Something teachers read before tense exam (4)
I believe the answer is:
test
'exam' is the definition.
(I know that exam can be written as test)
'something teachers read before tense' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'tense' could be 't' (abbreviation used in many dictionaries) and 't' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'est' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for test that I've seen before include "Ward off" , "Trial; Hampshire river" , "water flowing through Hampshire" , "big game" , "Analyse" .)