Massachusetts
Teaching Standards and Leadership Standards
Teaching Standards
Is working with and meeting the needs of students with disabilities addressed in state teaching standards?
Standard A.8 of Massachusetts’ Professional Standards for Teachers sets the expectation that teachers use information in Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) to plan strategies for integrating students with disabilities into general education classrooms.
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) passed new Professional Standards for Teachers (PST) in January 2014. These new standards align expectations for pre-service candidates with those for in- service teachers as outlined in the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework. As stated in the regulations, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) is required to develop indicators in Guidelines. Indicators – out for public comment as of August 2014 – will help define the foundational skills on which teaching practice continues to improve.
Source: 603 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 7.08, Professional Standards for Teachers
School Leadership Standards
Is knowledge of working with students with disabilities included in leader standards?
The Professional Standards for Administrative Leadership identifies the knowledge and skills required for school administrators. Administrator preparation program providers use the Standards in program design. They are used by the ESE in reviewing programs seeking state approval and as the basis of performance assessment of candidates for administrator licenses. While the standards do not specifically require knowledge of working with students with disabilities, they state that the principal is expected to promote “the learning and growth of all students.”
Source: 603 CMR 7.08, Professional Standards for Administrative Leadership
Teacher and Principal Preparation
Teacher Preparation – Program Approval/Accreditation
Required course work in teaching students with disabilities/diverse learners
State law requires all educators to have “training in strategies for effective inclusive schooling for children with disabilities,” including “practical experience in the application of these strategies,” as a requirement of initial licensure. State education regulations require field-based experiences to “begin early in the preparation program (pre-practicum) and be integrated into the courses or seminars that address” state educator standards.
Sources:
Massachusetts General Laws, Title XII, Chapter 71, Section 38G
603 CMR 7.00, Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Guidelines for Program Approval, page 24
Clinical time in diverse settings/teaching special populations
Field-based experiences during teacher preparation must “include opportunities to work with diverse learners … in different school settings.” Program approval standards define diverse learners as “students from diverse ethnic, racial, gender, socioeconomic, and exceptional groups.”
Teacher candidates must complete a pre-practicum and a supervised 300-clock hour practicum. The pre-practicum consists of courses or other experiences, which may be field-based, directly related to the licensure requirements and which are designed to prepare candidates for the practicum by acquainting them with schools and classroom environments. In addition, all individuals in educator preparation programs must assume full responsibility of the classroom for a minimum of 100 hours.
Sources:
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Guidelines for Program Approval, pages 24-26
603 CMR7.04 (4), Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval
Teacher Preparation – Accountability
Quality of teacher preparation programs
Program approval is the process through which a teacher preparation program receives state approval. The Commissioner of Education has the statutory authority to approve programs that prepare candidates for educator licensure in Massachusetts. Programs may be offered by public and private higher education institutions, districts, collaboratives, and non-profit organizations. Programs also are subject to informal annual reviews and a 7-year review and re-approval process that includes a site visit.
Massachusetts collects some program-specific, objective data that reflect program performance, including aggregate evaluation ratings of program completers. New state regulations require the department of education to publish these data. However, the state has not yet established minimum performance standards for each category of data collected that can be used for accountability purposes. In addition, the state’s Race to the Top initiative includes plans to link preparation programs to outcome measures and effectiveness of graduates in promoting student achievement and to use these data to improve and/or close ineffective programs. The state also indicated that it will develop a web-based reporting system that will share key indicators and outcome data, such as retention rates and impact on student achievement.
Sources:
National Council on Teacher Quality, 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Improving Teacher Preparation in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Guidelines for Program Approval
Massachusetts Race To The Top Application, D.4. (page 131)
Principal Preparation – Program Approval/Accreditation
Require course work in leading a school/district that serves students with disabilities/diverse learners
State law requires all administrators to have “training in strategies for effective inclusive schooling for children with disabilities,” including “practical experience in the application of these strategies,” as a requirement of initial licensure. State education regulations require field-based experiences to “begin early in the preparation program (pre-practicum) and be integrated into the courses or seminars that address” state educator standards. Field-based experiences must “include opportunities to work with diverse learners … in different school settings.” Program approval standards define diverse learners as “students from diverse ethnic, racial, gender, socioeconomic, and exceptional groups.”
Sources:
Massachusetts General Laws, Title XII, Chapter 71, Section 38G
603 CMR 7.00,
Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Guidelines for Program Approval, page 24
Principal Preparation – Accountability
Are programs reviewed based on outcomes of graduates’ success? Can school principals be linked back to institutions of higher education and preparation programs?
Massachusetts’s Race to the Top initiative includes plans to link preparation programs to outcome measures and effectiveness of graduates in promoting student achievement and to use these data to improve and/or close ineffective programs.
Source: Massachusetts Race To The Top Application, D.4. (page 131)
Teacher and Principal Certification/Licensure
Teacher Certification/Licensure – Structure
Is a specific certificate, license or endorsement related to special education required?
Massachusetts requires its elementary special education teacher candidates to meet the same subject-matter requirements as other elementary education teacher candidates. Secondary (5-12) special education teachers are required to pass the Foundations of Reading test and either the general curriculum test or a single subject-matter test at the 5-8 or 8-12 grade level, which, although not ensuring content knowledge of every subject that will be taught, does more to ensure subject-matter preparation than the requirements of most states. The elementary subject-matter test is required for an elementary special education license.
