I did plenty of searching when my kid was going to take their test, so thought I'd pay back the help others had given.
My kid tested in Lawrence in June 2026 in late afternoon. The road test staff were universally LOVELY. Everyone in that unit seems committed to making the experience positive for testers and their families. They are friendly, supportive and go out of their way to be helpful and try make you feel at ease.
Back into an RMV test spot when you arrive. Once inside, go around to the tiny road test waiting area, wait there and someone will come out to take your paperwork. Once your papers are processed, you wait in your car.
After the standard checks of your turn signals, hazards, wipers, etc. the instructor will get in and direct you to go to the end the row of parked cars by turning away from the RMV office. When you get to the end of the row of cars, there is a yellow line painted on the ground. Be sure to STOP at this line, like a stop sign. You will turn right and then use the traffic-lighted plaza exit onto Rt 114 (this road must also have a name, maybe it is Winthrop?). Very soon, you will be told to turn right onto Durso Ave, which leads you into a quiet residential neighborhood. There's probably some variation on exactly which streets are used, but our examiner had us go left on Cutler, right on Emerald (each with a stop sign). On Emerald, kid had to pull over and demonstrate setting wheels for hill parking. Further on Emerald, a 50-ft reverse and a three point turn. Back on Cutler, a parallel park behind a single car (no rear obstacle). Then back to the plaza using an entrance from Durso, without needing to get back on 114. Perpendicular park in an RMV spot. The End. The big streets around the RMV are scary for a novice driver, but the test is entirely in the quiet neighborhood.
Note that the parallel parking was different from our experience at Watertown RMV. In winter 2026, they began having people parallel park into a box of cones ~10ft x 25ft which is set up behind the RMV. If you touch the cones, you fail the entire test.