Urge your state senator to vote to stop the MCAS this school year
Urge your state senator to vote to stop the MCAS this school year
Urgent! Last week you sent more than 4,500 letters to state representatives with this message: Put the MCAS on hold for the year. This week public education is counting on you to urge your state senator to support Senator Jo Comerford’s amendment to the state budget that would cancel the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams for the 2020-2021 school year — amid the coronavirus pandemic — and waive the MCAS requirement that current high school seniors must have passed MCAS to graduate in the spring.
Our students are experiencing unprecedented anxiety and trauma due to the pandemic. MCAS testing contributes to the rise in their anxiety. We must keep our undivided attention on our students’ health, safety and wellness in these unprecedented times — and not be diverted by the MCAS this year.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education intends to have schools begin administering the MCAS tests in mid-January. This disruptive and misguided plan must be stopped immediately. Senator Comerford has filed an amendment to the state budget that could be voted on as soon as Tuesday, Nov. 17.