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Important Notice:
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is seeking Public Comment on the Guidelines to the Pre-Practicum for Teachers. We are looking for your feedback, including support for the draft of these guidelines. Interested individuals are asked to share their support and comments by September 15, 2025. Your input will inform final revisions to the Guidelines for the Pre-Practicum for Teachers and ultimately impact the effective preparation for all future educators in Massachusetts.
Here is the proposed timeline:
Please see the draft guidelines and provide your feedback in this survey .
The Pre-Practicum Guidelines require that, beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, Sponsoring Organizations evaluate initial licensure teacher candidate performance in early field-based experiences (the "pre-practicum") by administering at least two licensure-specific performance tasks, or "gateways." Gateways provide SOs with an opportunity to 1) identify at-risk candidates and provide them with the necessary supports and guidance to improve or exit the program (The Candidate Criterion 4) and 2) monitor individual licensure programs to ensure that each is effective (Continuous Improvement Criterion 1).
Pre-Practicum GuidelinesLearn more about the expectations for teacher candidates' early field-based experiences in Massachusetts.
Frequently Asked Questions: Pre-Practicum GatewaysLearn more about Pre-Practicum Gateways and the Bank of Model Gateway Tasks.
Rubric for Model Gateway TasksReview the criteria for tasks included in the Bank of Model Gateway Tasks and use the rubric to evaluate and continually improve your own gateways.
The following pre-practicum gateway task templates represent model tasks aligned to the Professional Standards for Teachers that have been designed to be adaptable to any licensure area and are available for optional use by Sponsoring Organizations. Each task template includes instructions for adapting, administering, and scoring the task.
Adapting Instructional Materials: Candidates will adapt high-quality instructional materials to meet the needs of all learners.
Analyzing Student Data: Candidates will use a student data set to identify patterns, draw conclusions, and propose next steps for instruction that will improve learning for all students.
Addressing Student Misconceptions: Candidates will use content and pedagogical knowledge to analyze student work, identify a misconception, and describe an instructional strategy to address the misconception.
The following pre-practicum gateway tasks are designed to assess candidates' performance using mixed reality simulations. Each task is aligned to specific indicators from the Professional Standards for Teachers and content knowledge specific to a defined set of licensure fields. Both include instructions for administering and scoring the task and are available for optional use by Sponsoring Organizations.
Pre-Teaching Vocabulary in an Informational Text: Candidates will critically examine, adapt, and launch a lesson on immigration by pre-teaching important vocabulary to a group of student avatars.
Leading a Parent-Teacher Conference: Candidates will meet with a parent avatar to review their child's math assessment results and collaboratively develop an academic plan.
Last Updated: July 14, 2025