New report from MTA, FairTest
The report outlines alternatives to high-stakes, standardized tests that measure student readiness for graduation in the 21st century.
Alternatives to high-stakes testing offered in new report
Alternatives to high-stakes testing offered in new report
When voters eliminated the use of standardized MCAS exams as a statewide graduation requirement, Massachusetts was handed an opportunity to dramatically improve public education in the state by expanding learning opportunities.
In response, the Massachusetts Teachers Association’s Center for Education Policy and Practice and the national FairTest Center for Fair and Open Testing prepared a report outlining alternatives to high-stakes, standardized tests that measure student readiness for graduation in the 21st century. Whereas educators criticized the use of MCAS exams as a graduation requirement for shrinking what is taught, various other methods for assessing academic proficiency encourage a broader approach to teaching and learning.
The MTA and Massachusetts Association of School Committees sent the report today to state Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Pedro Martinez, who together chair a council of stakeholders considering new statewide requirements for a high school diploma. The MTA and MASC both are represented on the council examining high school graduation requirements.
“We are excited by the possibilities for our students to thrive in an evolving economy, and that best prepare them to be critical thinkers who can nurture our democratic institutions from the local to national levels,” said MTA President Max Page. “This report outlines visionary pathways toward authentic, performance-based assessment to a high school diploma. If we are serious about meeting the goals established in the state’s new Vision of a Graduate, we must turn toward assessments that are grounded in deeper learning.”
The CEPP and FairTest study examined alternatives to high-stakes standardized tests, including capstone projects, course requirements and portfolios for awarding diplomas. The Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education Assessment already is working in school districts that are developing authentic, performance-based assessments of student work, and most other states have likewise eliminated the use of standardized tests as a graduation requirement. The new study looked at a variety of best practices used around the country, recognizing that teaching and learning are complex and multifaceted endeavors.
This paper is a road map for Massachusetts to once again be a national leader in public education.”
MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy
The state graduation council’s initial consideration of using end-of-course standardized tests as a graduation requirement does not meet the objectives of the Vision of a Graduate and is at odds with what voters wanted in eliminating the MCAS graduation requirement.
“Replacing one high-stakes test with another is not what voters asked for,” said MTA Vice President Deb McCarthy. “Preparing students to graduate requires us to make sure schools have the staff and programs necessary to meet students’ needs, as well as developing authentic assessments that inspire learning and don’t limit learning the way MCAS exams did. This paper is a road map for Massachusetts to once again be a national leader in public education.”