MTA opposes new use of MCAS scores for graduation requirement
MTA opposes new use of MCAS scores for graduation requirement
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy issued the following statement after the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved the limited use of MCAS scores to determine if students are satisfying the competency determination for a high-school diploma.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association adamantly opposes using MCAS scores in any capacity to derive a student’s competency determination for high school graduation. In decisively passing Question 2 in November, voters spoke loudly and clearly that they wanted Massachusetts to join the modern era of education and retire the high stakes use of standardized tests.
The proposed “limited use” of MCAS scores for competency determination is a ridiculous back door attempt by opponents of Question 2 to salvage a status quo that harmed students across the state and stifled authentic learning for decades.
The new law empowers school districts to establish a student’s competency determination based on work that aligns with our state’s high academic standards and prohibits the state from using MCAS scores as a graduation requirement.
District educators certainly have the expertise to assess the work of high school students arriving to Massachusetts from other states and other countries and make informed decisions on competency determinations. Forcing English learners and students with learning needs from other countries or states to take an MCAS exam to establish competency determination is exactly the kind of educational malpractice Question 2 was intended to root out.
Governor Healey’s council examining graduation requirements has repeatedly heard from educators attending listening sessions that removing high stakes testing almost instantaneously transformed the classroom experience for students and teachers alike, broadening how and what students learned.
The MTA will continue to work with our partners in upholding the intent and spirit of the law passed by voters.
Rather than looking back at ways to recycle a bad practice, we must instead train our focus on the goal of providing every school with the resources and support necessary so students of all learning profiles are successfully completing coursework based on our academic standards, effectively preparing them for their respective futures.