Before stepping into the classroom, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requires educators to pass a series of standardized exams. But, not all aspiring educators pass their licensing exams at the same rates — and pass rates fall harshly along racial lines, according to DESE data.
The DESE data reveals some persistent disparities among several Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) exams. Black and Hispanic test takers pass at significantly lower rates than their white counterparts. This is true across all the exams, which are broken down by subject matter and grade level.
These disparities matter in part because Massachusetts classrooms and the education workforce do not reflect the state’s student population.
Massachusetts classrooms are getting more diverse, but its teachers are not. One analysis covering 2018 through 2022 found that at most schools, the teaching staff is more than 90% white, while the student population is 60% white, or less, and steadily decreasing.
Meanwhile, Hispanic students are increasing in population, while the percentage of Hispanic teachers is roughly stagnant. The same is true for Black and Asian students and teachers, though the shift is less pronounced. These disparities matter in part because Massachusetts classrooms and the teacher workforce do not reflect the state’s student population.
More than 90% of teachers are white, and roughly 80% are white women.
“Having 80% white women is not serving our boys, it’s not serving our black and brown boys specifically,” said Madeline Zuck, a second-grade teacher at the Campus School of Smith College working towards her Massachusetts license.
Zuck says that disparities in licensure pass rates might contribute to the problem. “For some students, it becomes an education that fails them,” she said, referring to several studies which indicate a correlation between teacher-student racial disparity to student outcome.
Vivian Pittard ‘26, a Smith College student-teacher currently completing her practicum, added that Massachusetts students “ get a certain type of teacher because a certain type of person can take the MTEL, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re a good teacher.”
The MTEL was initially designed in 1998 to ensure that Massachusetts educators were capable of teaching the required curriculum and establish a baseline for subject knowledge. But some educators question whether the exams are still serving their intended purpose, as well as if they are measuring what matters most in the classroom.
“There’s so much more to teaching than can be measured by standardized tests,” Pittard said. “They measure whether you can pass a standardized test in reading and writing and math and science and history. They don’t measure why they can teach those things, and those are different skills.”
For many aspiring educators, there is a financial barrier in the way as well. Each MTEL exam costs $139, with every license requiring several exams.
Zuck said that a large part of the process has been about time and money.
“It’s almost like an exercise of accessing an extra $750 and three free Saturdays and childcare to go and take the test,” Zuck said.
Pittard shared a similar sentiment, mentioning that Smith College pays for students to take each MTEL exam on their first try, and without this program, she “certainly wouldn’t have time to make $750 to pay for the tests.”
The licensure process is intended to protect students by ensuring educator competence and maintaining standards. However, both Pittard and Zuck said professionalism should extend beyond testing. But, as racial disparities in MTEL pass rates persist, the question becomes what purpose the test is actively serving.
The MTEL exam was established to maintain educational standards. Nearly three decades later, it continues to determine who clears the bar, and who does not, but perhaps not in the way that was intended.
As racial disparities in pass rates persist alongside a widening gap between students and teachers, the MTEL continues to shape who enters the classroom and who does not.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally written for the class SDS 236: Data Journalism at Smith College, taught by Naila Moreira and Ben Baumer.
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