Welcome to the Lesley Certification Website

The Certification Office assists past, current, and prospective students with questions about licensure and certification, state testing, recertification, and teaching in other states. As the primary contact between Lesley University and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), the office keeps the Lesley community informed and updated on all matters related to licensure regulations and policies for teachers, administrators and counselors.

The Certification Office provides information about the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) and offers MTEL workshops and other resources to help students prepare for the exams.

NOTE: Students in Elementary Education, Moderate Disabilities and Severe Disabilities programs are urged to read an Important MTEL Notice: New Mathematics Test as Part of General Curriculum MTEL. The first administration of the new General Curriculum MTEL (Math subtest and Multisubject subtest) was on March 7. Scores are not available yet, but there is an IMPORTANT Memo on the DESE website regarding the new General Curriculum math subtest results and licensing. In response to the General Curriculum math subtest, Lesley has developed a new ONLINE Math Diagnostic and Math GC Preparation Workshop.

* For mental health licenses, please contact Catherine Stalberg, the licensure advisor for the Divisions of Counseling and Psychology and Expressive Therapies, at 617.349.8561 or license@lesley.edu.

Office Location and Hours

University Hall (formerly Porter Exchange Building), 2nd Floor, Room 2-076 and 2-077

1815 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA

    Note: Mailing address is 29 Everett St, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:45 pm EST

Staff 

Associate Certification Officer: Rita Sugarman, 617.349.8427 or 800.999.1959 ext. 8427, rsugarma@lesley.edu

Licensure and Certification

• Lesley Students: How to apply in Massachusetts [pdf]

• Frequently Asked Questions about Licensure
  

• Recertification and Activating Old Licenses
  
• Licensure outside of Massachusetts
• Mass Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DOE or DESE)
  
  • Licensure Help - Online
  • Set up your ELAR Account (Licensure and Recruitment)
  • Guidelines for Math Preparation of Elementary Teachers [pdf] New!
    
  • Education Laws and Regulations 603 CMR 7.00
  • Highly Qualified Requirements for Massachusetts Teachers and NCLB Act
  • Commissioner's Determination Guidelines
  • Pre-Service Performance Assessment [pdf]
    
  • ELL Benchmarks

MTEL (Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure)

• MTEL Program Website and Registration Bulletin

• Lesley's Preparation Workshops
  

• Study Tips   

• Lesley MTEL Student Guide 2008-2009

• MTEL Faculty Guide                             

• Frequently Asked Questions about MTEL

• Lesley University MTEL Policy
• MTEL News/Updates 
  • IMPORTANT NOTICE: Newly redeveloped Communication and Literacy Skills test effective September 2009. New test objectives are now available at the MTEL website. The test will continue to comprise two subtests (Reading and Writing) and the content will remain substantially the same.  Key changes to the new test include:
    
    * The Reading subtest will assess knowledge of word meaning in context, and will no longer include short-answer word definitions. 
    * The Writing subtest will no longer include short-answer grammatical term definitions.
    * The Writing subtest objectives for grammar, usage, spelling, capitalization and punctuation skills will focus on common errors. 
    * Topics for the open response summary exercise will be related to education. 
    
    The new full-length Communication and Literacy Skills Practice Test will be available on the MTEL website as of July 2009.

• New Mathematics Test as Part of General Curriculum MTEL for Students in Elementary Education, Moderate Disabilities and Severe Disabilities
• New DESE Memo: "Mathematics Subtest for Elementary and Special Education Teachers: Determination of Passing Score and Proposed Amendment to Educator Licensure Regulations for Transition Period"
• NEW! Lesley's Math General Curriculum Online Diagnostic and Preparation Workshop

• 2008-2009 MTEL Test Dates [pdf]
• 2009-2010 MTEL Test Dates [pdf]

Although Lesley Certification Office has attempted to ensure that the information contained on the website is accurate and complete at the time of posting, the contents are subject to change at any time.