MTA statement on MCAS scores released today
MTA statement on MCAS scores released today
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy released the following statement in response to today’s report on MCAS scores:
We have long been concerned about the harm caused by the MCAS. That is why educators and public education advocates across the state are fighting to replace the MCAS graduation requirement associated with these tests.
The use of these scores to rank and sort schools is also deeply problematic. MCAS data provide just one snapshot of student performance. The fact that MCAS scores from the spring are just now being released demonstrates how the exam is not designed to allow educators and districts to take immediate action to support students.
Educators also have not received the questions used in last year’s MCAS exams, making it impossible for them to adjust curriculum in ways that could address issues raised by scores.
Changing the score required to graduate has put more students at risk and further raised the test’s stakes, while not providing educators useful information on how to help students and reducing MCAS to a sorting tool with questionable design.
Changing the score required to graduate has put more students at risk and further raised the test’s stakes, while not providing educators useful information on how to help students and reducing MCAS to a sorting tool with questionable design.
Prior to the release of these MCAS scores, the MTA, American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts and Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment as participants on the Massachusetts Accountability System Review Advisory Committee expressed concerns about the uses of MCAS. That committee’s final report delivered to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education does not reflect the views of MTA, AFT and MCIEA.
Overall, we maintain that MCAS in its current form is biased and inaccurate. One-size-fits-all standardized tests like the MCAS can’t fully measure student learning or a school’s success — they simply measure who’s good at taking tests. Students of color, English language learners and those with learning disabilities are the children most disadvantaged by the narrow focus of MCAS and standardized tests, in general. MCAS likewise subjects students and schools located in poorer communities to unfair treatment and allows the state to introduce top-down interventions that undermine a community’s relationship to its public schools. Putting so much emphasis on a single test also undermines the Commonwealth’s high education standards, forcing educators to teach test-taking skills instead of putting more emphasis on critical thinking and individualized learning.
Incorporating MCAS scores alongside results from other assessment tools routinely used by educators will provide more accurate and actionable information about student performance.
As we learned throughout the process that secured passage of the Student Opportunity Act in 2019, the state’s high academic standards, increased state funding for public education and an accountability system all need to be regularly reviewed and updated. The implementation and uses of MCAS are ripe for reform based on decades of practical experience by educators, students, and community leaders.
Removing the MCAS graduation requirement is one way that the exams can be placed in their proper context. Incorporating MCAS scores alongside results from other assessment tools routinely used by educators will provide more accurate and actionable information about student performance.
The very idea of ranking, sorting and ultimately punishing schools based on these scores is antithetical to the spirit of public education. Educators, parents, community leaders and business owners agree that education should inspire children to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. We see a bright future for our students when we can teach them to work collaboratively and share ideas with others. These are the qualities we believe will be the foundation of their future success.