All candidates required to take the Communication and Literacy Skills (CLST) MTEL may take one of the below assessments approved by the Department. Candidates must meet the passing score required for each alternative assessment in Massachusetts. Candidates may combine reading and writing subtests from different assessments to meet the overall assessment requirement. The assessment may be taken through the end of the pilot on June 30, 2025. Only listed approved assessments are accepted. As candidates register and take these alternative assessments, results will be electronically and securely sent to the Department.
Please keep in mind that if you previously passed one of the below approved alternative assessments, or registered for and took an approved alternative assessment in another state, you will need to contact the applicable vendor and arrange to have your score electronically and securely sent to the Department. There may be a fee associated with this request. The information in your score report request must exactly match your ELAR profile information in order to have your scores reported to the Department, including your MEPID. If your information is not an exact match in the score report, your score report will be rejected and you will have to make a second request with the corrected information, and pay the fee again.
Please click on an assessment below for more information.
This test is administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS)
The two subtests required for the Massachusetts Communication and Literacy Praxis Test are:
The Praxis Core Mathematics subtest is not required for the purposes of the alternative.
In order for your scores to be automatically reported to the Department, please register using the Massachusetts specific registration link: Praxis: Massachusetts. If you are requesting older Praxis Core scores, or registered for and took the test in another state, you will need to ensure that your score report request information is an exact match to the information in your ELAR profile, including your MEPID. If your information is not an exact match in the score report, your score report will be rejected and you will have to make a second request with the corrected information, and pay the fee again.
This test is administered by Evaluation Systems Group (ES) of Pearson
The two subtests required for the NES-EAS are:
These tests and preparation materials were added to the MTEL website Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) (nesinc.com), effective July 20, 2021.
In order for your scores to be automatically reported to the Department, please register using the Massachusetts specific registration link: Essential Academic Skills
The two subtests required for the MoGEA are:
In order for your scores to be automatically reported to the Department, please register using the Massachusetts specific registration link: MoGEA (866/867)
The MoGEA is offered via Online proctoring only.
The two subtests required for the WEST-B are:
In order for your scores to be automatically reported to the Department, please register using the Massachusetts specific registration link: WEST–B: Reading, Writing (895/896)
The WEST-B is offered via Online proctoring only.
The two subtests required for the CASA are:
In order for your scores to be automatically reported to the Department, please register using the Massachusetts specific registration link: CASA: Reading, Writing (801/803)
The CASA is offered via Online proctoring only.
Please see the chart below for a comparison of the available options.
The Department will provide information about the additional CLST alternative assessments as they become available. Please continue to check back to this page for additional information.
Overview of Alternatives to the Communication and Literacy Skills Test MTEL
CASA: Reading subtest
*Online Proctoring Only
CASA: Writing subtest
$50 for one subtest, or $75 for both subtests
Free After Three Retake Policy — For registrations on or after December 5, 2023, candidates who have taken the same National Evaluation Series™ test with the same test code three times and have not yet passed will be able to reregister for the same test at no cost.
Please see more here: Testing Policies
MoGEA: Reading Comprehension and Interpretation subtest
MoGEA: Writing subtest
WEST-B: Reading subtest
WEST-B: Writing subtest
Last Updated: September 27, 2024
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
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