they seek to take under a waiver, an emergency license, and/or a temporary license
• Taught for at least 1 school year in the field of the test they seek to take at a charter school, a collaborative, an approved special education school or a private school that uses the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
• Served for at least 1 school year in a paraprofessional role or as a long-term substitute in a classroom in a Massachusetts public school, collaborative, an approved special education school, or a private school that uses the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in the field of the test they seek to take.

Educators are required to submit proof of the above requirements to ETS during the test registration process. The registration process explains how to document proof of eligibility. As candidates register and take these alternative assessments, results are electronically and securely sent to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Due to these eligibility requirements, the Department is not accepting scores for tests registered for or taken before October 26, 2022.

For questions about the alternative assessments to the MTEL, please email the Department:

Email: testhelp@doe.mass.edu

For licensure questions, please contact the Licensure Office Call Center:

Phone:1-781-338-6600

Monday–Friday 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2 p.m.–5 p.m.

• If you test in Massachusetts at a test center or at home, and your Praxis profile address is in Massachusetts, your score report will be sent automatically to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
• If you test outside Massachusetts or your Praxis profile address is not in Massachusetts, your scores are NOT automatically sent to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. To have your scores sent to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, you must select the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (state code 7335) as a score recipient when you register.
• For all methods of Praxis testing, to request additional score reports you must select the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (state code 7335) with each additional score report request.

Get additional information about Sending Your Praxis Scores.

ETS discontinued paper-delivered testing; however, Praxis tests will continue to be available in a paper-delivered format as required for ADA accommodations. All scores for previously administered paper-delivered tests are reportable for 10 years from the date the test was taken.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education does not require an SSN to process educator certification paperwork. ETS does not require your SSN for its own purposes, but will submit it to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with your test results. However, failure to provide your SSN could delay processing of your certification application.