Regulatory Pilot Update: New Alternative Assessments Available with Specific Eligibility Requirements

We are excited to share an update on the availability of the MTEL alternative assessments that the Department will be piloting through June 30, 2024. Based on a regulatory amendment, this pilot aims to create and evaluate increased flexibility in assessments for educator licensure. This regulatory amendment is designed to identify and pilot alternative mechanisms for assessing knowledge and skills and be responsive to feedback from the field while continuing to maintain a high bar for all educators. Please see more information about the regulatory pilot below and Pilot of Alternative Assessments to the MTEL webpage.

The Department has approved two additional alternative assessments from Educational Testing Service (ETS) with specific eligibility requirements. The assessments that will be accepted through the pilot period for educators who meet specific eligibility requirements as approved alternatives include:

ETS —

• English to Speakers of Other Languages — English to Speakers of Other Languages (5362)
• Physical Education — Physical Education: Content and Design (5095)
• "The specific Massachusetts link for registration is: Massachusetts Certification.

Candidate Eligibility:

Given that the intended design of this subject matter knowledge alternative assessment, as presented to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), was based on the current Performance Review Program for Initial Licensure (PRPIL), the RFR soliciting these alternative assessments was designed in alignment to requirements for educator experience. As a result, eligibility for the above tests is designed for candidates who meet the following requirements:

1. Educators must have a bachelor's degree.
2. Educators who have:
   • Taught for at least one school year in the field of the test they seek to take under a waiver, an emergency license, and/or a temporary license OR
   • Taught for at least one 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 OR
   • Served for at least one 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 will be required to submit proof of the above requirements to ETS during the test registration process. The registration process through ETS will indicate how to document proof of eligibility. As candidates register and take these alternative assessments, results will be electronically and securely sent to the Department. Due to these eligibility requirements, the Department will not be accepting scores for tests registered for or taken before 10/25/2022. The link to register and provide proof of eligibility is now live here: Massachusetts Certification.

For questions about the alternative assessments to the MTEL, please contact testhelp@doe.mass.edu . For licensure questions, please contact the Licensure Office:

Licensure Call Center: 781-338-6600

Hours: Monday-Friday 9am–12pm & 2pm–5pm.

Additional Information about the Regulatory Pilot

The regulation states:

The Department may conduct a pilot of alternative assessments identified or developed to satisfy the requirements of 603 CMR 7.04 (2) (a) (2) and (3), and 603 CMR 7.04 (2) (b) (2) and (3), and 603 CMR 1.06 (4) (a). Any alternative assessment identified or developed for this purpose shall be determined by the Commissioner to be comparable to the MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills test or subject matter knowledge test. The alternative assessment pilot period shall continue through June 30, 2024. Any candidate who passes an alternative assessment during that period 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. During the period of the alternative assessment pilot, the Commissioner will report to the Board at least annually on any alternative assessments, including the number of candidates taking the alternative assessments, any evaluative information regarding these candidates, patterns of employment, and feedback from school districts and educator preparation programs. Prior to making any recommendations following the conclusion of the pilot, the Commissioner shall conduct or contract for an evaluation of the alternative assessment pilot.

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted on this amendment in October 2020, and the Commissioner, on behalf of the Department, approved an initial set of alternative assessments to pilot. One of these pilots is to accept alternative assessments that are aligned to the Subject Matter Knowledge MTEL. For more information about the other assessment pilots, please see Regulatory Pilot — Information about the Alternative Assessments to the MTEL, March 2021.

Last Updated: October 26, 2022