Massachusetts Communication and Literacy Waiver

The C&L Test Is No Longer Mandatory

Since April 28, 2026, Massachusetts teacher candidates can bypass the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL entirely. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved a waiver pathway under the Mass Leads Act (Chapter 238 of the Acts of 2024) that lets qualifying candidates satisfy the C&L requirement without sitting for the exam.

The waiver costs $0 in ELAR. No test fees, no prep materials, no scheduling hassles.

Who Qualifies for the Waiver

You need to meet one of four criteria — just one is enough:

1. Out-of-state teaching credential — You hold a teaching license comparable to a Massachusetts Initial or Professional license from another U.S. state or territory.
2. Advanced degree — You've completed a master's or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution.
3. Massachusetts EPP completion — You finished a state-approved educator preparation program in Massachusetts.
4. District experience plus recommendation — You have two years of full-time equivalent instructional experience in a Massachusetts school district, with a formal recommendation from a school or district leader.

If you're a career changer with a master's in any field — business, engineering, nursing, anything — you qualify under criterion 2. The degree doesn't need to be in education.

How to Apply in ELAR

The waiver request is submitted directly through your Educator Licensure and Renewal (ELAR) account:

1. Log into ELAR and navigate to your license application.
2. Select the C&L waiver option (it appears alongside the standard test requirement).
3. Upload supporting documentation — your out-of-state license, graduate transcript, EPP completion letter, or district recommendation, depending on which criterion you're using.
4. Submit. There's no fee.

DESE processes waiver requests as part of the standard license application review, so expect the same 4–8 week timeline as a regular application.

Important Limitations

This waiver is a three-year pilot running through June 30, 2029. Licenses issued under the pilot remain permanently valid — your credential won't expire if the pilot ends. But there's one restriction worth noting: you can only use one waiver pathway option across your entire licensing profile. If you waive C&L through your master's degree, you can't later use the EPP-completion criterion for a different application.

The waiver only covers the Communication and Literacy Skills test. You still need to pass the subject-matter MTEL for your teaching field. There's no waiver for content-area exams.

MTEL Alternatives Still Available

If you don't qualify for the waiver, two alternative assessments remain active as substitutes for the C&L MTEL:

• Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators (Reading and Writing subtests) — administered by ETS
• NES Essential Academic Skills (Subtests I: Reading and II: Writing) — administered by Pearson

Both are accepted as direct equivalents. Register through the respective testing portals and have your scores sent to DESE.

Tests That No Longer Count

Three alternative assessments were permanently retired as of July 5, 2026:

• CASA (Core Academic Skills Assessment)
• MoGEA (Missouri General Education Assessment)
• WEST-B (Washington Educator Skills Test — Basic)

If you took any of these on or before June 29, 2026, your scores are still accepted. Tests taken after that date won't count toward Massachusetts licensure.

Which Path Makes Sense for You?

If you hold a master's degree or an out-of-state license, the waiver is the obvious choice — it saves you roughly $112 in test fees and the time you'd spend preparing and scheduling. For career changers without an advanced degree, the Praxis Core or NES alternatives offer more flexible scheduling than the MTEL and are accepted nationwide if you later pursue licensure in another state.

The Massachusetts Teacher Certification Guide includes a decision matrix that walks you through the C&L waiver eligibility check, alternative test registration, and ELAR submission steps for your specific profile.

See more Massachusetts guides →