Massachusetts offers the following special education licenses: moderate disabilities, severe disabilities, vision impairments, deaf and hard of hearing, and speech language hearing disorders. In addition, Massachusetts recently developed an optional endorsement in the area of Transition Specialist.
Sources:
National Council on Teacher Quality, 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Improving Teacher Preparation in Massachusetts
Email communication with ESE, August 12, 2014
Teacher Certification – Examination
Does the state require teachers to pass a basic skills exam for initial certification? What are the pass rates on the exams? Does the state require Praxis II or more pedagogical assessment for licensure? Does it include anything about teaching diverse learners or special populations?
Teacher candidates must pass the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) to meet subject matter test requirements for each license. (MTEL pass rate information can be found at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/mtel/results.html.) Our initial scan of state policy did not generate information about assessment requirements in regard to teaching diverse learners or special populations.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Education, Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure
Teacher Certification/Licensure – Requirements
Is professional development around working with special populations required to move from initial to a professional license?
Massachusetts offers an Initial License followed by a Professional License. A 5-year Initial License requires a bachelor’s degree, completion of a state-approved teacher preparation program and a passing score on the MTEL. To move to the Professional License, a teacher must have completed three years of employment under the Initial license, completed the Teacher Induction Program, and one of several options for professional licensure. None of the options specifically require professional development in working with special populations.
As of July 1, 2016, all educators renewing a Professional License will be required to earn Professional Development Points (PDPs) related to diverse learners and special populations. Of the required 150 PDPs, educators will need to earn:
(1) At least 15 PDPs related to SEI or English as a Second Language and
(2) At least 15 PDPs related to training in strategies for effective schooling for students with disabilities and instruction of students with diverse learning styles.
Sources:
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Licensure
Email communication with ESE, August 12, 2014
Principal Certification/Licensure – Requirements
Is prior teaching experience required to become a principal and/or a superintendent? Is specific coursework or other evidence required around working with special populations?
Principals: Candidates must obtain an initial license by completing at least three full years of employment in an executive management/leadership role or in a supervisory, teaching, or administrative role in an educational setting. Initial license also requires passing a performance assessment and completion of an approved program of study that includes a supervised practicum. Professional licenses require candidates to complete a one-year induction program and at least three full years of employment under the initial school principal license.
Superintendents: Candidates must obtain principal prerequisites and, in addition, possess at least an initial license in another educational role or preliminary superintendent/assistant superintendent license. Also required are three full years of employment in a district-wide, school-based, or other educational setting.
An overview of obtaining an administrator license in Massachusetts can be found at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/educators/AdminRoutes.pdf.
Sources:
603 CMR 7.09(1)(2), Licenses and Routes for Administrators
Education Commission of the States, Administrator License Requirements, Portability, Waivers and Alternative Certification
Teacher and Principal Induction
Teacher Induction
Is mentoring required for all new teachers and for how many years? If so, do program guidelines/requirements specifically address teaching diverse learners?
The state requires all first-year teachers to receive induction support. It must include an orientation, a trained mentor assigned during the first two weeks of teaching, a support team, and release time allowing the mentor and new teacher to engage in classroom observations and other mentoring activities. The support team must include a mentor and an administrator qualified to evaluate teachers. [603 Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 7.12] Mentors also may assist experienced educators who are new to a school, subject area, or grade level. Mentors may also assist educators who are participating in a performance assessment or a district-based program for licensure. [603 CMR 7.02]
Source: New Teacher Center, Review of State Policies on Teacher Induction
Principal Induction
Is coaching/mentoring required for all new principals/administrators/ superintendents and for how many years? If so, do program guidelines/requirements specifically serving diverse learners?
State policy requires school districts to provide an induction program for all first-year school administrators. A two-year-long induction program is required for candidates who obtained their initial license through an administrative apprenticeship or internship. [603 CMR 7.13] The program must include: (1) An orientation program for first-year administrators and all other administrators new to the district; (2) Assignment of a trained mentor within the first two weeks of working; (3) Assignment of a support team that shall consist of, but not be limited to, the mentor and an administrator qualified to evaluate administrators; (4) Adequate time for the mentor and beginning administrator to engage in professional conversations on learning and teaching as well as building leadership capacity within the school community; and (5) Provision for adequate time and resources to learn how to use effective methods of personnel selection, supervision, and evaluation that are included in the Professional Standards for Administrators. [603 CMR 7.13]
Source: New Teacher Center, Review of State Policies on Teacher Induction
Teacher and Principal Professional Development Standards
Teacher Professional Development Standards
Does the state have professional development standards for teacher PD?
The Massachusetts Standards for Professional Development consist of ten standards meant to provide guidance to the preparation of high quality professional development to any entity or person(s) responsible for facilitating, directly planning, or sponsoring professional development. The standards also are meant to ensure that educators are knowledgeable and cognizant consumers of quality professional development.
Source: Massachusetts Standards for Professional Development
Principal Professional Development Standards
Does the state have professional development standards for leadership PD?
The Massachusetts Standards for Professional Development consist of ten standards meant to provide guidance to the preparation of high quality professional development to any entity or person(s) responsible for facilitating, directly planning, or sponsoring professional development. They also are meant to ensure that educators are knowledgeable and cognizant consumers of quality professional development. Educators are defined as all professionals—including administrators—who have a direct or indirect impact on measures of academic and non-academic student outcomes.
Source: Massachusetts Standards for Professional Development