Approved Alternative Assessments

Massachusetts accepts the following approved alternative assessments.

The Department has approved the following additional alternative assessments that have been found to be aligned and of equal rigor to the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure MTELs. Candidates must meet the passing score required for each approved alternative assessment listed below in Massachusetts. As candidates register per the directions below and take these alternative assessments, results will be electronically and securely sent to the Department.

There are no candidate eligibility requirements to access the below approved alternative assessments.

Educational Testing Service (ETS)

In order for your scores to be reported to, and accepted by the Department, you must register at the specific Massachusetts link for registration on the Educational Testing Service ETS website using your Massachusetts Education Personnel ID MEPID number and your registration information must be an exact match to your Educator Licensure and Renewal ELAR information. Please see Sending Previously Passed Score Reports below if you previously took and passed one of the following tests.

Evaluation Systems of Pearson

In order for your scores to be reported to, and accepted by the Department, you must register on the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure MTEL website using your Massachusetts Education Personnel ID MEPID number and your registration information must be an exact match to your Educator Licensure and Renewal ELAR information. The below tests can be found via the Test Info page under the National Evaluation Series™ (NES) Tests section. Please see Sending Previously Passed Score Reports below if you previously took and passed one of the following tests.

Evaluation Systems of Pearson National Evaluation Series NES Only — Free 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 listed in the table above three times and have not yet passed will be able to reregister for the same test at no cost.

Please note the following:

• Any test registration or administration prior to December 5, 2023, will not count toward a free retake.
• You do not need to use a voucher or any special code; the system will automatically allow eligible candidates to reregister for free.
• You may register for free up to 12 months after the release of your most recent score report for the test.
• If you are absent from your test appointment, the absence will not count toward one of the three attempts.

Sending Previously Passed Score Reports

If you previously passed one of the approved alternative assessments with the exact matching test name and test code after the corresponding dates below, 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 Educator Licensure and Renewal ELAR profile information in order to have your scores reported to the Department, including your Massachusetts Education Personnel ID 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.

For questions about the alternative assessments to the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure 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.

Last Updated: October 9, 2026