Several stories suggest that Massachusetts voters are likely to end the requirement that students pass the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) exams to graduate when they vote on Referendum 2 in November.
Ending the requirement would be a mistake.
Yes, MCAS can often feel burdensome from the perspective of those around Lexington schools who may wonder what’s the point. And yes, there’s plenty of room for improvement in the MCAS English, science and math exams.
But having a third party validate that someone has learned and mastered certain foundational skills and knowledge is a good thing. Teachers shouldn’t be the judge of their students’ performance. Not only does it create an incentive for grade inflation, but it also puts teachers in the uncomfortable position of being not just students’ coaches and advocates, but also their judges and juries. That’s unfair to teachers, students and parents.
In the absence of a robust set of publicly-funded educational choices for families, ending the requirement is a bad idea —and one that’s in search of a problem that doesn’t really exist.
According to The74, “Ultimately, the vast majority of students — about 99% — meet the requirements.” That bar is vital to make sure those students who are disadvantaged and come from the fewest resources aren’t forsaken.
In other words, the exams largely serve as a floor, not a ceiling. And while perhaps that seems extraneous to many Lexington voters, it’s as close to a mastery-, or competency-based, one as we have in this country. Students are allowed to take the exams multiple times — and there is even a provision for alternative ways of showing mastery.
What’s more, because Massachusetts doesn’t have statewide high school course requirements, it gives students (and schools) the latitude to at least theoretically explore a variety of interests in multiple pathways — career and academic. That’s something that Lexington Public Schools can seize.
Mass. Gov. Maura Healey, Mass. Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler, the National Parents Union, the Democrats for Education Reform, the Boston Globe, and more are right to argue in keeping the MCAS as a graduation requirement.
As The74 quoted the National Parents Union president and Mass. resident Keri Rodrigues, the parent of five children, one of whom receives special education services, “getting rid of the requirement in the name of kids with disabilities is ‘really offensive.’”
It would be another sad step in the name of equity that would be anything but equitable.
I wholeheartedly agree with you, especially with the conclusion “that would be anything but equitable.” I already wrote a comment (for the article “A guide to the five questions on the Massachusetts ballot this year”) essentially expanding on your conclusion, by explaining how very regressive a yes vote would be in a state that also value government accountability. I beg people to vote NO.