How to Become a Teacher in Massachusetts

Want to educate the next generation of students in one of the best-paying states?

According to the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the country, teachers in Massachusetts earn the third-highest salaries behind California and New York, with an average salary of $92,307.

Learn the steps you need to become a teacher in the Bay State, how much you’ll earn by grade level and specialty, and how to renew your license.

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

Every teaching path begins with a bachelor’s degree. From there, you’ll need to get student-teaching experience, take the required competency tests, and then apply for and renew your license.

The first step to becoming a teacher is enrolling in a college or university and pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Typically, students pursue a bachelor’s in education with specializations in the field they’d like to teach. However, you only need a bachelor’s degree to teach, not just an educational degree.

While completing your degree, you must complete at least 150 hours of student teaching at a local partnering school. You’ll work with a supervisor teaching students in the classroom and gaining experience through lesson plan creation, grading papers, and other teacher responsibilities.

Education programs will often offer student-teaching opportunities. If you pursue another degree, ask your advisor how you can student-teach.

Massachusetts requires you to take MTEL tests before you apply for certification to ensure your competence in the material you’ll teach. Every teacher has to take the Communication and Literacy Skills (CLS) MTEL in addition to the MTEL specific to the grade levels and subjects they wish to teach.

For example, if you want to teach math, you’ll take the CLS MTEL and one of the following:

The state also allows alternative tests to the CLS MTEL, such as the Praxis Core versions administered by the Educational Testing Services, alongside four other alternate tests.

You can also take alternative subject matter tests, the most unique of which is an Educator Preparation Subject Matter Knowledge Attestation. The attestation requires an approved college or university with an approved program to attest that you are competent in your subject.

Once you’re ready to apply, create an account through the Educator License and Renewal portal and follow the steps to create a profile. Licensure costs $100 for first-time teachers and $25 for each renewal. Make sure to submit your college transcript and proof you passed your MTELs.

Initial teaching licenses are valid for five years of employment. They can be extended once for another five years before advancing to a professional license.

Teachers with a professional license must renew their license every five years to continue teaching. You have to pay $25 to renew each time and complete 150 professional development hours, divided up by:

Even though these may seem like a lot of hours, you have five years to complete each requirement before renewing.

With an average teacher salary of $92,307 as of 2024, Massachusetts blows away the average national teacher salary of $69,544 by over $20,000. However, adjusted for inflation, teachers in the Bay State still make 5% less than they did 10 years ago.

Massachusetts is one of the states with the highest pay for teachers. Preschool teachers have some of the lowest salaries, with a median salary of $46,330 per year, while career/technical education high school teachers make a median salary of almost $90,000 yearly. K-12 teachers, not special education or career/technical teachers, all make median salaries between $85,650 and $88,800.